UNIT 12: AMERICA IN WWII Note Packet 12-4

D-DAY: The Normandy Invasion Note Packet 12-4 D-DAY: The Normandy Invasion

What is the meaning of “D-Day”? Note Packet 12-4 What is the meaning of “D-Day”? History knows only one D-Day, 6 June 1944 when Allied forces landed in occupied France and began the liberation of Europe. In reality every Allied operation of the war had a D-Day when it was scheduled to take place and an H-Hour when it actually started. That simple code keeps the precise date and time from the enemy and either side of the operation time is counted down, and then up again. Thus the day before D-Day is D minus one and the day after, D plus one.

Note Packet 12-4 Despite the Allied victories in Africa, Sicily, and Italy from 1943-1945, the major focus of the war in Europe was the long-awaited Allied invasion of German-occupied France. An enormous invasion force had been gathering in Great Britain for two years. Almost 3 million troops and perhaps the greatest array of naval vessels and armaments ever assembled in one place. This large of a force was impossible to hide and everyone knew it was coming.

Note Packet 12-4 Hitler expected an Allied invasion of France in the Spring of 1944 and attempted to set up defenses along the entire coast of France—However, he expected the primary invasion to take place at Calais, at the most narrow point of the English Channel. In January 1944, Hitler sent Erwin Rommel to Northern France with orders to repel the expected invasion there. Rommel, however, thought the attack would come from further south.

800 typed pages were needed to summarize the naval plans alone. Note Packet 12-4 The final plan for the Allied invasion of France from Britain, code-named “Operation Overlord,” was by far the most complicated plan ever made for a single operation of war. 800 typed pages were needed to summarize the naval plans alone. The complete set of naval orders with corresponding maps weighed over 300 lbs. Just as bulky were the plans for the ground, air, and logistical operations.

The Field Commander was British General Bernard Montgomery. Note Packet 12-4 The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces was General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Field Commander was British General Bernard Montgomery.

Note Packet 12-4 The plans for “Overlord” called for amphibious landings on 5 beaches, each 3 to 4 miles in length, along some 60 miles of Normandy shoreline. The 3 eastern landings, by troops of the British Second Army under General Miles C. Dempsey, were to be made on beaches designated: 1) Sword 2) Juno 3) Gold

Note Packet 12-4 The 2 western landings, by troops of the American First Army under General Omar N. Bradley, were to be made on beaches designated: Omaha Utah

Note Packet 12-4 The landings were to be made at dawn and were to be preceded by Airborne troops for tactical support during the night.

The success of “Overlord” depended on two essential conditions: Note Packet 12-4 The success of “Overlord” depended on two essential conditions: The Allies had to be able to reinforce their troops in Normandy more quickly by sea than the Germans could reinforce theirs by land. The Allies had to keep the Germans guessing as to the exact location of the assault.

Note Packet 12-4 It was impossible to conceal from the Germans that the invasion would be launched in 1944 somewhere on the coast of France. The invasion had been more or less publicly announced and there was a mass concentration of troops and equipment in England. But it was essential that Germany had no reason to concentrate its defenses in Normandy any thicker than they would elsewhere.

Note Packet 12-4 To deceive the Germans as to a time and place of the main Allied invasion, an elaborate cover plan was initiated, centering on the creation of a fictitious U.S. army group. False information was fed into German espionage channels and dummy landing craft, inflatable tanks, plywood artillery pieces, and massive (but deserted) tent encampments were situated in a way that indicated an impending assault at Calais. Thus the Germans (especially Hitler) were led to believe for weeks after the initial landings that the Normandy invasion was just an attempt to disguise the main blow yet to fall on Northern France at Calais.

Note Packet 12-4 In preparation to repel the invasion, Rommel fortified the beaches of the French coast with obstructions designed to stop landing craft, blow up tanks, and to hamper and slow the infantry. This line of defense along the coast of France was known as “Hitler’s Atlantic Wall.”

Note Packet 12-4 To break through Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, a new type of tank was needed—a tank that could swim. To meet the hazards of Hitler’s defenses, a new weapon of war was developed and used for the first time on D-Day… The DD Tank (def): A tank that could propel itself through water and over land and was equipped with a minesweeper.

Note Packet 12-4 On June 6, 1944 (D-DAY), Operation Overlord was put into effect and consisted of 3 main operations: Three divisions of over 10,000 British and American troops (British 6th, U.S., 82nd, and U.S. 101st) parachuted down behind enemy lines in the hours before dawn. An extremely heavy naval and air bombardment followed, shortly before the seaborne landing. Allied forces of British and American troops crossed the English Channel and stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Note Packet 12-4 With over 156,000 troops, 4,000 landing-craft, 600 warships, and 11,000 planes, Operation Overlord was the largest land-sea-air operation the world has ever known.

Note Packet 12-4 Despite massive casualties, the Allies were able to secure the beaches and the initial phase of Operation Overlord was a success. For the next step, the Allies were to move inland as quickly as possible, linking up the 5 landing areas behind a continuous front.