EntranceThe Allied landings in Normandy. Normandy Landing: Little-Known Facts
World War II. 1939–1945. Story great war Shefov Nikolay Alexandrovich
Allied landings in France
Allied landings in France
On June 6, 1944, the Allied troops began landing on the northwestern coast of France, in Normandy. The impending invasion could not be hidden. Therefore, the main question was where the landings would begin. The French coast line, which was over 2 thousand km, provided ample opportunities for choosing a landing area. This forced the Germans to disperse their limited forces over a wide front.
The time and place of the landing were kept in deep secrecy. For example, coastal areas where troops were located ready for invasion were denied access to civilians. Active work was carried out to disseminate information regarding the invasion area. German intelligence It was not possible to obtain the necessary information about the time and place of landing. As a result, the German leadership did not have accurate information. It was awaiting the Allied landing in the Pas-de-Calais Strait, where the distance between England and the mainland was minimal. The main forces were concentrated here, and also the most fortified part of the so-called “Atlantic Wall” - a system of defensive structures on the French coast. Other areas were much less protected.
The coast of Northern France, Belgium and Holland was defended by the German Army Group B under the command of Field Marshal Rommel, consisting of the 7th and 15th armies and the 88th separate building. The overall command of the German troops in the West was exercised by Field Marshal K. von Rundstedt. The Allied expeditionary forces under the command of General G. Montgomery united into the 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British, 1st Canadian Armies).
The balance of forces and means of the parties on the eve of the Allied landing in Normandy
The table shows that the Allies had an overwhelming superiority in forces. The table takes into account German troops that could have been brought in to repel the landing, including from other regions of France. But given the dominance of Allied aviation in the air and the active actions of the French partisans, this was extremely difficult to do. However, the Allied troops did not land in France at the same time.
The Allied landing in Normandy (Operation Overlord) was a complete surprise for the German command. On the night of June 6, under the cover of massive air strikes, two large airborne assault forces (up to 18 thousand people) were landed north of Carentan and northeast of Cannes, which tried to block German communications.
As dawn approached, Allied aircraft and ships bombarded the northern coast of Normandy with a hail of bombs and shells. They suppressed German batteries, destroyed defensive structures, swept away barbed wire barriers, destroyed minefields and damaged communication lines. Under the cover of this powerful fire, landing craft approached the shore.
On the morning of June 6, amphibious assault forces were landed in a 100-kilometer area between the Orne River and the eastern part of the Cotentin Peninsula. They captured 3 large bridgeheads with a depth of 2 to 9 km. Over 6 thousand warships, transport and landing craft were used for the landing. Thanks to the successful actions of surface ships and aircraft, the Germans were unable to use their submarine superiority to interfere with the delivery of troops and supplies. By the end of June 6, the Allies had landed 156 thousand soldiers on the coast, and also delivered more than 20 thousand units of equipment to the captured bridgeheads. It was the largest amphibious operation of World War II.
The German forces in this area were far from sufficient to provide serious resistance to the numerically superior Allied formations. In addition, the German command did not immediately understand the situation, continuing to consider the landing in Normandy a diversionary maneuver. Hitler, convinced that the main landing force would soon land in the Pas-de-Calais area, initially forbade the deployment of large reserves to Normandy.
The German high command firmly adhered to this preconceived opinion for several days. When it finally became clear that this was a serious, large-scale operation, precious time was lost. The Allies gained a foothold in the bridgeheads, and the Germans had very little chance of dislodging them from there given the existing balance of forces and means.
Nevertheless, thanks to the gradual tightening of reinforcements, the number of German troops was increased in the coming days to three infantry and one tank divisions. This allowed them to put up stubborn resistance. But it could not hold back the superior forces of the Allies, who, with the support of naval artillery and aviation, managed to establish communications between the bridgeheads. By June 10, one bridgehead was created from them, which had over 70 km along the front and 10–17 km in depth. By June 12, the number of troops on it reached 327 thousand people, 5,400 aircraft, 104 thousand tons of military equipment and equipment. It was almost impossible for the Germans, who did not have serious support from tanks, aviation and artillery, to throw such a mass of people and equipment into the sea. The main efforts of the German troops were now aimed at delaying the advance of the Allies for as long as possible and preventing them from breaking into operational space.
Meanwhile, the bridgehead was expanding. On June 18, the US VII Corps reached the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. As a result of this operation, the port of Cherbourg, located at the northern tip of the peninsula, was isolated. By June 21, the Americans approached Cherbourg and, after powerful air preparation, began an assault on the fortress. On June 27, its garrison laid down its arms.
Soon after the Allied landings in Normandy, the Germans began shelling England with their new weapon - V-1 cruise missiles. Hitler spent three years at enormous expense developing a program for the production of long-range missiles, the target of which was to be London and the southern English ports. In mid-June 1944, the first shelling of London took place. At the end of the summer, an even more powerful V-2 rocket appeared. Over seven months, the Germans fired 1,100 V-2 missiles at London, and 1,675 missiles at Liege and Antwerp. However, the new weapon did not have the effect that the Reich leaders had hoped for and could not seriously influence the course of the war.
By the end of June, the bridgehead on the Normandy coast reached 40 km in depth and 100 km in width. It housed 875 thousand soldiers and 23 airfields, where a significant part of the allied aviation was relocated. The bridgehead now had major port Cherbourg, who after recovery (in the first half of July) began to play significant role in supplying the Allied forces in France.
18 German divisions operated against the bridgehead on a front of 100 km. It was a very high density of defense. However, these German divisions experienced shortages of personnel and combat equipment, and also suffered serious damage from powerful artillery and air strikes. Hitler still did not dare to sharply increase his forces in Normandy for fear of a second landing in Pas-de-Calais. The Germans did not have large reserves in France. The main forces of the Wehrmacht fought on Eastern Front, where at that time a powerful offensive of Soviet troops began in Belarus. By July 1, the German command was forced to admit that it was not and would not be possible to cope with the enemy group in Normandy.
However, the Allies' attempts to expand the bridgehead in July ran into stubborn resistance from German units. From June 25 to July 25, the front in Normandy moved only 10–15 km. The most brutal battles in July took place over road junctions - the towns of Saint-Lo and Cannes. Complete Allied air superiority was combined with precise coordination between the army and air force. This is how General Arnold describes the advance of American troops on St. Lo: “Fighters and fighter-bombers, maintaining the most direct communication and operating under overall command, flew ahead, hitting military targets. Maintaining direct radio contact with the tanks, the fighters patrolled over our tank columns in constant combat readiness. Officers on the ground called in fighter planes to bomb or shoot at any artillery or tanks that got in the way. The pilots warned tank commanders about anti-tank traps.”
Having no air support, the German troops nevertheless had no intention of retreating and fought steadfastly. They created a defense in depth, provided with a large number of anti-tank weapons. Despite air support from 2000–2200 bombers, this resistance center was captured only after numerous attacks. Saint-Lô fell on July 18th.
On the same day, the strongest tank attack was carried out near Cannes. Three Allied armored divisions took part in it. They went on the offensive after intense bombing strikes carried out by 2 thousand bombers. These blows were so powerful that most of the prisoners, stunned by the explosions, could not even answer questions for almost a day. It seemed that the Allies were doomed to succeed in breaking through and entering operational space. However, the German defense turned out to be much more deeply echeloned than the Allied command had expected. Cannes held out for three more days and fell on July 21 after fierce fighting. By July 25, the Allies reached the line of Saint-Lo, Caumont, Cannes.
This concluded Operation Overlord. The Allies lost about 122 thousand people in it, the Germans - about 117 thousand people. The slow progress of the Allied armies in July did not live up to the high hopes that arose after the successful landing. The bridgehead captured during the operation in Normandy (up to 110 km along the front and a depth of 30–50 km) was 2 times smaller than what was envisaged to be occupied according to the operation plan. However, under conditions of absolute air supremacy, the Allies were able to freely concentrate sufficient forces and means to carry out a major offensive operation.
The difficult situation of the Germans at the front was aggravated by the disorganization of their high command. The Allied landings in Normandy and the defeat of German troops in Belarus caused a political crisis in Germany. He expressed himself in an attempted coup d'etat, which was organized by military personnel dissatisfied with Hitler. The conspirators intended to physically eliminate the Fuhrer, seize power, and then make peace with all the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
The murder of the head of the Third Reich was assigned to Colonel Stauffenberg. On July 20, he left a briefcase containing a time bomb in the room where Hitler was holding a meeting. But the explosion caused only minor destruction, and the Fuhrer remained alive. The plot failed. Its organizers were captured and shot. The Stauffenberg case had a negative impact on the morale of the German officer corps, creating fear of reprisals in its ranks.
Meanwhile, the Allies were preparing to launch a decisive offensive. To do this, they had 32 divisions, 2.5 thousand tanks and 11 thousand aircraft. They were opposed by 24 German divisions with about 900 tanks, which had weak air cover. The offensive began on the morning of July 25 with powerful air preparation. 4,700 tons of bombs were dropped on the area of the supposed breakthrough (8 km deep and 1.5 km wide). Using this knockout bomb, the Allied divisions rushed forward. By the end of the third day of fighting German defense was broken through to the entire tactical depth (15–20 km).
Pursuing the retreating German units, the Allied forces entered the operational space. In an effort to stop this breakthrough, the Germans threw their last reserves into battle. But in vain. An attempt by a German counterattack on August 8 in the Mortain area with the aim of cutting the advancing troops in two failed. A significant role in the German failure was played by their lack of fuel and massive Allied air strikes on tank columns. Having failed to achieve its goals, the counterattack near Martin turned into a serious problem for the German troops. He delayed their withdrawal while Allied forces outflanked counterattacking German units.
After the failure of the counterattack near Mortain, a significant part of the German troops stuck west of the Seine was cut off from the main forces and ended up in a sack in the Falaise area. Meanwhile, the commander of the German troops in France since the beginning of July, Field Marshal Kluge, was withdrawing his surviving armies beyond the Seine. He sought to quickly escape the trap in which they found themselves as a result of Hitler’s ban on moving away from their positions. Due to insufficient coordination of the Allies' actions, the main forces of the encircled forces managed to break through to the east through the corridor between Argentan and Falaise. Although the bulk escaped from the Falaise pocket by August 19, about 50 thousand Germans were still captured, and 10 thousand died in battle.
As a result of the Allied breakthrough from Normandy, the German front in northern France was split in two. Its eastern part continued to retreat to the borders of Germany, and the western group (up to 200 thousand people) found itself cut off and pressed against the western coast of France. Most of the cut off troops settled in the garrisons of coastal fortified cities. Some of them (in Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, etc.) continued resistance until the end of the war.
On August 16, Hitler removed Kluge from command and appointed Field Marshal Model in his place. But the new commander was unable to significantly improve the situation. On August 25, Allied troops reached the Seine and entered the capital of France, Paris, liberated the day before during a popular uprising. On the eastern bank of the river, a bridgehead was captured in the Evreux area.
During the attack on Paris, the Allies landed a large assault force in southern France, between Cannes and Toulon, on August 15, 1944. The 7th American Army landed there under the command of General A. Patch. It consisted of proven units that had experience fighting in North Africa and Italy. The landing was carried out by about 700 warships.
By August 19, the Allied forces had created a bridgehead up to 90 km along the front and up to 60 km in depth. It concentrated up to 160 thousand people, 2500 thousand guns and 600 tanks. The Americans learned lessons from their previous landing operations and abandoned the principle of attacking from a systematically prepared bridgehead. Now all the landing troops, without wasting time, moved as far forward as possible.
Located in the south of France, the German 19th Army (10 divisions) was poorly staffed and had low combat effectiveness. Her troops, who suffered heavy losses from artillery and air strikes, were unable to provide any significant resistance anywhere. They began a hasty retreat to the north, trying to avoid encirclement and defeat.
Overcoming little resistance, the Allies occupied Marseille and began to advance along the Rhone Valley. In 8 days they advanced 225 km. The German 19th Army retreated to Belfort. By September 10, Allied units advancing from the south united in the Dijon area with units of the 3rd American Army. As a result, a united front of allied forces was formed in the west.
Model's original plan to defend the northern bank of the Seine proved impracticable. After a short delay at this line, the German army, which retained its combat capability, retreated to a new line of defense near the borders of Germany.
At the beginning of September, Field Marshal Rundstedt again took command of the German forces in the west. Field Marshal Model became only the commander of Army Group B. At the same time, General D. Eisenhower took charge of all Allied ground operations in the west. On the left flank of the Allies, the 21st Army Group under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery (1st Canadian and 2nd British armies) was advancing. In the center is the 12th Army Group under the command of General D. Bradley (1st, 3rd and 9th American Armies). On the right flank is the 6th Army Group under the command of General D. Divers (7th American and 1st French armies).
Pursuing the retreating German units, the Allies entered Belgian territory. On September 3, they occupied Brussels, and the next day, almost without a fight, they entered Antwerp, where they got fully preserved port facilities. The liberation of France was generally completed. The total number of allied troops on its territory by that time exceeded 2 million people. Hitler's dream of an impregnable “Fortress Europe” was crumbling before his eyes. The war was approaching the borders from where it had come four years ago.
Having received bases in France, the Allies continued their air offensive against Germany. Thus, in June - August, British bomber aircraft dropped about 32 thousand tons of bombs on targets in Germany. During the same time, the 8th American Air Force dropped about 67 thousand tons of bombs on targets in Germany. These powerful bombings led to a reduction in industrial production in Germany and its satellite countries. Thus, fuel production in Germany and its allied states in September amounted to 32 percent of the level at the beginning of the summer of 1944.
During the battle for France, German troops suffered a crushing defeat. They lost almost half a million people. Allied losses amounted to about 40 thousand people. killed, 164 thousand wounded and 20 thousand missing. By mid-September, the German command had only 100 combat-ready tanks on the western front against 2,000 operating as part of the first echelons of the Allied forces, and 570 aircraft (the Allies had 14 thousand). Thus, the Allied armies outnumbered the Germans by 20 times in tanks and almost 25 times in aircraft.
These stunning successes made such a strong impression on Montgomery that he turned to Eisenhower with a request to provide him with enough equipment for a breakthrough all the way to Berlin. There was good reason for such optimism. According to the memoirs of the German General Blumentritt, at the end of August 1944, the German front in the west was actually open. When the Allies approached the German borders in early September, the Germans did not have large troops across the Rhine, and nothing could delay the Allies' advance deeper into Germany.
However, when victory seemed very close, the pace of advance of the Allied forces fell sharply. A significant reason for their slowdown was interruptions in the supply of fuel. Allied communications were stretched, and combat units were far removed from logistics bases. The troops experienced an acute shortage of fuel.
An equally serious obstacle was the resistance of German troops. In the critical situation of the first half of September, the thin line of Wehrmacht units remaining in service, at the cost of incredible efforts, covered the path to the Rhine and continued to hold their positions until the necessary reserves arrived. As a result, the throw did not go beyond the Rhine. The Allies had to overcome the last hundred kilometers on the way to this river for almost six months with great effort and losses.
From the book World History. Volume 2. Middle Ages by Yeager Oscar From the book Russia in the War 1941-1945 by Vert AlexanderChapter V. Political events in the spring of 1944 The USSR and the Allied landing in Normandy By mid-May 1944, a period of relative calm began on the Soviet-German front. Now the front (with the exception of the huge Belarusian salient in the center, where the Germans were still wedged in)
From the book History of the Russian Army. Volume three author Zayonchkovsky Andrey Medardovich From the book History of the Second World War author Tippelskirch Kurt von From the book Neither Fear nor Hope. Chronicle of World War II through the eyes of a German general. 1940-1945 author Zenger Frido vonALLIED LANDINGS The landing on July 10 did not come as a surprise. Here are excerpts from the combat log of the German communications mission at the 6th Italian Army: “July 9, 18.20. A radio message from the 2nd Air Corps speaks of six convoys total number 150-200 ships in the waters
From the book Secret Missions of the RSHA author Skorzeny OttoLanding The next day - and it was Sunday, September 12, 1943 - we leave at five in the morning for the airfield, where it turns out that the gliders will be there at about ten. I took advantage of this delay to once again check the equipment of my people. Each of them
From the book The Thousand Year Battle for Constantinople author Shirokorad Alexander BorisovichChapter 4 LANDING OF THE ALLIES IN THE CRIMEA The defeat of the Turks in Sinop accelerated the entry into the war of England and France. On December 22, 1853 (January 3, 1854), the combined Anglo-French fleet entered the Black Sea. Three days later, the English steamer Retribusion approached Sevastopol and announced
From the book War at Sea (1939-1945) by Nimitz ChesterOperation Dragoon - landing in Southern France Some time after the Allied occupation of Rome (which, as we remember, almost coincided with the invasion of Normandy), three American and two French divisions were recalled from the Italian front to participate in Operation Dragoon.
From the book Chronicle of the Air War: Strategy and Tactics. 1939–1945 author Alyabyev Alexander NikolaevichChapter 9 Kursk Bulge. Allied landing in Sicily. Beginning of the Italian campaign July - December Thursday, July 1, 1943 Secret SS Security Report on the internal political situation No. 410 (excerpt): “I. General: There are rumors spreading about new weapons and
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author2.2. The decisive offensive of the fascist bloc in the summer of 1942. The landing of the allies in North Africa instead of opening a second front. Stalingrad is the beginning of a radical change. The fascist bloc is striving for victory in the main theater of war. The collapse of the “blitzkrieg” near Moscow put Germany and
From the book The Defeat of Fascism. USSR and Anglo-American allies in World War II author Olsztynsky Lennor Ivanovich2.3. 1943 The promised second front was again postponed The Battle of Kursk - a radical turning point in the Second World War The Allied landing in Sicily, the anti-fascist struggle in Italy Offensive operations of the Soviet troops and allies in the winter - spring of 1943 Counter-offensive under
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Both the escape from the European continent () and the landing in Normandy ("Overlode") are very different from their mythological interpretation...
Original taken from jeteraconte in Allied landing in Normandy... Myths and reality.
I I think that every educated person knows that on June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy, and finally, the full opening of the second front. T Just an estimate of this event has different interpretations.
The same beach now:
Why did the Allies wait until 1944? What goals did you pursue? Why was the operation carried out so ineptly and with such significant losses, despite the overwhelming superiority of the Allies?
This topic has been raised by many at different times, I will try my best in clear language talk about the events that took place.
When you look American movies like: "Saving Private Ryan" games Call of Duty 2" or you read the Wikipedia article, it seems to be described greatest event of all times and peoples, and it was here that the entire Second World War was decided...
Propaganda has always been the most powerful weapon. ..
By 1944, it was clear to all politicians that the war was lost by Germany and its allies, and in 1943, during the Tehran Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill roughly divided the world among themselves. A little more and Europe, and most importantly France, could have become communist if they had been liberated Soviet troops, so the allies were forced to rush in time to share the pie and fulfill their promises to contribute to the overall victory.
(I recommend reading “Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the USA and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" released in 1957, in response to the memoirs of Winston Churchill.)
Now let’s try to figure out what really happened and how. First of all, I decided to go and look at the terrain with my own eyes, and assess exactly what difficulties the troops landing under fire had to overcome. The landing zone takes about 80 km, but this does not mean that throughout these 80 km, paratroopers landed on every meter; in fact, it was concentrated in several places: "Sword", "Juno", "Gold", "Omaha Beach" and "Pointe d'oc".
I walked along this territory on foot along the sea, studying the fortifications that have survived to this day, visited two local museums, sifted through a lot of different literature about these events and talked with residents in Bayeux, Caen, Sommur, Fecamp, Rouen, etc.
It is very difficult to imagine a more mediocre landing operation, with the complete connivance of the enemy. Yes, critics will say that the scale of the landing is unprecedented, but the mess is the same. Even according to official sources, non-combat losses! were 35%!!! from total losses!
We read Wiki, wow, how many Germans resisted, how many German units, tanks, guns! By what miracle did the landing succeed???
The German troops on the Western Front were spread thinly over the territory of France and these units performed mainly security functions, and many could only be called combat ones. What is the division, nicknamed the “White Bread Division” worth? An eyewitness, English author M. Shulman, says: “After the invasion of France, the Germans decided to replace it with o. Walcheren was an ordinary infantry division, a division whose personnel suffered from stomach diseases. Bunkers on the island Walcheren was now occupied by soldiers who had chronic ulcers, acute ulcers, wounded stomachs, nervous stomachs, sensitive stomachs, inflamed stomachs - in general, all known gastritis. The soldiers vowed to stand until the end. Here, in the richest part of Holland, where white bread, fresh vegetables, eggs and milk were in abundance, the soldiers of the 70th Division, nicknamed the "White Bread Division", awaited the imminent Allied offensive and were nervous, for their attention was equally divided between the problematic threat and side of the enemy and real stomach disorders. This disabled division was led into battle by the elderly, good-natured Lieutenant General Wilhelm Deiser... Horrific losses among senior officers in Russia and North Africa were the reason that he was returned from retirement in February 1944 and appointed commander of a stationary division in Holland. His active service ended in 1941 when he was discharged due to heart attacks. Now, being 60 years old, he was not enthusiastic and did not have the ability to turn the defense of Fr. Walcheren in the heroic epic of German weapons."
In the German "troops" on the Western Front there were disabled and crippled people; to perform security functions in good old France, you do not need to have two eyes, two arms or legs. Yes, there were full-fledged parts. And there were also collected from various rabble, like the Vlasovites and the like, who only dreamed of surrendering.
On the one hand, the Allies assembled a monstrously powerful group, on the other hand, the Germans still had the opportunity to inflict unacceptable damage on their opponents, but...
Personally, I got the impression that the command of the German troops simply did not prevent the Allies from landing. But at the same time, he could not order the troops to raise their hands or go home.
Why do I think this? Let me remind you that this is the time when a conspiracy of the generals against Hitler is being prepared, secret negotiations are underway between the German elite on a separate peace, behind the back of the USSR. Allegedly, due to bad weather, aerial reconnaissance was stopped, torpedo boats curtailed reconnaissance operations,
(Most recently before this, the Germans sank 2 landing ships, damaged one during exercises in preparation for the landing and another was killed by “friendly fire”),
the command flies to Berlin. And this is at a time when the same Rommel knows very well from intelligence data about the impending invasion. Yes, he might not have known about the exact time and place, but it was impossible not to notice the gathering of thousands of ships!!!, preparation, mountains of equipment, training of paratroopers! What more than two people know, so does a pig - this old saying clearly reflects the essence of the impossibility of hiding preparations for such a large-scale operation as an invasion across the English Channel.
I'll tell you a few interesting points. Zone landings Pointe du Hoc. It is very famous; a new German coastal battery was supposed to be located here, but they installed old French 155 mm cannons, manufactured in 1917. In this very small area, bombs were dropped, 250 356 mm shells were fired from the American battleship Texas, as well as a lot of shells of smaller calibers. Two destroyers supported the landing with continuous fire. And then a group of Rangers on landing barges approached the shore and climbed the steep cliffs under the command of Colonel James E. Rudder, captured the battery and fortifications on the shore. True, the battery turned out to be made of wood, and the sounds of shots were imitated with explosive packages! The real one was moved when one of the guns was destroyed during a successful air raid a few days ago, and it is its photograph that can be seen on websites under the guise of the gun destroyed by the Rangers. There is a statement that the rangers did find this relocated battery and ammunition depot, which, oddly enough, was not guarded! Then they blew it up.
If you ever find yourself on Pointe du Hoc , you will see what used to be a “lunar” landscape.
Roskill (Roskill S. Fleet and War. M.: Voenizdat, 1974. T. 3. P. 348) wrote:
“Over 5,000 tons of bombs were dropped, and although there were few direct hits on the gun casemates, we managed to seriously disrupt enemy communications and undermine their morale. With the onset of dawn, the defensive positions were attacked by 1630 “liberators”, “flying fortresses” and medium bombers of the 8th and 9th air forces of the US Air Force... Finally, in the last 20 minutes before the approach of the assault waves, fighter-bombers and medium The bombers carried out a bomb attack directly on the defensive fortifications on the shore...
Shortly after 0530, the naval artillery unleashed a hail of shells along the entire 50-mile front of the coast; Such a powerful artillery strike from the sea had never been delivered before. Then the light guns of the advanced landing ships came into action, and finally, just before hour “H”, tank landing ships armed with missile launchers moved towards the shore; firing intensely with 127 mm rockets into the depths of the defense. The enemy practically did not respond to the approach of the assault waves. There was no aviation, and the coastal batteries did not cause any damage, although they fired several salvos at transports.”
A total of 10 kilotons of TNT equivalent, this is equivalent in power to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima!
Yes, the guys who landed under fire, at night on wet rocks and pebbles, who climbed a steep cliff, are heroes, but... The big question is how many Germans survived who were able to resist them after such air and artillery treatment? The rangers advancing in the first wave are 225 people... Losses in killed and wounded are 135 people. Data on German losses: more than 120 killed and 70 prisoners. Hmm... Great battle?
From 18 to 20 guns with a caliber of more than 120 mm were fired against the landing allies from the German side... In total!
With absolute Allied air supremacy! Supported by 6 battleships, 23 cruisers, 135 destroyers and destroyers, 508 other warships. 4,798 ships took part in the attack. In total, the Allied fleet included: 6,939 ships for various purposes (1,213 - combat, 4,126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - merchant ships (some were in reserve)). Can you imagine the salvo of this armada along the coast over an area of 80 km?
Here's a quote:
In all sectors, the Allies suffered relatively small losses, except...
Omaha Beach, American landing zone. Here the losses were catastrophic. Many drowned paratroopers. When they hang 25-30 kg of equipment on a person, and then force him to parachute into the water, where the bottom is 2.5-3 meters, for fear of getting closer to the shore, then instead of a fighter, you get a corpse. At best, a demoralized person without weapons... The commanders of the barges carrying amphibious tanks forced them to land at depth, afraid to come close to the coast. In total, out of 32 tanks, 2 floated ashore, plus 3, which, the only captain who did not chicken out, landed directly on the shore. The rest drowned due to rough seas and the cowardice of individual commanders. There was complete chaos on the shore and in the water, the soldiers were rushing confusedly along the beach. The officers lost control of their subordinates. But still there were those who were able to organize the survivors and begin to successfully resist the Nazis.
It was here that Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt, fell heroically, who, like the deceased Yakov, Stalin’s son, did not want to hide in headquarters in the capital...
The casualties in this area are estimated at 2,500 Americans. The German corporal machine gunner Heinrich Severlo, later nicknamed the “Omaha Monster,” contributed his talents to this. He uses his heavy machine gun, as well as two rifles, while in a strong pointWiderstantnest62 killed and wounded more than 2,000 Americans! Such data makes you wonder if he had not run out of ammunition, would he have shot everyone there??? Despite huge losses, the Americans captured the empty casemates and continued the offensive. There is evidence that certain areas of the defense were surrendered to them without a fight, and the number of prisoners captured at all landing sites was surprisingly large. Why is it surprising though? The war was coming to an end and only the most fanatical adherents of Hitler did not want to admit it...
Mini museum between landing zones:
View of Pont d'Oc from above, craters, remains of fortifications, casemates.
View of the sea and rocks there:
Omaha Beach view of the sea and landing zone: 
The second front is the front of the armed struggle of the USA, Great Britain and Canada against Nazi Germany in 1944-45. in Western Europe. It was opened on June 6, 1944 by the landing of the Anglo-American expeditionary forces in Normandy (northwest France).
This landing was called “Operation Overlord” and became the largest amphibious operation in the history of war. The 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies) consisting of 66 combined arms divisions, including 39 invasion divisions and three airborne divisions, was involved in it. A total of 2 million 876 thousand people, about 10.9 thousand combat and 2.3 thousand transport aircraft, about 7 thousand ships and vessels. The overall command of these forces was exercised by American General Dwight Eisenhower.
The Allied expeditionary forces were opposed by the German Army Group B, consisting of the 7th and 15th armies under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (a total of 38 divisions, of which only 3 divisions were in the invasion area, about 500 aircraft). In addition, the southern coast of France and the Bay of Biscay was covered by Army Group G (1st and 19th armies - 17 divisions in total). The troops relied on a system of coastal fortifications called the Atlantic Wall.
The general landing front was divided into two zones: the western, where American troops were to land, and the eastern, for British troops. The western zone included two, and the eastern - three sectors, on each of which it was planned to land one reinforced infantry division. In the second echelon there remained one Canadian and three American armies.
The worst thing besides
lost battle
this is a won battle.
Duke of Wellington.
Allied landings in Normandy, Operation Overlord, "D-Day", Normandy operation. This event has many different names. This is a battle that everyone knows about, even outside the countries that fought the war. This is an event that claimed many thousands of lives. An event that will go down in history forever.
general information
Operation Overlord - military operation Allied troops, which became the opening operation of a second front in the West. Held in Normandy, France. And to this day it is the largest landing operation in history - in total more than 3 million people were involved. The operation has begun June 6, 1944 and ended on August 31, 1944 with the liberation of Paris from the German occupiers. This operation combined the skill of organizing and preparing for combat operations of the Allied troops and the rather ridiculous mistakes of the Reich troops, which led to the collapse of Germany in France.
Goals of the warring parties
For Anglo-American troops "Overlord" set the goal of delivering a crushing blow to the very heart of the Third Reich and, in cooperation with the advance of the Red Army along the entire eastern front, crushing the main and most powerful enemy from the Axis countries. The goal of Germany, as the defending side, was extremely simple: not to allow the Allied troops to land and gain a foothold in France, to force them to suffer heavy human and technical losses and dump them into the English Channel.
Strengths of the parties and the general state of affairs before the battle
It is worth noting that the position of the German army in 1944, especially on the Western Front, left much to be desired. Hitler concentrated his main troops on the eastern front, where Soviet troops were victorious one after another. The German troops were deprived of a unified leadership in France - constant changes in senior commanders, conspiracies against Hitler, disputes about a possible landing site, and the lack of a unified defensive plan did not in any way contribute to the successes of the Nazis.
By June 6, 1944, 58 Nazi divisions were stationed in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, including 42 infantry, 9 tank and 4 air field divisions. They were united into two army groups, “B” and “G”, and were subordinate to the “West” command. Army Group B (commander Field Marshal E. Rommel), located in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, included the 7th, 15th armies and the 88th separate army corps - a total of 38 divisions. Army Group G (commanded by General I. Blaskowitz) consisting of the 1st and 19th armies (11 divisions in total) was located on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and in southern France.
In addition to the troops that were part of the army groups, 4 divisions made up the reserve of the West command. Thus, the greatest densities of troops were created in North-Eastern France, on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait. In general, the German units were scattered throughout France and did not have time to arrive on the battlefield in time. For example, about 1 million more Reich soldiers were in France and initially did not participate in the battle.
Despite the relatively large number of German soldiers and equipment stationed in the area, their combat effectiveness was extremely low. 33 divisions were considered “stationary”, that is, they either had no vehicles at all or did not have the required amount of fuel. About 20 divisions were newly formed or recovered from battles, so they were only 70-75% of normal strength. Many tank divisions also lacked fuel.
From the memoirs of the Chief of Staff of the West Command, General Westphal: “It is well known that the combat effectiveness of the German troops in the West, already at the time of the landing, was much lower than the combat effectiveness of the divisions operating in the East and Italy... A significant number of ground force formations located in France, the so-called “stationary divisions,” were very poorly equipped with weapons and by motor transport and consisted of older soldiers". The German air fleet could provide about 160 combat-ready aircraft. As for the naval forces, Hitler's troops had at their disposal 49 submarines, 116 patrol ships, 34 torpedo boats and 42 artillery barges.
The Allied forces, commanded by future US President Dwight Eisenhower, had 39 divisions and 12 brigades at their disposal. As for aviation and navy, in this aspect the Allies had an overwhelming advantage. They had about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 2300 transport aircraft; over 6 thousand combat, landing and transport ships. Thus, by the time of the landing, the overall superiority of the Allied forces over the enemy was 2.1 times in men, 2.2 times in tanks, and almost 23 times in aircraft. In addition, the Anglo-American troops constantly brought new forces to the battlefield, and by the end of August they already had about 3 million people at their disposal. Germany could not boast of such reserves.
Operation plan
The American command began preparing for the landing in France long before "D-Day"(the original landing project was considered 3 years before - in 1941 - and was codenamed “Roundup”). In order to test their strength in the war in Europe, the Americans, together with British troops, landed in North Africa (Operation Torch), and then in Italy. The operation was postponed and changed many times because the United States could not decide which theater of military operations was more important for them - the European or the Pacific. After the decision was made to choose Germany as the main rival, and Pacific Ocean limited to tactical defense, the development plan began Operation Overlord.
The operation consisted of two phases: the first was codenamed "Neptune", the second - "Cobra". "Neptune" assumed an initial landing of troops, the capture of coastal territory, "Cobra" - a further offensive deep into France, followed by the capture of Paris and access to the German-French border. The first part of the operation lasted from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944; the second began immediately after the end of the first, that is, from July 1, 1944 until August 31 of the same year.
The operation was prepared in the strictest secrecy, all troops that were supposed to land in France were transferred to special isolated military bases that were forbidden to leave, information propaganda was conducted regarding the place and time of the operation.
In addition to US and British troops, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand soldiers took part in the operation, and French resistance forces were active in France itself. For a very long time, the command of the allied forces could not accurately determine the time and place of the start of the operation. The most preferred landing sites were Normandy, Brittany and Pas-de-Calais.
Everyone knows that the choice was made on Normandy. The choice was influenced by factors such as the distance to the ports of England, the echelon and strength of defensive fortifications, and the range of the Allied aircraft. The combination of these factors determined the choice of the Allied command.
Until the very last moment, the German command believed that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area, since this place was closest to England, and therefore required the least time to transport cargo, equipment, and new soldiers. In Pas-de-Calais, the famous “Atlantic Wall” was created - an impregnable line of defense for the Nazis, while in the landing area the fortifications were hardly half ready. The landing took place on five beaches, which were codenamed “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Sword”, “Juno”.
The start time of the operation was determined by the ratio of the water level and the time of sunrise. These factors were considered to ensure that the landing craft did not run aground and were not damaged by underwater obstacles, and that it was possible to land equipment and troops as close to the shore as possible. As a result, the day the operation began was June 6, and this day was named "D-Day". The night before the landing of the main forces, a parachute landing was dropped behind enemy lines, which was supposed to help the main forces, and immediately before the start of the main attack, the German fortifications were subjected to a massive air raid and Allied ships.
Progress of the operation
Such a plan was developed at headquarters. In reality, things didn't go quite that way. The landing force, which was dropped behind German lines the night before the operation, was scattered over a vast territory - over 216 square meters. km. for 25-30 km. from captured objects. Most of the 101st Division, which landed near Sainte-Maire-Eglise, disappeared without a trace. The 6th British Division was also unlucky: although the landing paratroopers were much more numerous than their American comrades, in the morning they came under fire from their own aircraft, with which they could not establish contact. The 1st US Division was almost completely destroyed. Some ships with tanks were sunk before they even reached the shore.
Already during the second part of the operation - Operation Cobra - Allied aircraft attacked their own command post. The offensive went much slower than planned. The bloodiest event of the entire company was the landing on Omaha Beach. According to the plan, early in the morning, German fortifications on all beaches were subjected to fire from naval guns and air bombing, as a result of which the fortifications were significantly damaged.
But on the Omaha, due to fog and rain, the naval guns and planes missed, and the fortifications did not receive any damage. By the end of the first day of the operation, on the Omaha the Americans had lost more than 3 thousand people and were unable to take the positions planned by the plan, while on the Utah during this time they lost about 200 people, took the necessary positions and united with the landing force. Despite all this, on the whole the landing of the Allied troops was quite successful.
Then the second phase was successfully started Operation Overlord, within which cities such as Cherbourg, Saint-Lo, Caen and others were taken. The Germans retreated, throwing weapons and equipment to the Americans. On August 15, due to mistakes by the German command, two tank armies Germans, who, although they were able to get out of the so-called Falaise Cauldron, but at the cost of huge losses. Allied forces then captured Paris on August 25, continuing to push the Germans back to the Swiss borders. After the complete cleansing of the French capital from fascists, Operation Overlord was declared completed.
Reasons for the victory of the Allied forces
Many of the reasons for the Allied victory and the German defeat have already been mentioned above. One of the main reasons was the critical position of Germany at this stage of the war. The main forces of the Reich were concentrated on the Eastern Front; the constant onslaught of the Red Army did not give Hitler the opportunity to transfer new troops to France. Such an opportunity arose only at the end of 1944 (Ardennes Offensive), but then it was already too late.
The better military-technical equipment of the Allied troops also had an effect: all the equipment of the Anglo-Americans was new, with full ammunition and a sufficient supply of fuel, while the Germans constantly experienced supply difficulties. In addition, the Allies constantly received reinforcements from English ports.
An important factor was the activity of the French partisans, who pretty well spoiled the supplies for the German troops. In addition, the allies had a numerical superiority over the enemy in all types of weapons, as well as in personnel. Conflicts within the German headquarters, as well as the incorrect belief that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area and not in Normandy, led to a decisive Allied victory.
Operation meaning
In addition to the fact that the landing in Normandy showed the strategic and tactical skill of the command of the Allied forces and the courage of ordinary soldiers, it also had a huge influence on the course of the war. "D-Day" opened a second front, forced Hitler to fight on two fronts, which stretched the already dwindling forces of the Germans. This was the first major battle in Europe in which American soldiers proved themselves. The offensive in the summer of 1944 caused the collapse of everything Western Front, The Wehrmacht lost almost all positions in Western Europe.
Representation of the battle in the media
The scale of the operation, as well as its bloodshed (especially on Omaha Beach) led to the fact that today there are many computer games and films on this topic. Perhaps the most famous film was the masterpiece of the famous director Steven Spielberg "Saving Private Ryan", which tells about the massacre that occurred on the Omaha. This topic was also discussed in "The Longest Day", television series "Brothers in Arms" and many documentaries. Operation Overlord has appeared in more than 50 different computer games.
Even though Operation Overlord was carried out more than 50 years ago, and now it remains the largest amphibious operation in the history of mankind, and now the attention of many scientists and experts is riveted to it, and now there are endless disputes and debates about it. And it’s probably clear why.
Operation Overlord
Many years have passed since the famous landing of the Allied forces in Normandy. And the debate still continues to this day: did the Soviet army need this help, since the turning point in the war had 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 back in 1943, after the famous Tehran conference, at which he finally managed to find mutual language with and Roosevelt.
Bye Soviet army fought fierce battles, the British and Americans carefully prepared for the upcoming invasion. As the English military encyclopedias on this topic say: “The allies had sufficient time to prepare the operation with the care and thoughtfulness that its complexity required; they had the initiative and the ability to freely choose the time and place of landing.” Of course, it’s strange for us to read about “enough time” when thousands of soldiers were dying every day in our country...
Operation Overlord was to be carried out both on land and at sea (its naval part was codenamed “Neptune”). Its tasks were as follows: “Land on the coast of Normandy. Concentrate the forces and means necessary for a decisive battle in the area of Normandy, Brittany, and break through the enemy’s defenses there. With two army groups, pursue the enemy on a broad 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 join forces that will invade France from the south."
One cannot help but be amazed at the caution of Western politicians, who spent 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 came to an operation that the Western powers with with good reason could be considered the climax of the war. Although the road ahead might be long and difficult, we had every reason to be confident that we would achieve a decisive victory. Russian armies expelled the German invaders from their country. Everything that Hitler had so quickly won from the Russians three years earlier was lost by him 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. Any day now a new Russian offensive was supposed to begin, timed to coincide with our landing on the continent”...
That is, the moment was most opportune, and the Soviet troops prepared everything for successful performance allies...
Combat power
But at the same time, it was not in vain that Hitler believed that the enemy’s landing on this territory was impossible - the allies had to rack their brains a lot, figuring out how to carry out a landing in such impossible conditions, how to overcome all the difficulties and gain a foothold on an unequipped shore...
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 English and American Marine Corps. Air Force were 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 vessels.
According to a carefully developed plan, sea and airborne troops were to land in Normandy over an area of about 80 km. It was assumed that 5 infantry, 3 airborne divisions and several detachments of marines would land ashore on the first day. The landing zone was divided into two areas - in one the American troops were to operate, and in the second - the British troops, reinforced by the allies from Canada.
The main burden in this operation fell on navy, which was supposed to deliver troops, provide cover for the landing and provide fire support for the crossing. Aviation should have covered the landing area from the air, disrupted enemy communications, and suppressed enemy defenses. But the most difficult thing was experienced by the infantry, led by the English General B. Montgomery...
Judgment Day
Here's how the British Military Encyclopedia talks about it: “Never has any coastline endured what the coast of France had to endure that morning. At the same time, shelling from ships and bombardment from the air were carried out. Along the entire invasion front, the ground was cluttered with debris from explosions; shells from naval guns punched holes in the fortifications, and tons of bombs rained down on them from the sky... Through the clouds of smoke and falling debris, the defenders, gripped by horror at the sight of general destruction, could barely discern hundreds of ships and other vessels inexorably approaching shore."
With a roar and explosions, the landing force began landing on the shore, and by evening, significant Allied forces found themselves in the territory captured by the enemy. But at the same time they had to suffer considerable losses. During the landing, thousands of servicemen from the American, British, and Canadian armies died... Almost every second soldier was killed - such a heavy price had to be paid for the opening of a second front. This is how 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 return home. And many did not return."
“I tried to help at least someone: I quickly gave an injection and wrote on the wounded man’s forehead that I had injected him. And then we collected our fallen comrades. You know, when you are 21 years old, it’s too hard, especially if there are hundreds of them. Some bodies surfaced after several days or weeks. My fingers passed through them”...
The Allied forces continued their victorious offensive, liberating one town after another. By July 25, Normandy was practically cleared of the enemy. The Allies lost 122 thousand people between June 6 and July 23. The losses of German troops amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 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 fight a war on two fronts.
Disputes still continue as to whether the participation of the Allies in the war was really necessary. Some are confident that our army itself would have successfully overcome all the difficulties. Many people are irritated by the fact that Western history textbooks often talk about how the Second World War world war in fact, the British and American troops won, and the bloody sacrifices and battles of Soviet soldiers are not mentioned at all...
Yes, most likely, our troops would have been able to cope with Hitler’s army on their own. Only this would have happened later, and many more of our soldiers would not have returned from the war... Of course, the opening of a second front brought the end of the war closer. It’s just 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 have been several times smaller...