Operation Overlord (D-Day)

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

The largest amphibious assault in history, planned for the beaches of Normandy, France - 600 ships involved

Supreme Commander - General Eisenhower (Ike)

Allied Expeditionary Force

D-Day June 6, 1944 - the weather men were not sure this date would be clear (they need a dark moon) and gave an alternate date in August.  Eisenhower decided to go ahead - on the August date it was pouring rain -*** when the invasion started Eisenhower began writing a speech saying the attack failed just in case he needed it - a copy of this can be found on the internet

Beaches

• Juno (Canada)
• Gold and Sword (British)
• Utah and Omaha (United States)

Almost 3 million men

16 million tons of arms, munitions and supplies - code name Mulberry

1st wave led by General Bernard Montgomery

• landed at 6:30 a.m.
• no air opposition

U.S. army landed on both sides of the Vire River

British and Canadians near Caen

After some uncertain early hours the attack was a success and gained a foothold

*** Among the first "German" captured at Normandy were several Koreans.  They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the U.S. Army.

Bitterly resisted - the invaders confronted Hitler's Fortress Europe

• June 13, 1944 - first use of V-1 rocket (buzz bomb) - ***   V -2's 47' long weighed 3000 pounds

Breakthrough

• Captured Cherbourg - June 27, 1944 - excellent harbor
• St. Lo fell July 18
• Allies swept across France

*** A German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet.

July 20, 1944 - tried to kill Hitler

• Col. Count Klaus von Stauffenberg placed a  time bomb in a room with Hitler and his staff - then he left - it was in their way and they moved it - because of this the blast was blocked by a heavy table leg and Hitler was not killed, only wounded - 4 were killed
• von Stauffenberg was arrested and shot - this angered Hitler because he wanted him to have a more painful death
• nearly 3,000 (I've read numbers as high as 5,000 so this number is iffy) people were rounded up for execution
• Eventually 17 generals were executed - some took poison or shot themselves
• General Erwin Rommel was implicated (It is not known for sure that he was involved.  Many believed he knew nothing about the plot.) - Hitler believed he knew about the plot and gave him a choice - a public trial or suicide and a state funeral - on October 14, 1944, Rommel took poison and died.
• Ended brutally for the ones Hitler caught - strangled with wires - hung on meat hooks -
• ***  Moving pictures were taken of this so Hitler could watch them die

August 15 - landed at Cannes - southern France - Operation Anvil

August 25, 1944 - entered Paris

Early September Brussels fell