Operation Overlord

June 6th 1944

The Players• Eisenhower • Rommel

• Montgomery • Von Rundstedt

• .

• The Allies spent 18 months planning and training for D-Day.

• Most troops green.

New Technology

• Paratroopers were used for the 1st time.• Higgins boats• Temporary harbors

• A decoy operation in Calais, kept the Germans “in the dark”

Normandy

• The Allies planned to land the invasion force on the beaches of Normandy, France.

The Atlantic Wall

• Under Rommel’s command the Nazi’s built the Atlantic Wall to stop an Allied invasion

• Belgian Gates, Teller mines and ramps were built along the beach to keep the Allies from invading.

• Hedgehogs and barbed wire provided more layers of defense. ½ million obstacles in all.

• 2 rows of heavy artillery were protected by 13 foot steel reinforced concrete walls.

The Beaches

• US: Utah/Omaha• GB: Gold/Sword• Canada: Juno

Breaking through the Atlantic Wall

• The night before 20,000 Paratroopers landed behind enemy lines to secure bridges and roads

D-Day June 6th

• Pre dawn bombardment of Nazi guns to “soften of the Wall”

But,

• Paratroopers did not land in the desired locations.

• Heavy clouds prevented aerial bombardment to “soften up” the shore

The Armada

• The Allies hit the shores with:– 150,000 men (11 divisions)– 1500 tanks– 5300 ships– 12,000 planes – 355 gliders

• Causalities predicted: 10%

• Allied troops came ashore in Higgins boats. (LCVP)

• The Germans were caught off guard.• Rommel had returned to Germany to see

his wife.• None of the German officers wanted to call

the High Command with news of the attack.

• The High command did not learn of the attack until 11am.

Within 24 hours, the Allies were on the beaches. It took Hitler 4 years to build the Atlantic Wall.

• Within in 7 days the Allies controlled 80 miles of the coast.

• 4,900 American soldiers were killed on D-Day– 2000 at Omaha Beach– Colville sur Mer 9,386 graves

August 25, 1944 Paris Liberated

• 4 years of occupation were over

• September 1944, all of France is liberated.

Success, but at what price

• 1.2 million American GI’s took part in the D-day invasion and liberation of France.

• 126, 000 Causalities– 25,000 dead– 95,000 wounded

• UK loses:– 83,000 causalities– 16,000 killed– 58,000 wounded– 9,000 MIA

• German • 6 cemeteries

– 77,936 graves