Normandy
The D-Day Landings in Normandy took place on 6th June 1944 and were known by the codename “Operation Overlord”. The objective of “Operation Overlord” was to establish a large-scale foothold on the continent. The assault phase of this was code named “Operation Neptune” which lasted from 6-30 June 1944. The amphibious landings were preceded by an airborne assault at key locations inland by paratroopers and gliders. The Allies used 5 beaches for the landings – Sword, Gold, Juno , Utah and Omaha. It was the biggest invasion force of all time with 160,000 troops crossing the English Channel on D-Day and a total of 3 million by the end of August. It gave the Allies a foothold back into Europe. Paris was liberated on 25th August 1944 and the war was over less than a year after the Normandy landings.
Planning and Build Up to D-Day
Planning for the Allied Invasion of Europe started as early as 1942. In the spring of 1943, Lt General Frederick E Morgan (pictured) was effectively put in charge of planning the invasion. Harsh lessons had been learned after the failed raid at Dieppe in 1942 so a direct attack on a seaport was ruled out. The only suitable choices for landings were the beaches at Normandy and Pas de Calais. Calais would mean a much shorter sea crossing but it was far more heavily defended than Normandy. However, it would still be difficult as the Atlantic Wall fortifications ran from the north of Norway, down through Denmark, along the North Sea coast and down to the border of France and neutral Spain.
The Germans expected an invasion but they had no idea where it was coming from. A huge deception campaign (“Operation Fortitude”) was a major part of the planning to try to convince the Germans that Calais was the real invasion point. A young, Spanish anti-facist called Juan Pujol Garcia was trusted by the Germans as a valuable spy. Known as “Garbo”, he was actually a double agent and as a result of the information he fed the Germans, reinforcements were sent to the Calais area, not Normandy. Garbo was credited with as the spy who saved D-Day. He was so highly trusted by the Germans, Hitler awarded him the Iron Cross.
Dummy tanks, trucks and landing craft were positioned in around ports in South East England and the Luftwaffe photos added weight to the theory the invasion would be at Calais. In addition to the deception about Calais, efforts were also made to convince the Germans that Norway would be the landing grounds with the invasion launched from Scotland. This kept German Units in Norway instead of having them relocated to France.
However, the preparations did not all go as planned. On 28 April 1944, more than 700 US Soldiers were killed when their landing exercise was surprised by German torpedo boats in south Devon. Codewords from the invasion also appeared in the Daily Telegraph newspaper crossword puzzles.
The invasion required both a full moon and spring tide which meant there were only a couple of possible dates each month when the invasion could be attempted. HMS Grindell had been position in the mid-Atlantic since April and was transmitting weather reports every 3 hours. The invasion was originally set for 5th June 1944 but the weather was bad with strong winds, heavy rain and rough seas. The forecast for the 6th predicted a slight improvement and despite some opposition from some of his staff, General Eisenhower gave the invasion the green light.
The Invasion
The airborne assault commenced minutes after midnight on 6th June 1944 as gliders carrying British troops swept down towards the Pegasus Bridge. Despite heavy casualties, the Pegasus Bridge was taken and the invasion was underway. Within two hours British Paratroops and US Airborne forces were landing all over Normandy, many of them miles from their drop zones which added to the confusion.
Meanwhile, 5,000 ships had made the crossing over from England and although a few were lost to mines, the majority made it and started forming offshore at around 5am. Prior to the amphibious landings, the warships of the invasion force pounded the defences with a barrage up to a mile inland. One of the first ships to open fire on German positions was the HMS Belfast which today is part of the Imperial War Museum and is permanently moored on the River Thames in London.
At around 6:30am, the first waves went ashore. The landing times at the beaches varied due to the tidal surge and although progress was made on all 5 beaches, the men landing at Omaha Beach suffered heavily. By the end of D-Day, the Allies had suffered around 10,000 casualties.
Aftermath of the Normandy Landings
Although not all of the D-Day objectives were achieved, there is no question that the Normandy Landings were a huge strategic success. D-Day had given the Allies a beachhead in North-West Europe from which they could push the German’s back. Once, in Normandy, there was some terrible fighting in the hedgerows of Normandy as the Allies pushed inland. The decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy was when the German 5th and 7th Panzer Armies were encircled in the Falaise Pocket, some 20 miles south of Caen. 50,000 Germans were trapped and 2 days later, Paris was liberated.
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