D – DAY

D – Day June 6th, 1944 On June 6 1944, the Allied forces of Britain, America,

Canada and France attacked German forces on the coast Normandy, France. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the invasion saw over 150,000 Allied soldiers attack and gain a victory that became the turning point of World War 2 in Europe. This famous and historical battle is called D Day, or the invasion of Normandy.

Why was the Operation Overload and D – Day Important?

Operation overlord represented the first real threat to Germany’s control of Western Europe. It opened up a second major threat against Germany and it convinced Russia to stay in the war. Before D Day, the Russians sensed that they were the only ones fighting against Germany in Eastern Europe.

…Continued D Day also countered Russia’s growing communist influence. It

was clear that Germany was going to be defeated at some future point during the war. The Americans and the British were concerned that the Russians might make a separate peace with the Germans, which would leave the British and the Americans to fight by themselves. Russia could have also conquered Germany and taken control of most of Europe. D-Day prevented this from happening.

Key Figures involved in the Event / Issue

The invasion of Normandy and its defense involved some of history’s best-known generals. These generals included the likes of General Omar Bradley of the United States, Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey of the British, General Dwight Eisenhower of the United States, and General Carl Spaatz of the United States. The Germans were led by Erwin Rommel and Gerd Von Rundstedt. Other important people who were involved in the invasion of Normandy include Air vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery from Britain, as well as British Admiral Bertram H. Ramsay.

Course of Action At the start of World War 2,

Germany invaded Poland. This caused France, Great Britain and Canada to all declare war on the Germans. By the spring of 1940, Germany was set to invade France. They were defended by not only the French military, but also a large British force as well. Within six weeks, the Germans defeated the Allies and took control of France. By 1944, Germany knew that the Allies would attempt to invade France to free Europe from Germany. The Allied forces began the invasion by landing a huge army at Normandy Beach, Located on the Northwest coast of France.

…Continued… On June 6 1944, the Allies landed at five beaches in the Normandy area.

These beaches included Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach, and Sword Beach. Prior to the actual invasion, Allied planes attacked the Nazi defenders and dropped thousands of paratroopers behind German lines before the seaborne landings. Paratroopers were men who jumped out of planes using parachutes. They jumped at night and landed behind enemy lines. Their job was to terminate key targets and capture bridges in order for the main invasion force to land on the beach.

…Continued In the next phase of the invasion, thousands of Allied planes

dropped bombs on German defenses. Next, warships began bombing the beaches from sea. While the bombing was taking place, local French Resistance forces sabotaged the Germans by cutting phone lines and destroying railways. Before long, over 6000 ships carrying troops, weapons, and tanks approached the Normandy beaches.

Eventual Outcome (s) of the Event

American troops landed at the Omaha and Utah beaches. The landing at Utah beach was successful; however, the combat at Omaha beach was violent. An estimated 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or went missing during the battle. The Allies were able to take control of the beach, as the Germans failed to defend Normandy from the Allied forces, which ruined Adolph Hitler’s dream of a Nazi controlled ``Fortress Europe`` and marked the beginning of the end for Germany.

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Work Cited

1)http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/d-day_invasion_of_normandy.php

2) http://www.generalpatton.org/D-Day/Dday_importance.htm

3)http://www.historyguy.com/normandy_links.html#.UXQNgLWThX0

4)http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/06/02/f-dday-history.html

5) http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1749.html

6) http://www.history.com/topics/d-day