1. Operation Overlord – Invasion in Normandy
Preparations for landing. Determination of places.
What were the difficulties of crossing the English Channel (Strait of la Manche)?
Weather and invasion.
Preparation of the ‘swimming’ tanks (not actually swimming, but simply ‘waterproof’).
Bernard Montgomery – Commander of the landing force., Eisenhower – Commander-in-Chief.
Artificial floating harbours – ‘Mulberry’ and ‘Gooseberry’.
Allies’ overwhelming superiority in air.
Intention to use paratroops.

2. German Preparations for Throwing Allies into the Sea
German defence plans.
German generals and their attitude to each other: Overall commander Gerd von Rundschtedt, Commander of army group B, responsible for the defeat of invasion forces, Ervin von Rommel.
Rommel’s try to get all armoured divisions and Hitler’s refusal.
Rommel’s mining campaign.
Real situation around the ‘Atlantic Wall’.
German weakness.
Weather forecasts and German belief that there would be no invasion at the beginning of June.

3. Operations of Disguise
Patton’s mythical army group.
British fourth army supposed as a great threat by Germans, but it existed only in airwaves.
Will allies attack through Strait of Dover (Strait of Pas-de-Calais)?
Hitler’s decision to stop transfer of troops from Norway to France due to the ‘danger’ of allied invasion into Norway.
German disbelief in possible invasion in Normandy.
“Operation Carbo”.

4. D-Day
The biggest ever amphibious operation begins – early hours of June 6, 1944.
Paratroopers in action.
Five assault areas: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches.
Birthdays and their impact on war – Rommel was out to Germany for his wife’s birthday and nearly the whole German staff was drunk due to the birthday of Gen. Erich Marcks.
Hitler does not believe that it is real invasion and rejects the plan of moving all panzer troops to Normandy.
Results of first day of battle.

5. The Battle for Build-Up
Battle in the Bocage (boscage).
Battle for Caen. Montgomery’s mistakes near Caen.
Hitler’s secret weapon: V-1 and V-2 (pronounce as fau-1 and fau-2).
Allies need a port.
Storm.
Cherbourg is taken, but its port is unusable for a while.
Caen taken at last (on July 9 instead of June 6).
Germans believe at last that this is the only invasion which will be in Northern France.
Results of Allied landing.
Preparations for new attacks on Germans.