D-Day and The Invasion Of Normandy:
The invasion of Normandy was a military operation executed by the Allied Powers, during World War II, on Tuesday, June 6th, 1944. The invasion of Normandy military operation was called Operation Overlord, and codenamed Operation Neptune, and is often referred to as D-Day. The invasion of Normandy was the largest seaborne amphibious invasion in history. Operation Overlord began the liberation of France, and eventually the rest of Western Europe, leading to victory in World War II, over the Axis Powers.
Planning for Operation Overlord began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allied Powers conducted misleading military training exercises, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to confuse the German military as to the date and location of the mainland invasion. The weather for the scheduled invasion was not ideal and had to be delayed 24 hours. German leader, Adolf Hitler, placed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and developing defenses along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion by the United States military, and the Allied Forces.
The invasion of Normandy began shortly after midnight on the morning of June 6th, 1944, with a massive aerial and naval bombing campaign. The early morning aerial and naval assault was soon followed by Allied amphibious landings on the coast of France, on the beaches of Normandy. The men landed under heavy gun fire and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles, making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were the heaviest at Omaha beach, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and 2 major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialized tanks.
The Allied Powers failed to achieve any of their major goals beyond the establishment of the beachheads on the first day. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were captured on the first day, and all five beachheads were not captured until June 12th, 1944. German military casualties on D-Day were estimated to be between 4,000 and 9,000 men. Allied Power casualties on D-Day were estimated to be over 10,000 men.
The main Allied Power countries were the United States, Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union. The main Axis Power counties were Germany, Japan and Italy.
World War II veterans are joining many heads of state and others on the beaches of Normandy today (June 6th, 2024) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day/the invasion of Normandy.
To All Veterans: Thank You For Your Service – https://www.therealmjtheterrible.com/to-all-veterans-thank-you-for-your-service/
Thank You To All of The Brave Men & Women of The Armed Forces – https://www.therealmjtheterrible.com/thank-you-to-all-of-the-brave-men-women-of-the-armed-forces/
The History of Memorial Day – https://www.therealmjtheterrible.com/the-history-of-memorial-day/
