D-Day: Operation Overlord The Invasion that saved the world

The Allies Prepare for Invasion

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Teheran, Iran – Dec. 1943 FDR repositioned due to polio

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Five Fold Deception Plan Allied leaders plan a series of pseudo invasions to throw the Germans off guard. The Germans would learn of these faulty plans but lacked the military intelligence to decipher which ones were simply decoys.

Patton’s “Ghost” Army Allies needed to make the false invasions seem imminent and realistic. Put highly respected General George Patton in charge of this completely fake army called FUSAG. Army had fake tanks and everything that would make it appear as if it was about to embark on an invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europa.

Purpose of D-Day After Germany invaded most of Europe, the Allies determined that Germany had to be defeated. Germany had killed millions and was willing to spread it's fear of foreigners to even more of the world and considered England to be the next target. Had Germany just left England alone for a while, Hitler would have probably succeeded in his quest for power. The purpose was to get troops on the ground in an attempt to liberate France. After Allied troops gained a foothold in Normandy, they were able to destroy much of the German occupation forces, liberate France and continue to march across Europe and ultimately destroy Germany.

Before the Invasion During the first six months of 1944, the United States and Great Britain gathered and trained land, naval, and air forces in England. At the same time, the Soviet Union tied down a great portion of the enemy forces. Allied airplanes photographed enemy defenses, dropped supplies to the resistance, bombed railways, and attacked Germany’s industries.

D-Day June 6, 1944 The invasion would begin on the beaches of Normandy, France. The largest amphibious force in the history of warfare. Considered by some to be the greatest military achievement of the 20th century. Eisenhower seen here “pumping up” the troops before the big invasion. Eisenhower exuded confidence to the soldiers that was transferred into incredible heroism on the beaches.

Project Overlord Operation Overlord was a huge assault on Normandy beaches in France. It was the largest focused military operation of all time. Developments such as nuclear weapons and missiles make it unlikely that such a concentration of ships and assault troops will ever be assembled again. Operation Overlord nearly failed due to weather, operational errors, and stiff resistance by well prepared German forces. In the end, Overlord succeeded, the Allies surged into France, and the fate of Hitler's Third Reich was sealed.

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D-Day Diagram Picture from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh3.google.com/_aGPQSJGNQRk/RsLkTtTbCKI/AAAAAAAAASw/DU3shZ4G-sA/s800/P6051198.JPG&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9VAwHVcorEnpiQXFwKo0eA&h=600&w=800&sz=122&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=HcfyrGSVTHjGlM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3DD-Day%2Bdiagram%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

Fatalities 4,500 Allied and American troops dead

D-Day: Turning the Tide of War Invasion of Normandy was the decisive Allied victory that turned the tide of World War 2. Success of the invasion was necessary for the Allies to launch an attack to liberate France. Allies moved permanently to the offensive as the armies marched through Europe to liberate the other conquered nations.

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