Operation Overlord
Many years have passed since the famous Allied landing in Normandy. And disputes still do not subside - did the Soviet army need this help - after all, the turning point in the war has already come?
In 1944, when it was already clear that the war would soon come to a victorious end, a decision was made on the participation of allied forces in World War II. Preparations for the operation began as early as 1943, after the famous Tehran Conference, at which he finally managed to find a common language with Roosevelt.
While the Soviet army fought fierce battles, the British and Americans carefully prepared for the upcoming invasion. As English military encyclopedias say on this subject: “The Allies had sufficient time to prepare the operation with the care and thoughtfulness that its complexity required, they had the initiative and the opportunity to freely choose the time and place of landing on their side.” Of course, it is strange for us to read about “sufficient time”, when thousands of soldiers died every day in our country ...
Operation Overlorod was to be carried out both on land and at sea (its marine part was codenamed Neptune). Her tasks were as follows: “To land on the coast of Normandy. Concentrate the forces and means necessary for a decisive battle in the region of Normandy, Brittany, and break through the enemy defenses there. With two army groups to pursue the enemy on a wide front, concentrating the main efforts on the left flank in order to capture the ports we need, reach the borders of Germany and create a threat to the Ruhr. On the right flank, our troops will link up with the forces that will invade France from the south."
One involuntarily marvels at the caution of Western politicians, who took a long time choosing the moment for the landing and postponing it day after day. The final decision was made in the summer of 1944. Churchill writes about this in his memoirs: “Thus, we approached an operation that the Western powers could rightfully consider the culmination of the war. Although the road ahead might be long and hard, we had every reason to be confident that we would win a decisive victory. The Russian armies expelled the German invaders from their country. Everything that Hitler had so quickly won from the Russians three years earlier was lost to them with enormous losses in men and equipment. Crimea was cleared. The Polish borders were reached. Romania and Bulgaria were desperate to avoid revenge from the eastern victors. From day to day, a new Russian offensive was to begin, timed to coincide with our landing on the continent.
That is, the moment was the most suitable, and the Soviet troops prepared everything for the successful performance of the allies ...
combat power
The landing was to be carried out in the north-east of France, on the coast of Normandy. The Allied troops should have stormed the coast, and then set off to liberate the land territories. The military headquarters hoped that the operation would be successful, since Hitler and his military leaders believed that landings from the sea were practically impossible in this area - the coastline was too complicated and the current was strong. Therefore, the Normandy coast area was weakly fortified by German troops, which increased the chances of victory.
But at the same time, Hitler did not think in vain that an enemy landing on this territory was impossible - the Allies had to rack their brains a lot, thinking about how to carry out a landing in such impossible conditions, how to overcome all difficulties and gain a foothold on an unequipped coast ...
By the summer of 1944, significant allied forces were concentrated in the British Isles - as many as four armies: the 1st and 3rd American, 2nd British and 1st Canadian, which included 39 divisions, 12 separate brigades and 10 detachments of the British and American marines. The air force was represented by thousands of fighters and bombers. The fleet under the leadership of the English Admiral B. Ramsey consisted of thousands of warships and boats, landing and auxiliary ships.
According to a carefully worked out plan, the naval and airborne troops were to land in Normandy over a stretch of about 80 km. It was assumed that 5 infantry, 3 airborne divisions and several detachments of marines would land on the coast on the first day. The landing zone was divided into two areas - in one, American troops were to operate, and in the second, British troops, reinforced by allies from Canada.
The main burden in this operation fell on the navy, which was to carry out the delivery of troops, provide cover for the landing force and fire support for the crossing. Aviation should have covered the landing area from the air, disrupted enemy communications, and suppressed enemy defenses. But the infantry, led by the English General B. Montgomery, had to experience the most difficult ...
Judgment Day
The landing was scheduled for June 5, but due to bad weather, it had to be postponed for a day. On the morning of June 6, 1944, the great battle began...
Here is how the British Military Encyclopedia describes it: “Never has any of the coasts suffered what the coast of France had to endure this morning. In parallel, shelling from ships and bombardment from the air were carried out. Along the entire front of the invasion, the ground was cluttered with debris from the explosions; shells from naval guns punched holes in the fortifications, and tons of bombs rained down on them from the sky... shore."
In the roar and explosions, the landing began landing on the shore, and by evening, significant allied forces appeared on the territory captured by the enemy. But at the same time they had to suffer considerable losses. During the landing, thousands of servicemen of the American, British, Canadian armies were killed ... Almost every second soldier was killed - such a heavy price had to be paid for the opening of a second front. Here is how the veterans remember it: “I was 18. And it was very hard for me to watch the guys die. I just prayed to God to let me come home. And many did not return.
“I tried to help at least someone: I quickly injected and wrote on the forehead of the wounded man that I had injected him. And then we collected the fallen comrades. You know, when you're 21, it's too hard, especially if there are hundreds of them. Some bodies surfaced after a few days, weeks. My fingers went through them…”
Thousands of young lives were cut short on this inhospitable French coast, but the task of command was completed. On June 11, 1944, Stalin sent a telegram to Churchill: “As you can see, the mass landing, undertaken on a grandiose scale, was a complete success. My colleagues and I cannot but admit that the history of warfare knows no other such enterprise in breadth of conception, grandeur of scale and mastery of execution.
The allied troops continued their victorious offensive, liberating one town after another. By July 25, Normandy was practically cleared of the enemy. The Allies lost 122,000 men between June 6 and July 23. The losses of the German troops amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, as well as 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft. But as a result of the operation, Germany found itself between two fires and was forced to wage war on two fronts.
Until now, disputes continue whether it was necessary for the participation of the allies in the war. Some are sure that our army itself would have successfully coped with all the difficulties. Many are annoyed by the fact that Western history textbooks very often talk about the fact that the Second World War was actually won by British and American troops, and the bloody sacrifices and battles of Soviet soldiers are not mentioned at all ...
Yes, most likely, our troops would have coped with the Nazi army on their own. Only it would have happened later, and many more of our soldiers would not have returned from the war ... Of course, the opening of the second front hastened the end of the war. It is only a pity that the Allies took part in hostilities only in 1944, although they could have done this much earlier. And then the terrible victims of the Second World War would be several times less ...
"Second front". For three years it was opened by our soldiers. That's what the American stew was called. And yet the "second front" existed in the form of aircraft, tanks, trucks, non-ferrous metals. But the real opening of the second front, the landing in Normandy, took place only on June 6, 1944.
Europe as one impregnable fortress
In December 1941, Adolf Hitler announced that he would create a belt of giant fortifications from Norway to Spain and this would be an insurmountable front for any enemy. This was the Führer's first reaction to the US entry into World War II. Not knowing where the landing of the allied troops would take place, in Normandy or elsewhere, he promised to turn all of Europe into an impregnable fortress.
It was absolutely impossible to do this, however, for another year no fortifications were built along the coastline. And why was it done? The Wehrmacht was advancing on all fronts, and the victory of the Germans by themselves seemed simply inevitable.
Start of construction
At the end of 1942, Hitler now seriously ordered the construction of a belt of structures on the western coast of Europe, which he called the Atlantic Wall, in a year. Nearly 600,000 people worked on the construction. All of Europe was left without cement. Even materials from the old French Maginot line were used, but it was not possible to meet the deadline. The main thing was missing - well-trained and armed troops. The Eastern Front literally devoured the German divisions. So many units in the west had to be formed from the elderly, children and women. The combat effectiveness of such troops did not inspire any optimism in the commander-in-chief on the Western Front, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. He repeatedly asked the Fuhrer for reinforcements. Hitler eventually sent Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to help him.
New curator
The aged Gerd von Rundstedt and the energetic Erwin Rommel did not get along right away. Rommel did not like that the Atlantic Wall was only half built, there were not enough large-caliber guns, and despondency reigned among the troops. In private conversations, Gerd von Rundstedt called the defenses a bluff. He believed that his units should be withdrawn from the coast and attack the Allied landing site in Normandy after. Erwin Rommel strongly disagreed with this. He intended to defeat the British and Americans right on the shore, where they could not bring reinforcements.
To do this, it was necessary to concentrate tank and motorized divisions off the coast. Erwin Rommel declared: “The war will be won or lost on these sands. The first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive. The landing of troops in Normandy will go down in military history as one of the most unsuccessful thanks to the valiant German army. In general, Adolf Hitler approved of Erwin Rommel's plan, but left the panzer divisions under his command.
The coastline is getting stronger
Even under these conditions, Erwin Rommel did a lot. Almost the entire coast of French Normandy was mined, and tens of thousands of metal and wooden slingshots were installed below the water level at low tide. It seemed that an amphibious landing in Normandy was impossible. The barrier structures were supposed to stop the landing craft so that the coastal artillery had time to shoot at enemy targets. The troops were engaged in combat training without interruption. There was not a single part of the coast left that Erwin Rommel would not have visited.
Everything is ready for defense, you can rest
In April 1944, he would say to his adjutant: "Today I have only one enemy, and that enemy is time." All these worries so exhausted Erwin Rommel that in early June he went on a short vacation, however, like many German military commanders on the west coast. Those who did not go on vacation, by a strange coincidence, ended up on business trips far from the coast. The generals and officers who remained on the ground were calm and relaxed. The weather forecast until mid-June was the most unsuitable for the landing. Therefore, the Allied landing in Normandy seemed something unrealistic and fantastic. Heavy seas, squally winds and low clouds. No one guessed that an unprecedented armada of ships had already left English ports.
Great battles. Landing in Normandy
The Normandy landings were called "Overlord" by the Allies. Literally translated, it means "ruler". It became the largest landing operation in the history of mankind. The landing of the allied forces in Normandy took place with the participation of 5,000 warships and landing craft. The commander-in-chief of the allied forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, could not postpone the landing because of the weather. Only three days - from June 5 to June 7 - there was a late moon, and immediately after dawn - low water. The condition for the transfer of paratroopers and landing on gliders was a dark sky and moonrise during landing. The low tide was necessary for the amphibious assault to see the coastal barriers. In stormy seas, thousands of paratroopers suffered from seasickness in the cramped holds of boats and barges. Several dozen ships could not withstand the assault and sank. But nothing could stop the operation. The landing in Normandy begins. The troops were to land at five places along the coast.
Beginning of Operation Overlord
At 0:15 on June 6, 1944, the sovereign entered the land of Europe. The operation was started by paratroopers. Eighteen thousand paratroopers scattered across the lands of Normandy. However, not everyone is lucky. About half ended up in swamps and minefields, but the other half completed their tasks. Panic broke out in the German rear. Communication lines were destroyed, and, most importantly, undamaged strategically important bridges were captured. By this time, the marines were already fighting on the coast.
The landing of American troops in Normandy was on the sandy beaches of Omaha and Utah, the British and Canadians landed on the sites of Sword, June and Gold. Warships fought a duel with coastal artillery, trying, if not to suppress, then at least to distract it from the paratroopers. Thousands of allied aircraft simultaneously bombed and stormed German positions. One English pilot recalled that the main task was not to collide with each other in the sky. The advantage of the Allies in the air was 72:1.
Memories of a German ace
On the morning and afternoon of June 6, the Luftwaffe offered no resistance to the coalition troops. Only two German pilots appeared in the landing area, this is the commander of the 26th Fighter Squadron - the famous ace Josef Priller, and his wingman.
Josef Priller (1915-1961) got tired of listening to confusing explanations of what was happening on the shore, and he flew out on reconnaissance. Seeing thousands of ships at sea and thousands of aircraft in the air, he ironically exclaimed: "Today is truly a great day for the pilots of the Luftwaffe." Indeed, never before have the Reich Air Force been so powerless. Two planes swept low over the beach, firing cannons and machine guns, and disappeared into the clouds. That's all they could do. When the mechanics examined the plane of the German ace, it turned out that there were more than two hundred bullet holes in it.
Allied assault continues
The Nazi navy did a little better. Three torpedo boats in a suicide attack by the invasion fleet managed to sink one American destroyer. The landing of the Allied troops in Normandy, namely the British and Canadians, did not meet with serious resistance in their areas. In addition, they managed to safely transport tanks and guns ashore. The Americans, especially in the Omaha section, were much less fortunate. Here the defense of the Germans was held by the 352nd division, which consisted of veterans fired on different fronts.
The Germans let the paratroopers to four hundred meters and opened heavy fire. Almost all the American boats approached the shore east of the given places. They were swept away by a strong current, and thick smoke from fires made it difficult to navigate. The sapper platoons were almost destroyed, so there was no one to make passes in the minefields. The panic began. Then several destroyers came close to the shore and began to hit the German positions with direct fire. The 352nd Division did not remain in debt to the sailors, the ships were seriously damaged, but the paratroopers under their cover were able to break through the German defenses. Thanks to this, in all areas of the landing, the Americans and the British were able to move several miles forward.
Trouble for the Fuhrer
A few hours later, when Adolf Hitler woke up, Field Marshals Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl cautiously reported to him that the Allied landings seemed to have begun. Since there were no exact data, the Fuhrer did not believe them. Panzer divisions remained in their places. At this time, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was sitting at home and also did not really know anything. The German military leaders lost their time. The attacks of the following days and weeks yielded nothing. The Atlantic Wall collapsed. The allies entered the operational space. Everything was decided in the first twenty-four hours. The Allied landing in Normandy took place.
Historic D-Day
A huge army crossed the English Channel and landed in France. The first day of the offensive was called D-day. The task is to gain a foothold on the coast and drive the Nazis out of Normandy. But bad weather in the strait could lead to disaster. The English Channel is famous for its storms. In a matter of minutes, visibility could drop to 50 meters. Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower required a minute-by-minute weather report. All responsibility fell on the chief meteorologist and his team.
Allied military assistance in the fight against the Nazis
1944 World War II has been going on for four years now. The Germans occupied all of Europe. The forces of the allies of Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States need a decisive blow. Intelligence reported that the Germans would soon begin to use guided missiles and atomic bombs. An energetic offensive was supposed to interrupt the plans of the Nazis. The easiest way is to go through the occupied territories, for example through France. The secret name of the operation is "Overlord".
The landing in Normandy of 150,000 Allied soldiers was scheduled for May 1944. They were supported by transport aircraft, bombers, fighters and a flotilla of 6,000 ships. The offensive was commanded by Dwight Eisenhower. The date of the landing was kept in the strictest confidence. At the first stage, the landing in Normandy in 1944 was to capture more than 70 kilometers of the French coast. The exact areas of the assault on the German troops were kept a closely guarded secret. The Allies chose five beaches from east to west.
Commander-in-Chief's Alerts
May 1, 1944 could potentially become the start date for Operation Overlord, but this day was abandoned due to the unavailability of the troops. For military and political reasons, the operation was postponed to the beginning of June.
In his memoirs, Dwight Eisenhower wrote: "If this operation, the landing of the Americans in Normandy, does not take place, then only I will be to blame." At midnight on June 6, Operation Overlord begins. Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower personally visits the 101st Air Division just before the flight. Everyone understood that up to 80% of the soldiers would not survive this assault.
"Overlord": a chronicle of events
The airborne landing in Normandy was to be the first to take place on the shores of France. However, everything went wrong. The pilots of the two divisions needed good visibility, they were not supposed to drop troops into the sea, but they did not see anything. The paratroopers disappeared into the clouds and landed a few kilometers from the collection point. Then the bombers had to clear the way for the amphibious assault. But they did not fix their goals.
12,000 bombs were to be dropped on Omaha Beach to destroy all obstacles. But when the bombers reached the coast of France, the pilots found themselves in a difficult situation. There were clouds all around. The bulk of the bombs fell ten kilometers south of the beach. Allied gliders were ineffective.
At 3.30 in the morning the flotilla headed for the shores of Normandy. A few hours later, the soldiers boarded small wooden boats to finally get to the beach. Huge waves rocked small boats like matchboxes in the cold waters of the English Channel. Only at dawn did the Allied amphibious landing in Normandy begin (see photo below).
Death awaited the soldiers on the shore. There were obstacles around, anti-tank hedgehogs, everything around was mined. The Allied fleet bombarded the German positions, but strong storm waves interfered with aimed fire.
The first landed soldiers were waiting for the furious fire of German machine guns and cannons. Soldiers died by the hundreds. But they continued to fight. It seemed like a real miracle. Despite the most powerful German barriers and bad weather, the largest landing force in history began its offensive. Allied soldiers continued to land on the 70-kilometer coast of Normandy. In the afternoon, the clouds over Normandy began to dissipate. The main obstacle for the allies was the Atlantic Wall, a system of permanent fortifications and rocks that protect the coast of Normandy.
The soldiers began to climb the coastal cliffs. The Germans fired on them from above. By the middle of the day, the Allied troops began to outnumber the fascist garrison of Normandy.
An old soldier remembers
Private American Army Harold Gaumbert, 65 years later, recalls that closer to midnight, all machine guns fell silent. All Nazis were killed. D-Day is over. The landing in Normandy, the date of which is June 6, 1944, took place. The Allies lost almost 10,000 soldiers, but they captured all the beaches. It seemed that the beach was flooded with bright red paint and scattered bodies. Wounded soldiers were dying under the starry sky, while thousands of others moved forward to continue the fight against the enemy.
Continuation of the assault
Operation Overlord has entered its next phase. The task is to liberate France. On the morning of June 7, a new obstacle appeared before the Allies. Impenetrable forests have become another obstacle to attack. The intertwined roots of the Norman forests were stronger than the English ones on which the soldiers trained. The troops had to bypass them. The Allies continued to pursue the retreating German troops. The Nazis fought desperately. They used these forests because they learned to hide in them.
D-Day was just a battle won, the war was just beginning for the Allies. The troops the Allies encountered on the beaches of Normandy were not the elite of the Nazi army. The days of heavy fighting began.
The scattered divisions could be defeated by the Nazis at any moment. They had time to regroup and replenish their ranks. On June 8, 1944, the battle for Carentan began, this city opens the way to Cherbourg. It took more than four days to break the resistance of the German army.
On June 15, the Utah and Omaha forces finally united. They took several cities and continued their offensive on the Cotentin Peninsula. The forces united and moved in the direction of Cherbourg. For two weeks, the German troops offered the most severe resistance to the Allied. On June 27, 1944, Allied troops entered Cherbourg. Now their ships had their own port.
Last attack
At the end of the month, the next phase of the Allied offensive in Normandy, Operation Cobra, began. This time the target was Cannes and Saint Lo. The troops began to advance deep into France. But the Allied offensive was opposed by serious resistance from the Nazis.
A French resistance movement led by General Philippe Leclerc helped the Allies enter Paris. Happy Parisians welcomed the liberators with joy.
On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his own bunker. Seven days later, the German government signed an unconditional surrender pact. The war in Europe was over.
The success of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, exceeded all expectations. Particularly due to the fact that Allied intelligence had tricked Hitler around his finger with a series of clever cover-ups.
Much of the credit for getting the Germans through like children can be attributed to ace pilot, World War I hero Christopher Draper, also known as the "Mad Major." Draper loved to fly under bridges, a stunt he did during World War I and repeated for the public in London, flying under 12 bridges, says Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø, strategy teacher at the Norwegian Forces Command School in Akershus Oslo).
- Between the two world wars, Draper was invited to various events with the participation of ace pilots in Germany, he became friends, in particular, with the legendary German ace Major Eduard Ritter von Schleich (Eduard Ritter von Schleich). He was introduced to Adolf Hitler, who was delighted with him, says Oudstebø.
Double agent
In England, Draper was highly critical of the government's policy towards war veterans. Therefore, the Germans decided that he could be recruited for espionage and turned to him with this proposal. Draper agreed to become a German spy, but immediately contacted MI5, British intelligence, and became an incredibly valuable double agent for the British.
- Draper and other double agents contributed to the fact that almost all German agents sent to the UK were arrested. They were given a choice: either to part with their lives, or to start working for British intelligence. This operation was called “Double Cross” (Double Cross, Double Cross), explains Udstebø.
“Thanks to this, British intelligence gained a huge advantage: everything that these agents sent to German intelligence was written by the British! And this contributed to the fact that many of the diversion operations carried out on the eve of the day of the landings in Normandy were so successful, says Oudstebø.
— VG: What distracting operations do you mean?
— Palle Udstebø: They started in 1943. And the landing of the Allies in North Africa, and later in Sicily, came as a complete surprise to the Nazis, because they thought that Greece would be the target of the invasion.
Dressing up corpses
— How did it happen?
- The Allies obtained the corpse of a man from one of the London mortuaries, dressed him in the uniform of a Navy officer and provided him with papers that described in detail the "planned" landing in Greece by the Allies. And then this "officer" was accidentally washed ashore in Spain, which was neutral and teeming with spies, in particular German ones, - says the lieutenant colonel.
The operation was codenamed "Mincemeat" (minced meat).
Context
Remembering your feat in Normandy
El País 06.06.2014Normandy: preparations for the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings
Le Monde 05.06.2014What did the Germans think on the eve of the landing in Normandy?
Atlantico 05/29/2013 In 1944, the Germans knew that the invasion would take place, they knew that somewhere on the French coast, but did not know exactly where. The Allies wanted to give the Germans a plausible alternative to Normandy, namely the Dover Canal, the shortest route across the English Channel.- Then the allies formed the First US Army Group (First US Army Group, FUSAG) under the command of General Patton. Hitler treated him with respect after fighting in North Africa and Sicily. The army group was stationed in Kent in the southeast of England. Thousands of fake vehicles and tanks were also placed here. Large Canadian forces were also concentrated in the same place. But the main forces, the real ones, were located much to the west, in the south of England, explains Udstebø.
Cracked German cipher
One of the most important elements was the observance of complete secrecy. Very few people knew where the landing would really take place. The troops were in complete isolation. The Allies had complete control of the airspace over England and gave the Germans no chance to see anything, except for those places where fake troops and tanks were stationed.
“The radio messages were redirected over the cable to this fake area so that the Germans would think that they were coming from there when they listened to them. And, of course, the most important thing was that the allies, using the Ultra code, cracked the German Enigma cipher, and the Germans did not know about it - military intelligence could only dream of such a situation, ”says the lieutenant colonel.
Even after D-Day on 6 June, the Allies maintained the illusion that the next big invasion would be through the Straits of Dover, and Normandy was just a major red herring. In doing so, they prevented Hitler from giving the order to throw the last armored reserves into Normandy before the Allied forces were firmly established in Normandy and established a solid foothold there, says Oudstebø.
Could the Germans push the Allies back to the sea?
- Unlikely. But they could have seriously slowed down the landing, and as a result, Stalin's troops could well have been on the Rhine in May 1945, and not on the Elbe in the east, as happened in reality. And then the post-war history, quite likely, would have looked very different, - reflects Udstebø.
- And what did the Germans do wrong - besides the fact that their intelligence was bypassed?
- Erwin Rommel, who commanded the troops in Normandy, wanted to place armored forces closer to the coast. The Desert Fox knew from the experience of North Africa that, since the Allies had complete air supremacy, large movements of such forces were unlikely to go unnoticed. In addition, he was convinced that the landing would take place in Normandy. But other generals, led by the supreme commander of the entire Western Front, Gerd von Rundstedt, wanted the armored forces to remain in reserve - to ensure flexibility. On the Eastern Front, where the Luftwaffe dominated the air, it was the right strategy, but the same could not be said for northern France in 1944, says Oudstebø.
Didn't dare wake up Hitler
What did Hitler think?
- As usual, he turned the generals against each other, advocated a compromise, and controlled a large armored reserve himself. As a result, there was no consistent plan proposed by higher management. In addition, when the Allied landings began, Hitler was asleep, and no one dared to wake him. Hitler did not get up before 12 noon, which meant that the Germans could not decide for a long time whether to use tanks or not, says Oudsteboe.
- From the point of view of a professional military: was the landing successful?
Yes, she exceeded all expectations. The Allied forces landed, seized a sufficient foothold and received what they needed on the shore. Much of the credit goes to Mulberry, an artificial, newly invented system of temporary shore facilities. And most importantly: human losses were much lower than expected (it was assumed that the losses among paratroopers would be 80%). Only Omaha Beach, where the Americans had a hard time, was an exception, says Lieutenant Colonel Palle Udstebø.
Facts about the Allied landings in Normandy
■ On June 6, 1944, during the Second World War, the Allied landings in Normandy began. The operation was codenamed "Neptune" and was the largest landing craft operation in the world. She became the first part of Operation Overlord, the battle for Normandy.
■ Five beaches were chosen as landing targets: American troops were to attack the beaches code-named Omaha and Utah in the west, the British on Gold, the Canadians on Juneau, and the British also on Sword in the very east. The entire landing was carried out on a coastline 83 kilometers long.
■ The Supreme Commander was General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The ground forces were commanded by Bernard Law Montgomery.
■ A total of 132,000 troops and 24,000 paratroopers took part in the attack from the sea.
■ By the end of August, more than two million Allied soldiers were participating in the battle in Normandy, they were opposed by approximately one million Germans.
■ When Operation Overlord ended on August 25, the Allied losses amounted to 226,386 people, the Germans lost from 400,000 to 450,000.
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
The landing of Anglo-American troops in Normandy was the largest amphibious operation in history, in which about 7,000 ships took part. It owes much of its success to careful preparation.
The decision to open a Second Front - a large-scale invasion of Western France - was taken by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In January 1943, at a conference in Casablanca, the leaders of the two countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition discussed current problems along with members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Great Britain. In pursuance of the decision, the General Staffs of both countries formed a working group headed by British General Frederick Morgan, which began to develop a plan for a future operation.
OPERATION OVERLORD
The preparation of the operation, called "Overlord" (Overlord), was carried out by the Anglo-American command carefully and on a large scale. The production of landing and anti-submarine weapons, special equipment and weapons necessary for the landing was sharply expanded, extremely expensive collapsible artificial harbors "Mulberry" were developed and built, which were then planned to be assembled on the French coast. In England, special access roads for equipment were brought to the places of intended loading. At the end of May 1944, the troops were concentrated in the assembly areas, after which emergency measures were taken to ensure secrecy. At first it was planned to start the operation in May, but then Bernard Montgomery insisted on landing also on the Cotentin Peninsula (the future Utah site), so D-Day, the landing date, had to be slightly shifted. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, American General Dwight Eisenhower, on May 8, 1944, set the final date - June 5. But on June 4, the weather suddenly deteriorated and the landing was canceled. The next day, the weather service reported to Eisenhower that the weather would improve slightly on June 6. The general ordered to prepare for the landing.
D-DAY
The operation in Normandy, called "Neptune" (Neptune), was an integral part of the larger-scale operation "Overlord", which provided for the clearance of German troops from all of North-West France. During Operation Neptune, 156,000 British and American troops were to land on the Channel Coast. Previously, in the first hour of the night, 24,000 paratroopers were thrown behind enemy lines, who were supposed to cause panic in the ranks of the enemy and capture strategically important objects.
The main stage of the operation - the very landing of British and American troops from the ships - began at 6:30 in the morning. For landing, the Allied command, after much thought and discussion, chose the 80-kilometer section of the Normandy coast from the mouth of the Orne River to the commune of Ozville (Montbourg canton, Cherbourg-Octeville district, Manche department). In total, the landing was carried out at five sites: on three - "Gold" (Gold), "Juno" (Juno) and "Sword" (Sword) - the troops of the 2nd British Army landed, on two - "Utah" (Utah) and " Omaha "(Omaha) - 1st US Army.
LANDING OF THE BRITISH TROOPS
83,115 people landed on British sites (including 61,715 British, the rest Canadians). In the "Gold" sector, the British troops managed with relatively small losses to suppress the German units defending here and break through the line of their fortifications.
The fact that the British troops in this area managed to successfully break through into the depths of French territory was largely made possible thanks to the use of special equipment - Sherman tanks, equipped with Hobbart trawls for clearing minefields. In the Juno sector, the brunt of the fighting fell on the shoulders of the Canadians, who faced fierce resistance from the German 716th Infantry Division. Nevertheless, after a heavy battle, the Canadians still managed to gain a foothold in the coastal bridgehead, and then push the enemy back and establish contact with British troops landing in neighboring areas.
Despite the fact that the Canadians failed to fully fulfill the task, they managed to gain a foothold in their positions and did not jeopardize the further course of the operation. At the Sword sector, the British troops quickly crushed the enemy's weak parts on the coast, but then went to the 2nd, stronger, line of defense, where their advance stalled. Then they were counterattacked by motorized units of the 21st German Panzer Division. Although the losses of the British were generally small, they could not complete the main task - to take the French city of Caen - they could not reach it only six kilometers.
By the end of D-Day, despite occasional setbacks, it could be stated that the landing of the British troops had taken place, and the losses for such a complex operation were quite low.
D-Day: American Sectors
The landing of American troops on June 6, 1944 took place in difficult conditions, and at some point the American command even considered canceling the operation and withdrawing the troops that had already landed.
In the American sector of the Channel Coast, units of the 1st US Army landed - a total of 73 thousand soldiers, including 15,600 paratroopers. During the first stage of Operation Neptune, an airborne assault was carried out, which made up parts of the 82nd and 101st American airborne divisions. The landing zone is behind the Utah site on the Cotentin Peninsula, north of the city of Carentan.
UTAH PLOT
The task of the American paratroopers was to capture the dams through the meadows and bridges flooded by the Germans in the area of the cities of Saint-Mer-Eglise and Carentan. They were successful: the Germans did not expect a landing here and did not prepare for a serious rebuff. As a result, the paratroopers reached their intended targets, pinning down the enemy at Sainte-Mer-Eglise. This town became the first French settlement liberated during the Normandy campaign.
The amphibious landing on the Utah sector was carried out almost perfectly. First, shells from the main caliber of American warships hit the positions of the weak 709th German stationary division. They were followed by an armada of medium bombers, completely undermining the will to resist the already not very reliable enemy units. Exactly at 06:30, as planned, elements of the 4th American Infantry Division began to land. They approached a few kilometers south of the planned area, which played into their hands - the coastal fortifications here turned out to be much weaker. One after another, waves of landing troops landed on the shore, crushing the demoralized German units.
The losses of American troops in the Utah sector amounted to only 197 people killed; even the losses of the US fleet were greater - a destroyer, two infantry landing boats and three small tank landing ships were blown up and sunk by mines. At the same time, all the goals set for the troops were achieved: more than 21 thousand soldiers and officers, 1,700 pieces of equipment landed on the shore, a 10 x 10 km bridgehead was created and contacts were established with American paratroopers and troops in neighboring areas.
OMAHA PLOT
Whereas on the Utah section events unfolded according to plan, on the eight-kilometer Omaha section, stretching from Saint-Honorine-de-Perthe to Vierville-sur-Mer, the situation was completely different. Although here the German troops (352nd Infantry Division) consisted largely of inexperienced and poorly trained soldiers, they occupied fairly well-trained positions along the coast. The operation went wrong from the start.
Because of the fog, naval artillery and bomber aircraft, which were supposed to suppress the enemy's defenses, could not find targets and did not inflict any damage on the German positions. Following them, difficulties began for the crews of the landing ships, who also could not bring them to the planned targets. When the American soldiers began to get ashore, they came under heavy fire from the Germans who occupied convenient positions. Losses began to grow rapidly, and panic began to develop in the ranks of the landing troops. It was at this moment that the commander of the 1st American Army, General Omar Bradley, came to the conclusion that the operation had failed and was going to stop the landing, and evacuate the troops that had already landed on Omaha from the Normandy coast. It was only by a miracle that Operation Neptune did not fail. With great efforts, American sappers managed to break through several passages in the defenses and minefields of the enemy, but traffic jams immediately formed at these narrow passages. Pandemonium on the coastal line did not allow new troops to land.
Now the Americans acted only in scattered groups, who tried at least somewhere to hide from German fire. By the evening of June 6, the Americans, at the cost of heavy losses, managed to capture only two small bridgeheads. And yet, Operation Neptune ended successfully in all areas. The necessary bridgeheads with a depth of 3-5 km and the prerequisites for the development of Operation Overlord were created. The losses of the American army in the Omaha sector amounted to about 3 thousand people, the Germans lost about 1200 people.
You might be interested:
Allied landings in Normandy
(Operation Overlord) and
fighting in northwestern France
summer 1944
Preparations for the Normandy landing operation
By the summer of 1944, the situation in the theaters of military operations in Europe had changed significantly. Germany's situation has deteriorated significantly. On the Soviet-German front, Soviet troops inflicted major defeats on the Wehrmacht in the Right-Bank Ukraine and in the Crimea. In Italy, the Allied troops were south of Rome. A real possibility was created for the landing of American-British troops in France.
Under these conditions, the United States and England began to prepare for the landing of their troops in Northern France ( Operation Overlord) and in southern France (Operation Envil).
For Normandy landing operation("Overlord") four armies concentrated in the British Isles: the 1st and 3rd American, the 2nd British and the 1st Canadian. These armies consisted of 37 divisions (23 infantry, 10 armored, 4 airborne) and 12 brigades, as well as 10 detachments of English "commandos" and American "Rangers" (airborne sabotage units).
The total number of forces invading Northern France reached 1 million people. To support the Normandy landing operation, a fleet of 6,000 military and landing ships and transport ships was concentrated.
The Normandy landing operation was attended by British, American and Canadian troops, Polish formations, which were subordinate to the government in exile in London, and French formations formed by the French Committee of National Liberation (“Fighting France”), which proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of France on the eve of the landing.
The overall command of the American-British forces was carried out by American General Dwight Eisenhower. The landing operation was commanded by the commander 21st Army Group English Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The 21st Army Group included the 1st American (commander General O. Bradley), the 2nd British (commander General M. Dempsey) and the 1st Canadian (commander General H. Grerar) armies.
The plan of the Normandy landing operation provided for the forces of the 21st Army Group to land naval and airborne assault forces on the coast Normandy on the section from the Grand Vey bank to the mouth of the Orne River, about 80 km long. On the twentieth day of the operation, it was supposed to create a bridgehead 100 km along the front and 100-110 km in depth.
The landing area was divided into two zones - western and eastern. American troops were to land in the western zone, and Anglo-Canadian troops in the eastern zone. The western zone was divided into two sections, the eastern - into three. At the same time, one infantry division, reinforced with additional units, began to land on each of these sectors. In the depths of the German defense, 3 Allied airborne divisions landed (10-15 km from the coast). On the 6th day of the operation, it was supposed to advance to a depth of 15–20 km and increase the number of divisions in the bridgehead to sixteen.
Preparations for the Normandy landing operation lasted three months. On June 3-4, the troops allocated for the landing of the first wave headed for the loading points - the ports of Falmouth, Plymouth, Weymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Newhaven. The start of the landing was planned for June 5, but due to bad weather conditions it was postponed to June 6.
Operation Overlord Plan
German defense in Normandy
The Wehrmacht High Command expected the Allied invasion, but it could not determine in advance either the time or, most importantly, the place of the future landing. On the eve of the landing, a storm continued for several days, the weather forecast was bad, and the German command believed that in such weather a landing was impossible at all. The commander of the German troops in France, Field Marshal Rommel, just on the eve of the Allied landings, went on vacation to Germany and learned about the invasion only more than three hours after it began.
In the German main command of the ground forces in the West (in France, Belgium and Holland), there were only 58 incompletely equipped divisions. Some of them were "stationary" (did not have their own transport). In Normandy, there were only 12 divisions and only 160 combat-ready combat aircraft. The superiority of the grouping of allied forces intended for the Normandy landing operation ("Overlord") over the German troops opposing them in the West was: in terms of personnel - three times, in tanks - three times, in guns - 2 times and 60 times by plane.
One of three 40.6cm (406mm) guns of the German battery "Lindemann" (Lindemann)
Atlantic Wall, sweeping through the English Channel
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-364-2314-16A, Atlantikwall, Batterie "Lindemann"
Beginning of the Normandy landing operation
(Operation Overlord)
On the night before, the landing of the Allied airborne units began, in which the Americans participated: 1662 aircraft and 512 gliders, the British: 733 aircraft and 335 gliders.
On the night of June 6, 18 ships of the British fleet conducted a demonstrative maneuver in the area northeast of Le Havre. At the same time, bomber aircraft dropped strips of metallized paper to interfere with the operation of German radar stations.
At dawn on June 6, 1944, the Operation Overlord(Norman landing operation). Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing began on five sections of the coast in Normandy. The German navy offered almost no resistance to the amphibious landings.
American and British aircraft attacked enemy artillery batteries, headquarters, and defensive positions. At the same time, powerful air strikes were carried out against targets in the area of Calais and Boulogne in order to distract the enemy's attention from the actual landing site.
From the Allied naval forces, 7 battleships, 2 monitors, 24 cruisers and 74 destroyers provided artillery support for the landing.
At 6:30 in the morning in the western zone and at 7:30 in the eastern zone, the first detachments of amphibious assault landed on the shore. The American troops that landed on the extreme western sector ("Utah"), by the end of June 6, had advanced up to 10 km deep into the coast and connected with the 82nd Airborne Division.
On the Omaha sector, where the 1st American Infantry Division of the 5th Corps of the 1st American Army landed, the enemy's resistance was stubborn, and during the first day the landing parties hardly captured a small section of the coast up to 1.5–2 km deep.
In the landing zone of the Anglo-Canadian troops, enemy resistance was weak. Therefore, by the evening they connected with units of the 6th Airborne Division.
By the end of the first day of the landing, the Allied troops managed to capture three bridgeheads in Normandy with a depth of 2 to 10 km. The main forces of five infantry and three airborne divisions and one armored brigade with a total strength of more than 156 thousand people were landed. During the first day of the landing, the Americans lost 6,603 people, including 1,465 killed, the British and Canadians - about 4 thousand people killed, wounded and missing.
Continuation of the Normandy landing operation
The 709th, 352nd and 716th German infantry divisions defended in the allied landing zone on the coast. They were deployed on a front of 100 kilometers and could not repel the landings of the Allied troops.
On June 7-8, the transfer of additional Allied forces to the captured bridgeheads continued. In just three days of landing, eight infantry, one tank, three airborne divisions and a large number of separate units were parachuted.
Arrival of Allied reinforcements to the Omaha bridgehead, June 1944
Original uploader was MickStephenson at en.wikipedia
On the morning of June 9, the Allied troops located on different bridgeheads launched a counter offensive to create a single bridgehead. At the same time, the transfer of new formations and units to the captured bridgeheads continued.
On June 10, one common bridgehead was created 70 km along the front and 8-15 km in depth, which by June 12 was expanded to 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth. By this time, there were already 16 divisions on the bridgehead, which numbered 327 thousand people, 54 thousand combat and transport vehicles and 104 thousand tons of cargo.
An attempt by the German troops to destroy the Allied foothold in Normandy
To eliminate the bridgehead, the German command pulled up reserves, but believed that the main blow of the Anglo-American troops would follow through the Pas de Calais.
Operational meeting of the command of Army Group "B"
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-300-1865-10, Nordfrankreich, Dollmann, Feuchtinger, Rommel
Northern France, summer 1944. Colonel General Friedrich Dollmann (left), Lieutenant General Edgar Feuchtinger (center) and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (right).
On June 12, German troops struck between the Orn and Vir rivers in order to cut through the Allied grouping located there. The attack ended in failure. At this time, 12 German divisions were already operating against the allied forces located on the bridgehead in Normandy, of which three were armored and one was motorized. The divisions that arrived at the front were introduced into battle in parts, as they were unloaded in the landing areas. This reduced their striking power.
On the night of June 13, 1944 the Germans first used the V-1 AU-1 (V-1) projectile. London was attacked.
Expansion of the Allied foothold in Normandy
On June 12, the 1st American Army from the area west of Sainte-Mere-Eglise launched an offensive in a westerly direction and occupied Caumont. On June 17, American troops cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, reaching its western coast. On June 27, American troops captured the port of Cherbourg, taking 30 thousand people prisoner, and on July 1 they completely occupied the Cotentin Peninsula. By mid-July, the port at Cherbourg had been restored, and the supply of allied forces in Northern France increased through it.
On June 25–26, Anglo-Canadian forces made an unsuccessful attempt to take Caen. The German defense offered stubborn resistance. By the end of June, the size of the Allied bridgehead in Normandy reached: along the front - 100 km, in depth - 20 to 40 km.
A German machine gunner, whose field of vision is limited by clouds of smoke, blocks the road. Northern France, 21 June 1944
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1808-10A, Nordfrankreich, Rauchschwaden, Posten mit MG 15.
German guard post. Clouds of smoke from a fire or from smoke bombs in front of a barrier with steel hedgehogs between concrete walls. In the foreground is a sentry of the guard post with a machine gun MG 15.
The Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) still believed that the main blow of the Allies would be delivered through the Pas de Calais, so they did not dare to reinforce their troops in Normandy with formations from North-East France and Belgium. The transfer of German troops from Central and Southern France was delayed by allied air raids and sabotage by the French "resistance".
The main reason that did not allow to strengthen the German troops in Normandy was the strategic offensive of the Soviet troops in Belarus (Belarusian operation) that began in June. It was launched in accordance with an agreement with the Allies. The Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht was forced to send all reserves to the Eastern Front. In this regard, on July 15, 1944, Field Marshal E. Rommel sent a telegram to Hitler, in which he reported that since the beginning of the landing of the allied forces, the losses of Army Group B had amounted to 97 thousand people, and the reinforcements received were only 6 thousand. people
Thus, the supreme command of the Wehrmacht was unable to significantly strengthen the defensive grouping of its troops in Normandy.
United States Military Academy's Department of History
The troops of the 21st Allied Army Group continued to expand the bridgehead. On July 3, the 1st American Army went on the offensive. In 17 days, she deepened 10-15 km and occupied Saint-Lo, a major road junction.
On July 7–8, the 2nd British Army launched an offensive with three infantry divisions and three armored brigades against Caen. To suppress the defense of the German airfield division, the allies brought in naval artillery and strategic aviation. Only on July 19 the British troops completely captured the city. The 3rd American and 1st Canadian armies began to land on the bridgehead.
By the end of July 24, the troops of the 21st Allied Army Group reached the line south of Saint-Lo, Caumont, Caen. This day is considered the end of the Normandy landing operation (Operation Overlord). During the period from June 6 to July 23, German troops lost 113 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft. The losses of the allied troops amounted to 122 thousand people (73 thousand Americans and 49 thousand British and Canadians).
The Normandy landing operation ("Overlord") was the largest landing operation during the Second World War. In the period from June 6 to July 24 (7 weeks), the 21st Allied Army Group managed to land expeditionary forces in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead about 100 km along the front and up to 50 km in depth.
Fighting in France in the summer of 1944
On July 25, 1944, after a "carpet" bombardment by B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft and an impressive artillery preparation, the Allies launched a new offensive in Normandy from the Len-Lo region with the aim of breaking through from the bridgehead and entering the operational space ( Operation Cobra). On the same day, more than 2,000 American armored vehicles entered the breach towards the Brittany Peninsula and towards the Loire.
On August 1, the 12th Allied Army Group was formed under the command of the American General Omar Bradley as part of the 1st and 3rd American armies.
Breakthrough of American troops from the bridgehead in Normandy to Brittany and the Loire.
United States Military Academy's Department of History
Two weeks later, General Patton's 3rd American Army liberated the Brittany Peninsula and reached the Loire River, capturing the bridge near the city of Angers, and then moved east.
The offensive of the allied troops from Normandy to Paris.
United States Military Academy's Department of History
On August 15, the main forces of the German 5th and 7th tank armies were surrounded, in the so-called Falaise "cauldron". After 5 days of fighting (from 15 to 20), part of the German group was able to get out of the "cauldron", 6 divisions were lost.
Great assistance to the allies was provided by the French partisans of the Resistance movement, who acted on German communications and attacked the rear garrisons. General Dwight Eisenhower estimated guerrilla assistance at 15 regular divisions.
After the defeat of the Germans in the Falaise Cauldron, the allied troops rushed east almost unhindered and crossed the Seine. On August 25, with the support of the rebellious Parisians and French partisans, they liberated Paris. The Germans began to retreat to the Siegfried Line. The allied troops defeated the German troops stationed in northern France and, continuing their pursuit, entered Belgian territory and approached the Western Wall. September 3, 1944 they liberated the capital of Belgium - Brussels.
On August 15, the allied landing operation Envil began in the south of France. Churchill objected to this operation for a long time, proposing to use the troops intended for it in Italy. However, Roosevelt and Eisenhower refused to change the plans agreed upon at the Tehran Conference. According to the Anvil plan, two Allied armies, the American and the French, landed east of Marseille and moved north. Fearing being cut off, German troops in Southwestern and Southern France began to withdraw towards Germany. After the connection of the allied forces advancing from Northern and Southern France, by the end of August 1944, almost all of France was cleared of German troops.
