This article is a stub. You can help the World War II Wiki by expanding it.

The Invasion of Normandy (also known as Operation Overlord , and widely known as D-Day) was the successful allied invasion of Northern France during World War II.

DetailsEdit

Prior to the landings a paratrooper force was deployed behind enemy lines to sabotage enemy communications and disrupt the enemy. The ground invasion began on June 6,^{[N 1]} 1944 at 6:30AM British double summer time, and the full establishment of allied forces occurred on the 25th of August that same year. There were five different landing areas that were to be taken by Allied forces. These areas were to be taken by different allied countries and were codenamed Juno (Canada), Sword (Great Britain), Omaha (US), Utah (US), Gold (Great Britain) with Omaha being the bloodiest and highest casualty inducing.

British and Canadian forces were under the command of General Montgomery, with American forces commanded by Dwight D. Eisenhower. German forces were to be under the control of Rommel but he was in Berlin at the time visiting his wife. Although he tried to regroup troops to reinforce the defenders he was too late and instead began massing troops and armour for a counterattack. This lack of leadership hindered the Germans further in their defense.

The battle was an difficult fight for the allies because the german defenses were quite well built. The beaches housed large amounts of mines, tank traps, barbed wire and many other deterences. There was also many pillboxes and reinforced structures overlooking perceived landing sights which housed a variety of weapons such as machine guns and artillery. These defences have been under construction for years, as such a landing has been expected, and combined with the natural defences already present, such as beaches and cliffs, made the landing a formidable challenge.

The brutality and iconic nature of the battle has given the battle many spots in the entertainment industry with multiple films such as the popular Saving Private Ryan and being used as a battlefield in Video games.

PlanningEdit

The initial plan for Overlord had been completed in time for Winston Churchill to hand a copy to 'Monty' for evaluation, while the two men spent Christmas 1943 at Marakesh. Monty rejected this initial plan, on the grounds that the assault force was too small and the landing area was too narrow, and submitted a revised plan of his own, which was ultimately accepted. ^[1] A decoy invasion was also devised in planning to confuse the German defenders, who were expecting an invasion further to the west and were therefore less prepared for the actual invasion point. Planning also went into organizing the various countries involved in the invasion, the paratroopers deployed the night before, and also instructing French resistance fighters to further disrupt and confuse the German troops.

ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

1. ↑ The invasion had originally been was set for the 5th, but delayed due to weather complications

SourcesEdit

1. ↑ Makins, Clifford. (1981)

BibliographyEdit

• Makins, Clifford. High Command. Dragon's Dream. 1981. ISBN 90 6332 851 6.