1. Any ideas what the topic might be?

3. How important was D-Day?
Learning objectives:
To know the key features of the Battle
To understand why the battle was successful
To evaluate the importance of D-Day

5. What can you learn about the D-Day beach landings from this clip from the film ‘Saving private Ryan’?

6. How important was D-Day
How important was D-Day? You are going to ‘harvest’ the key information about this crucial battle. You will need to find answers to these key questions:
What was occupied France like? What was the Atlantic Wall? Why did Stalin want a Second Front opened? Why did the Allies at first not want to open a Second Front? What tactics did the Allies use? How well defended were the Normandy beaches? Why did the attack succeed? How important was D-Day?

7. 7. How important was D-Day?
Task: You are going to ‘harvest’ the key information about this crucial battle. You will need to find answers to these key questions:
1. What was occupied France like? What was the Atlantic Wall?
3. Why did Stalin want a Second Front opened?
4. Why did the Allies at first not want to open a Second Front?
7. How important was D-Day?
2. How well defended were the Normandy beaches?
5 What tactics did the Allies use?
6 Why did the attack succeed?

9. Deception... Operation Bodyguard
The campaign of allied deception leading up to D Day.
Deception... Operation Bodyguard
Inflatable tanks were parked at ports in eastern and southern Britain for the Luftwaffe to photograph
Germany had a large number of secret agents in Britain but they had been turned by the British as part of the Double Cross System
Q. Explain the purpose of Operation Bodyguard and some of the tactics used.
Using the German agents that had been turned the Allies fed the Germans misinformation, some of which led the German army to expect an attack in either Norway or southern France, instead of Normandy

10. Where to land?
Q. Why did the Allies decide to invade via the Normandy beaches?
Q. What difficulties do you think this could cause the Allies?
The Germans expected an invasion to be launched upon Calais.
The Allies avoided this as it was the most heavily fortified landing zone and decided to land upon the Normandy beaches.
When Mulberry Harbour is mentioned in the next lesson it is important to say that a major problems for the Allies was the lack of harbour.
Also in the next lesson include information about the inventions of D-Day, Mulberry Harbour, failed inventions such as sea-ice and sawdust for sea landings, an activity could be to get the class to plan what they think they would need if they were to plan the invasion themselves.
USE Isabelle’s DVD. Mention PLUTO (Pipeline under the Ocean)

11. Allied supplies for the D-Day invasion
200,000 soldiers
4,126 landing craft
1,200 fighting ships
10,000 aircraft
864 transport ships
Chewing gum
The success of D-Day depended upon the soldiers that landed being constantly supplied as they advanced.
In order to unload a large number of troops and supplies by sea, a harbour is needed.
- The problem was that there was no place to land ships safely with enough supplies to this...
Q. What problems did the Allies face in getting enough troops and supplies into France to keep the invasion supplied after D-Day?

12. Q. Describe the floating roads used in Mulberry Harbour.
To solve this problem the Allies came up with the idea of creating an artificial harbour that would be anchored near to the landing beaches but away from the German artillery.
The artificial harbour that was created was codenamed ‘Mulberry’.
Q. Describe the floating roads used in Mulberry Harbour.
Q. What were they called and why do you think they were called this?
Q. What was the artificial harbour called?
There were 12 miles of floating roadways in Mulberry Harbour. The floating roads were nicknamed ‘Whales’.

14. PLUTO! PipeLine Under The Ocean
Q. What was the nickname given to the pipeline carrying fuel under the English Channel to the Allied invading force?
Mulberry Harbour was not the only clever invention in preparation for D-Day.
What do you think all of the invading vehicles would need when they reached France and unloaded onto Mulberry Harbour?
What do you think helped the Allies get the petrol to their troops and invading vehicles?
PLUTO! PipeLine Under The Ocean

15. Hobart’s Funnies
Q. Look at this picture of the Flail. What do you think it was used for to help the Allied soldiers invade German occupied France?
Apart from Mulberry Harbour and PLUTO, there were several other creative inventions used to help the Allied invasion...
Flail tank, which carried a specially-made frame that held a drum with weighted chains attached.
When the drum rotated at speed, the ball weights slammed into the ground and blew up mines up to nine inches deep.
THE FLAIL

16. The BOBBIN
The Bobbin carpet layer, designed to overcome the problem of beach sand or loose shingle that could not support the weight of armoured vehicles or heavy guns. The reinforced matting was laid out in front of the tank and then stayed in place for other vehicles that followed behind.

17. The ‘DD’
Past experience had shown the British Army that it was dangerous driving tanks straight off landing craft while under enemy fire.
‘DD’ is short for Duplex Drive which means this tank had an engine that could power itself on land and had propellers that could work at sea.

21. When the Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov meet with Churchill (British PM) and Roosevelt (American President) in 1943, he only knew three thrashes in English, ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘second front’.

22. After their defeat in Normandy, The German forces in Western Europe were so reduced that the Allies (America, British, Canadian , Free French and Polish) advanced and captured Paris by August 22nd and Brussels by September 1st

23. Without D-Day, Hitler could have sent more troops to the Eastern Front (Russia) to fight the Red Army. The need to defend the ‘Atlantic Wall’ drained vital men and resources from key battles in the East.

24. D-Day led to the liberation of Nazi Occupied France
When the Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov meet with Churchill (British PM) and Roosevelt (American President) in 1943, he only knew three thrashes in English, ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘second front’.
After their defeat in Normandy, The German forces in Western Europe were so reduced that the Allies (America, British, Canadian , Free French and Polish) advanced and captured Paris by August 22nd and Brussels by September 1st
Casualties on D-Day were much lighter than previously feared (only around 4,400 allies service men died)
Without D-Day, Hitler could have sent more troops to the Eastern Front (Russia) to fight the Red Army. The need to defend the ‘Atlantic Wall’ drained vital men and resources from key battles in the East.
The Russians were desperate for a ‘second front’ to take the pressure off cities like Stalingrad.
D-Day led to the liberation of Nazi Occupied France
The German response to D-Day, when it came, was slow and confused thanks to a complex command structure and the successful Allied deception plan.
The German General in charge of Normandy (Rommel was away on holiday at the time.
Some 400,000 German troops were either killed, injured or captured.

25. The British developed 2 brilliant planes: The Hurricane was reliable and could be used to shoot down German Bombers and the Spitfire (the fastest plane in the world) was used to destroy the fighters protecting the bombers
The German planes could only fly for 30 minutes at a time.
The German planes flew in groups which made them easy targets.
There were fewer pilots in Britain, but between landing and taking off again, they only had short periods of rest while the planes were refuelled.
1644 German pilots were killed, but only 446 RAF pilots were killed in 1940.
The Germans lost 1652 planes, the RAF only lost 1085.
Britain produced an average of 563 new planes each month between July and September 1940.
Hitler’s bombing of factories didn’t work, and factories and industry carried on producing war materials
Britain had RADAR. This meant the British knew where the Germans would be attacking and could meet them and stop them.
Bad weather and the skill of the RAF pilots made many of the Luftwaffe’s raids unsuccessful.
Air Chief Marshall Dowding was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command. He was a brilliant commander who organised the RAF exceptionally well.
Lord Beaverbrook used ingenious campaigns and ways to increase production of planes such as recycling pots and pans to make fighters. In 1940, British factories produced 4,283 fighters, compared to Germany’s 3,000.
The British pilots were joined by many pilots from Poland, the Czech republic, Canada or New Zealand.  12% of all German planes destroyed in the Battle of Britain were destroyed by Polish pilots.  Foreign pilots helped modify the way the British fought