D-Day, a brief overview

“Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

- General Dwight D. Eisenhower

As you might have guessed, if you are a history nerd like myself, the previous quote is referring to the events of D-Day. D-Day is a military term for the start of an operation or invasion. When we think of D-Day, however, we probably think of the events of June 6, 1944 on the beaches of Normandy, France to retake France from the Nazi rule, gain more forces for the Berlin invasion, and to use as the gateway to taking the rest of Europe from the clutches of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Fun fact, the Normandy operation did not just take place on June 6 only, but June 7 and 8 as well. I will talk about the invasion’s effects, but go over the events of just June 6. But first, a backstory. Nazi Germany took control of France on June 22, 1940. The Nazis set up a puppet government called the Vichy, but the French didn’t like the occupation or the “free government”. The French Resistance formed in secret and helped the Allied war effort. Soon, the Allies decided to help them back by launching an operation to retake France.

At first, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did not approve of the idea. He wanted to proceed with an invasion of Italy, calling it “The soft underbelly of Europe.” American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin reluctantly agreed to try it. The invasion went well, with a lot of Italian troops surrendering before battles even started. Then the Germans came in, disarming Allied and Italian troops in Operation Axis. The Allies retreated.

The Allies were forced to once again consider the invasion of France. Churchill still thought it was too risky, but, in a peace conference in Tehran, Iran, Stalin eventually convinced him. It was an operation set to take place on June 6, 1944 This operation, planned by General and future president Dwight D. Eisenhower was called Operation Overlord and consisted of several smaller operations. Operation Tonga was when British and Canadian air assault troops took control of the area between the Orne River and the Dives River. Operations Green and Turtle were the sabotage of German train lines by members of the French Resistance to slow the transport of tanks, troops, and ammunition to the front line of the fight. And, of course, Operation Neptune was the transport of troops through the English Channel. Using misdirection to mask their intentions, the Allies pretended to send the Americans to Calais, even constructing a “ghost army” to be “lead” by renowned general George Smith Patton. This “ghost army” was a false military base with wooden planes and inflatable tanks. Operation Neptune also included the American, British, and Canadian landings at five beaches. Each beach was codenamed and assigned to an army. The Americans took Utah and Omaha, the British Gold and Sword, and the Canadians Juno beach. Additionally, the Soviets would attack Germany from the other side to draw forces away from France.

Now, I will start speculating because I don’t know what really happened at this point in time or what it was like. This speculation is based on Allies by Alan Gratz. On June 5, 1944, late at night, navies from every participating nation in the invasion of Europe gathered in the middle of the English Channel. The atmosphere in that part of the English Channel, nicknamed “Piccadilly Circus” after the famed British intersection and market, sort of like the London equivalent of Times Square, was originally vibrant and lively, but the closer they got to the invasion date, the more somber it got. Soon it was June 6. D-Day. Early in the morning, a fog settled over the English Channel. Everyone was mournfully silent as they boarded their LCVP “Higgins” landing craft. These boats had a flat bottom that allowed them to slide up the beach and go back out to sea with no problem, making it optimal for a beach invasion. Tankers rode their tanks up to the beach in larger landing craft. Each assigned army commenced their attack on their assigned beach. Omaha beach was the most well guarded by the Germans, and 2,400 Americans died to take it. This would end up being the beach with the most casualties. But this would turn out to be worth it because in the end, with a window to the rest of Europe, the Allies would rout the Nazis, who would be trapped between the advancing British, Canadians, Americans, and the newly liberated French in the west and the Soviet Union in the east. This would bring the downfall of Nazi Germany and mark the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe.

This has been a brief overview of D-Day. To learn more about D-Day and the rest of World War II, I recommend Allies by Alan Gratz and the Oversimplified: World War II video series on YouTube, as well as going to your local library to borrow a book or movie about the subject. One such movie could be Saving Private Ryan, and librarians will point you to a good World War II book. For more detail on D-Day, any book or movie about D-Day is a good source, and there are plenty of great documentaries on this subject.