On the morning of June 6, 1944, Allied forces landed some 156,000 troops on 5 beaches along a 50-mile stretch of France's Normandy region -- one of the largest amphibious assaults in history. Preparation took 6 months. Secrecy was a priority. Tactics included inflated armament and false information to lead the Nazis to believe the invasion would come at Pas-de-Calais instead of Normandy. The troops and equipment was loaded and the invading force set out. The invasion began at 6:30 AM.
Paratroopers were dropped the night before to capture advanced locations and confuse the Germans. Some worked; some did not. The plan for British, Canadian, and American forces were to capture 5 beachheads. Some worked; some did not. American losses at Omaha Beach exceeded 2,000 on the first day. Estimates are that 4,000 Allied troops died in the invasion. On the German side, confusion worked to the invaders' advantage. Rommel who commanded the region was on leave. Defenses he had ordered had not yet been placed. Calls to Berlin for assistance were delayed because they were afraid to wake the Fuhrer. And the element of surprise certainly produced the results they had hoped for. By June 11 the beaches were secured and more than 326,000 troops, 50,000 vehicles, and 100,000 tons of equipment were ashore.
Because of the courage and dedication, the invasion was a success. The tide had turned on the Nazi juggernaut. The end of the war was less than a year away. France was liberated, Germany invaded, and in May, 1945, Germany surrendered. Today we remember those who fought and those who died for freedom in Europe.
3 comments:
We have a tradition of watching the 1962 movie, "The Longest Day," each year on June 6th. Helps to remember the sacrifices these men made.
(Incidentally, this movie led me to be a paratrooper.)
Read the book as a kid. Watched the movie later. Loved them both. (Although the book didn't have as many big names in it.)
As much reading as I did in high school, and as much study of WWII I did then, I never read the book!!! I guess the thickness of it kept me from doing so. Two years ago I finally decided to read it when I saw an anniversary edition in an 8X10 format which included lots of photos and documents from Ryan's collections which really added to the original.
Similarly, I have seen the movie "A Bridge Too Far," many times, including when it first came out in 1977. I still own the DVD but this weekend it will be out in our garage sale. I finally bought that book and just finished it in April.
I also learned that Ryan had a third book, "The Last Battle," of which I never knew he wrote. Since I have the other two I purchased this one in October 2020 but it is still waiting its turn to be read.
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