Battle:
Effects:
- D-Day (aka Battle of Normandy)
- Codenamed Operation Overlord
- June 6 1944- August 1944
- France's Normandy region
- American, British, Canadian, and other Allied forces landed in the Normandy region on June 6, 1944
- Dwight D. Eisenhower- General at that time- was the commander of Operation Overlord
- Hitler
- Preparing for the D-Day invasion, Dwight and the Allies carried out many deceptions to make Germany think that the invasion was going to be in Pas-de-Calais (the narrowest point between France and Britain.
- The invasion was scheduled for June 5, 1944 but because of bad weather the invasion was delayed
- At Omaha beach the U.S. faced a lot of resistance and there was more than 2,000 American casualties on Omaha beach alone
- By the end of June 6, 1944 there were about 156,000 Allied troops that successfully took over Normandy beaches.
- According to some studies, there were more than 4,000 Allied casualties, with more missing or wounded
- June 11 the Normandy beaches had over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and about 100,000 tons of equipment
- Germans refused to release divisions in the counterattack
- The Ally Air Force took out many bridges so that Germans had to take a detour. Also, the Ally Naval Force was strong
- End of August 1944, Allies had fought their way across Normandy and reached the Seine River
- Paris was liberated
- Germans were removed from France which ended the Battle of Normandy
- The Allies defeated the Germans
Effects:
- Allied forces prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet troops from the east
- The loss was a psychological blow to Hitler; stopped Hitler from sending troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the growing Soviets
- Hitler committed suicide April 30, 1945
- May 8, 1945, the Allied Forces accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany
"Dead Soldiers on 'Omaha' beach on 'D-Day', 6 June 1944. They were members of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division."
"Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives."
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-eur/normandy/nor4o2.htm
"Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives."
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-eur/normandy/nor4o2.htm
"The Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. Here American troops hit the water from one of the landing craft. Soldiers on shore are lying flat under German machine gun fire. Coast Guard photographer Robert F. Sargent took this view from a landing craft."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/gallery/d-day/
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/gallery/d-day/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3758093.stm
Other Sources:
- http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
- http://www.dday.org/history/d-day-the-invasion/overview