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Operation Overlord & D-Day
June 6, 1944
August 25, 1944
PURPOSE
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE?
- To take the French coast line
- To liberate France
United States
Britain
Germany
PURPOSE
Canada
BEFORE THE INVASION
By 42’ Allied thought about an invasion
By 43’ Germans amped up defenses
The night before the invasion, Allied troops parachuted behind enemy lines in France
They tried to destroy railroad lines and disrupt communication
Operation Overlord
- 1944 Eisenhower put in charge
- Used trickery to mislead Germans
- June 5th was chosen
- Waited 24 more hours bc of bad weather
BEFORE THE INVASION
In the days leading up to the main invasion, Allied planes bombed the Atlantic Wall defenses all along the coast of France
WHAT HAPPENED?
THE STORY OF D-DAY
- On June 6, 1944 more than 150,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel
- They attacked the German military along a 60 mile stretch of the coast in Normandy, France.
- Soldiers faced intense opposition from the Germans when they landed
- Many men were killed or injured before they even reached the beaches
- Over 156,000 landed 4,000 Allied died D Day
WHAT HAPPENED
The Planning Phase
- Preparations for a ‘second front’ against Nazi Germany date back to 1942.
- The Allies knew they would have to capture a port to ensure the success of the invasion of France.
- A ‘dress-rehearsal’ took place in 1942 when a British-Canadian raid on the port of Dieppe was carried out.
- The aim was to capture and hold a French port for a short period to test German defences.
- The raid was a total disaster: of the 6,086 men who made it ashore, 4,384 were killed.
PLANNING
Roosevelt knew the risks of the invasion. He resisted Stalin’s pressure for an early launch of the second front. This delay was the cause of much bitter feeling between the Russians and Americans
Operation
Fortitude
Operation Fortitude
Hitler expected the invasion here in the Pas de Calais
- The Allies began a massive deception of operation to conceal the intended landing zone.
- A massive build-up of fake armies and equipment was concentrated in Kent to fool the Germans in to thinking Calais was the intended target.
- Canvas and rubber tanks were assembled to confuse any German aerial reconnaissance aircraft. (In fact there were no German spy planes over England in 1944)
Fortitude- fake radio signals
- Enormous amounts of ‘fake’ wireless messages were transmitted relating to possible invasion plans in the Calais region in the hope the Germans would believe them.
The French resistance (Maquis) assisted the preparations for D Day by disrupting French railways and causing other acts of sabotage to the telegraph and telephone system.
THE ATLANTIC WALL
GOOD TO KNOW:
- The timing was now favorable for an invasion
- The U boats had been defeated
- The German air force was largely grounded for lack of fuel.
- Despite all Allied efforts, the Germans obviously expected an Allied invasion somewhere in France.
- Hitler appointed two of his best Generals, Gerd Von Rundstedt and Erwin Rommel to take charge of strengthening the French coast line from attack.
THE ATLANTIC WALL
- From Norway to the South of France the Germans built up a defensive line against the expected invasion.
- Tens of thousands of Russian POWs were put to work to construct elaborate defenses.
- The line was by no means complete or evenly spread by the time of D Day.
BATTLE OF BULGE
The D-Day invasion was successful and turned the course of WWII and world history. By landing in Normandy, the Allies made an opening where they could strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
THE BATTLE OF BULGE
In December 1944, Hitler launched a counterattack, creating a bulge in the American lines.
The Americans pushed back, forcing a German retreat during the Battle of the Bulge.