Guess what this is: 6,552,290 rifles 15,603,000 shaving brushes 4,490,000 bayonets 519,122,000 pairs of socks 634,569 jeeps 237,371,000 cans of insect repellent 3,076,000,000 lbs. of beef 25,065,834,000 rounds ammo. 1,397,000,000 lbs coffee 106,466,000 tent pins 2,679,819 machine guns

Operation Fortitude

Operation Overlord D-Day June 6, 1944

Operation Overlord Goal: To Liberate France June 6-30th codename for sea invasion Operation Neptune D-Day: Largest amphibious landing of all time Beach names were random (easy to hear on radio)

Innovation After the Dieppe Raid of 1942 Churchill Lord Louis Mountbatten Mulberries

D-Day Just stands for Day There were many D-Days in history They were unsure of the actually day because of the weather; originally 6/5/44 but there was a storm Needed spring tide and full moon (only happens once a month) For light and deeper water to get over obstacles

Normandy Beach US Britain Canada Free France (air) 6:30 AM (British time) Did the US have the harder beaches to invade?

Eisenhower Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Were the Germans ready? They knew an invasion would be coming Rommel “The Desert Fox” left to see his wife for her b-day Thought the weather was too poor for an invasion Hitler was supposedly asleep and no one wanted to wake him They had a meeting the next day to talk about preventing an invasion

Did it leak? Leonard Dawes has clues in The Daily Telegraph newspaper crossword

What significance did the radio Role of the Civilians? French Resistance (The Marquis) Damage railroads, telephone lines, etc. Radio messages Poem lines from Chanson d'Automne Les sanglots longs des violons de l'automne" (Long sobs of autumn violins) Radio code for military: “The dice are on the Table” What significance did the radio Play in the war?

Robert Capa Photographer in many wars-Spanish Civil War, WWII, Start of Vietnam War (French) Took the pictures of Omaha Beach invasion Film was overexposed and only 11 shots of 4 rolls of film survived Died in 1954 from a landmine

Famous Faces

Saving Private Ryan Company A lost three sets of brothers from V.A. Sullivan Law

Higgins Boat & The Bootleggers LCVP: Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel

Toymaker and Weatherman The giant wall map used by General Eisenhower and General Montgomery at their HQ Southwick House was made by toy maker Chad Valley Dr. James Martin Stagg

Allies Secret?

Stats: Omaha had most deaths in initial landing Allied troops landed in Normandy 156,115   American (Omaha & Utah beaches + airborne) 73,000 British (Gold & Sword beaches + airborne) 61,715 Canadian (Juno Beach) 21,400 Airborne troops (included in figures above) 23,400 Aircraft supporting the landings  11,590 Sorties flown by allied aircraft 14,674 Aircraft lost  127 Naval vessels in Operation Neptune 6939 Naval combat ships 1213 Landing ships and landing craft 4126 Ancillary craft 736 Merchant vessels 864 Personnel in Operation Neptune  195,700 American 52,889 British 112,824 Other allied 4988 Omaha had most deaths in initial landing 156,000 men landed first day Over 30,000 vehicles Over 9,000 Allied Deaths by end June 6th