Normandy Campaign,[26]Code: Operation Overlord,[27]Operation Overlord), yesthe Second World WarIn June July 1944, the United States and Britain Allied Forces carried out a strategic landing operation against the German army in Normandy, northern France.The Normandy Landing Campaign was an important part of the Western European war situation in World War II.[29]
During the Normandy Landing Campaign, the Allies successively mobilized 36 divisions with a total force of 2.88 million, including 1.53 million troops from the Army.From June 6, 1944 to the beginning of July, millions of US, British and Canadian troops and 170000 vehicles successfully crossedEnglish channel。By July 24, about 240000 people on both sides of the war had been wiped out.By the end of August, the Allied forces had destroyed or severely damaged 40 German divisions. Three German field marshals and one German army commander had been dismissed or resigned, killed and captured 20 German army group commanders, military commanders, division commanders and other senior generals, captured and destroyed more than 3000 German artillery guns, and destroyed more than 1000 chariots.The German army lost 3500 planes, 13000 tanks and 20000 vehicles.[30]
The Normandy Landing Campaign was the largest landing campaign in the history of the Second World War and the world war. The United States and Britain allied forces invested 45 divisions, 13000 aircraft of various types, about 5000 ships of various types, and 122000 casualties.The German army invested a total of 15 divisions, about 500 aircraft of various types, more than 500 ships of various types, and 114000 casualties and prisoners.The victory of the campaign laid the foundation for the Allied forces to launch a large-scale offensive in Western Europe, and was of great significance in accelerating the collapse of Nazi Germany.[29]The return of American and British troops to the European continent has fundamentally changed the strategic posture of the Second World War.[26-27][30]
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, German fascists attacked Poland, occupied Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. On the European mainland, German troops controlled all the western European coasts from Norway in the north to Spain in the south.The British ArmyDunkirk retreatLater, the Western European continent was almost completely controlled by the German army.
Eastern Front After the outbreak, the Soviet Union repeatedly asked the United States and Britain to open up a second battlefield in Western Europe.In 1943, the Soviet army turned to counter attack in the Soviet German battlefield, and the Allies turned to offensive in the Pacific battlefield.Tehran Conference，Stalin、Franklin Delano RooseveltandChurchillIt was formally agreed that the Allied Forces of the United States and Britain landed in northern France in May 1944, and the operation code was "Overlord".
In the western part of France, along the Atlantic coast thousands of meters from Norway to Spain, the German army has built a defense line with considerable defense capability in more than two years--“Atlantic Wall "The focus of the defense line is in the Calais region, and the fortifications in Normandy are relatively weak. The German Army Group B and G in the western front have more than 500 small and medium-sized surface ships, 500 air force aircraft, and 58 army divisions, of which only 6 are deployed in Normandy.[10]
On July 20, 1942, Hitler ordered the construction of 15000 strong support points from northern Norway to the Spanish coastLine of defence, which is the so-calledAtlantic Wall Hitler required that the project should be completed before May 1, 1943. In fact, until May 1944, except for Calais, only a few isolated supporting points were built on the 960km wide coastlineSeine MarneThe area to the east of the river has completed 68%, and the area to the west of the Seine Marne province has only completed 18%.In terms of coastal artillery, German troops deployed in the coastal areas of western FranceLarge caliber gunIt mainly includes: four 280 mm and three 381 mm shore guns in Cape Gerry, three 305 mm shore guns in Vimena, and three 406 mm shore guns in western Sankat.Due to the outstanding efforts of the allied intelligence agencies, the German armySupreme CommandIt was believed that Norway would be the priority area for the Allies to seize. Instead, a large amount of manpower and material resources were invested to build 350 artillery stations along the coast of Norway that could deploy 88mm to 381mm guns.In addition, another priority project in Germany isChannel IslandsBy 1944, the fortification project had built 11 forts equipped with 38 210 mm to 305 mm guns. This project was of no strategic significance, but it just wasted a lot of valuable human and material resources.
Therefore, the Atlantic barrier, which has been greatly exaggerated by the German propaganda department, is actually just a figment in disguise.After assuming the command of Group B, Field Marshal Rommel attached great importance to the defense construction of coastal areas, led a special delegation to inspect the coastal defense situation from Denmark, the Netherlands, and France, and specifically requested that the frontier defense should be pushed forward into the sea, starting from the high tide line, laying mines in the deep sea, and setting obstacles in the shallow sea,These wooden piles, which were obliquely inserted into the sea, were called "Rommel asparagus" by the Allies. On the beach, there were serrated concrete pyramids, tank traps, and a large number of themmineA concealed fire point was built at the commanding height overlooking the beach. In the open area behind the beach, a large number of anti aircraft landing stakes were laid, and these explosives and obstacles were placed. The project was huge. Until the Allied forces launched the landing, only part of it was completed, even if it did, it also caused great losses to the Allied forces.[27]
Allied planning
As early as September 1941,StalinToChurchillHe proposed to open up a second battlefield in Europe and carry out strategic attack on Germany, but at that timeU.S.AThe United Kingdom was unable to organize such a large-scale strategic landing operation before it joined the war.In response to the Soviet Union's suggestion, the British only sent small troops to attack and harass the European continent.
In June 1942, the Soviet Union, the United States and the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom issued a joint communique, reaching a full understanding and consensus on opening up a second battlefield in Europe, but Britain made some reservations about its obligations in the memorandum.
In July 1942, the British and American London Conference decided to land in North Africa in the autumn of 1942, and postponed the opening of the second battlefield in Europe to the first half of 1943.But at this time, the situation in the Soviet German battlefield was very serious, and the German army had enteredStalingradThe Soviet Union strongly demanded that Britain and the United States launch landing operations in Europe to contain the German army and reduce the pressure on the Soviet army.Britain had to hastily send 6018 commandos to land in Dieppe, France, and was defeated, with 5810 casualties, the casualty rate as high as 96.5%.
In January 1943, Britain and Americacasablanca conference , through the first half of the yearSicily LandingDecision of.The landing on the European continent was postponed to August 1943.At this meeting, the United Kingdom insisted on postponing its landing on the European continent on the grounds of the complexity and danger of large-scale amphibious landing, taking advantage of Diep's failure.In fact, the British wanted to take advantage of the rivalry between the Soviet Union and Germany to reap the benefits, and the British wanted to use the strength of the United States to restore the traditional power of the British Empire in North Africa and southern Europe before the war.Of course, the United States objected. As a compromise, the United Kingdom agreed to establish the British and American Special Plan Staff Office, which was responsible for formulating the landing plan in Europe.The British Army Lieutenant General F. Morgan served as the Chief of Staff.After Morgan took office, he immediately formed "Kausak", which is the English abbreviation of the highest staff of the Allied European Expeditionary Force. The main members are Deputy Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Ray Buck of the U.S. Army, representatives of the land, sea, air force and all services and arms related to landing, and the commander of the British Joint Operations Command who is responsible for commanding the sneak attack and harassment operations on the European continentMountbattenThe lieutenant general is of course a member.
In May 1943, the Anglo American Washington Conference decided to land on the European continent in May 1944, opening up the second battlefield."Kaosak" immediately began to work out the landing plan. First, determine the landing site. According to the experience and lessons of all previous landing operations, the landing site should meet the following three conditions: first, it should be within the radius of the fighter plane taking off from the British airport, second, the ferry distance should be as short as possible, and third, there should be a large port nearby.Then the 480km coastline from Fulisingen in the Netherlands to Cherbourg in France is suitable for three areas: the Contantine Peninsula, Calais and Normandy.
Further comparison shows that the terrain of the Contantine Peninsula is narrow and it is not convenient to launch large forces, so it was the first to be rejected.Calais and Normandy have their own advantages and disadvantages. Calais is the nearest to Britain, only 33 kilometers away, and close to Germany;The disadvantage is that the German army has the strongest defense force here, the defenders are elite troops, the fortifications are complete and solid, there is no large port nearby, and there is also a lack of inland transportation lines, which is not conducive to the development of depth after landing.Although Normandy is far away from England, its advantages are that the German defense is weak, the terrain is open, and 30 divisions can be deployed at the same time, and it is only 80 kilometers away from Cherbourg, the largest port in northern France.After several trade-offs and comparisons, "Kaosak" chose Normandy and made a specific plan from June 26, 1943, taking "Overlord" as the code name of the battle plan and "Sea King" as the code name of the relevant naval action.The preliminary plan is to land three divisions at three beachheads 32km wide between Kalantan and Caen, namely the "Omaha", "Jin" and "Juno" beachheads, and two brigades will be airborne at the same time.The second echelon is 8 divisions, which will occupy Cherbourg in two weeks.The biggest problem in the whole plan is the port problem, that is, how to solve the logistical supply of the troops before the occupation of Cherbourg. In Normandy, in May and June, there were many strong winds and waves, and the logistics supply could not be guaranteed by landing on the beach alone - this seems to be an insurmountable difficulty.Unable to do anything, Rear Admiral John Hughes Harriet, the representative of the Navy of "Kaosak", rememberedMountbattenA joke at a meeting: since there is no natural port, we will build an artificial port.Therefore, it is suggested that the problem be solved by manufacturing accessories and assembling.There was no alternative, and his idea was approved.On July 15, Morgan submitted the outline of the "Overlord" plan to the Anglo American Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.[11]
Final implementation plan of "Operation Overlord"[2]
Select the landing field
Compared with Calais, the Normandy area has the following advantages for the selection of landing sites for crossing the sea: First, the Normandy coast is weak in defense.Although the German army also built fortifications similar to those in Calais in this area, the intensity and density were much lower.Second, the main ports of Britain are concentrated on the southwest coast, near Normandy.For example, Portsmouth Port is only 180 kilometers away from Normandy, while it is much farther to Calais.Third, there is the Constantine Peninsula as a barrier on the west side of Normandy. The waves in the bay are small and deep, so landing ships can be protected from huge waves.Fourth, Normandy beach is wide and easy to land.The entire Normandy coast area can be built to accommodate 26 to 30 divisions at the same time.Moreover, the Normandy coast has many roads leading to the inland, which is conducive to the Allied landing forces attacking in depth.For these reasons, the Allies chose to land in Normandy.Facts have proved that the Allies' choice of landing in Normandy was a correct decision and played an important role in the victory of the whole campaign.On the contrary, when the Allies landed in Italy, they chose Lezzo at the south end of Italy and Salerno at the southwest. These two places were not suitable for landing, and they were the strong points of German defense, which made the landing battle lost.[23]
"Overlord Plan"
The Overlord Action Plan was formulated on the basis of the early British invasion of France, which lasted more than two years[2]。
In September 1941, Admiral Mountbatten, the chief of staff of the British Joint Operations Command, began to study the feasibility of implementing amphibious landing on the European battlefield and opening up the second battlefield. In December of the same year, after the United States joined the war, the United States officially worked with the British planners. Soon, the British proposed a draft plan for landing in France through the English Channel, code named "Roundup".
After the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the British General Staff appointed Lieutenant General Frederick E. Morgan as the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces (who had not yet been appointed), and authorized him to formulate a plan for invading France, code named Anvil ("ANVIL").
In December of the same year, the General of the United States ArmyEisenhower(Dwight D. Eisenhower) was appointed as the supreme commander of the Allied forces. He chose Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, the chief of staff in the Mediterranean, as the chief of staff of the Allied forces. Morgan became the deputy chief of staff. As a balance, British Air Force General Arthur Tedder served as the deputy chief commander in charge of the theater air force.After intense bargaining, Eisenhower finally settled a joint committee composed of Britain and the United States, and continued to plan the battle of attacking France across the strait.
According to the Anvil Plan, the Allied forces invested 3-5 divisions to attack along the Pas de Calais. The attack route was from BritainDover To Calais, France.Later, Eisenhower andMontgomeryThey all thought that 3-5 divisions were not enough, so the attack area was expanded to a wider area. Montgomery tended to include Caen in the attack range, while Morgan's planners thought that expanding the bridgehead to 60 miles would exceed the existing resources of the Allies. Montgomery believed that either a solution could be found or the commander could be changed. This dispute provoked a debate about the value of the Anvil Plan,Eisenhower began to consider the plan to attack from the north of France, code named "Operations Overlord".
On January 23, 1944, during the quarrel, the Allies decided to launch an attack from Normandy.US troops are on the west side, targetCherbourg(Cherbourg), British troops are on the east side, targetCaen（Caen）。According to the plan, the attack was on June 5, 1944.
West line.On the night of landing, the 82 and 101 airborne divisions of the United States parachuted near the town of Ste. Mere Eglise, occupying the road leading to the coast and preventing the enemy from strengthening coastal defense.the second day,BradleyThe 1st Group Army of the 7th Army will arrive there. The 4th Division of the 7th Army will land on Utah Beach near the dunes of Fariville. To the east, the 1st Division of the 5th Army and the 1st Division of the 29th Army will land on Omaha Beach near Vierville. After the successful landing, the 5th Army will expand its beachhead position. The 7th Army will pass through the Cotaine Peninsula, occupy Cherbourg southward, and then move southward to occupy St. Louis,Once the St. Louis and St. Louis Peril highways were occupied, the 1st Group Army was ready to use mechanized forces to carry out offensive operations.later,BartonThe 3rd Group Army ofBrittany Peninsula MarchBrestAnd other ports, and attack in the 1st Group ArmyParisIs responsible for the safety of its right wing,
east line.The British 2nd Group Army launched between Bayeux and Caen, and the British 6th Airborne Division parachuted near Caen and the Orne estuary before H o'clock to occupy the northeast wing of the battle zone.The 50th Division of the 30th British Army landed on the Gold Beach near Bayeux.The First Army attacked east in two ways.The 3rd Canadian Division landed at Juno Beach and the 3rd British Division landed at SWORD Beach.After the successful landing, the ministries quickly occupied the traffic arteries for the armored forces to launch.
In order to deceive the enemy and make them believe that the landing place is Calais rather than Cotaines, the Allies invented the 1st Army Group based in Dover, which is larger than the 21st Army Group in Montgomery, and appointedBartonServe as the Commander in Chief of the Group's Army Group[2]。In order to avoid the disclosure of the attack time, the Allies set this day as D, and since September 1943, all the planning documents of Operation Overlord have used Neptune to replace Overlord[2]。
Pictures of Normandy Landing History
In February 1944, the Anglo American Joint Chiefs of Staff approved“Operation Overlord The outline and the revised operational plan, but the demand for landing ships has also increased. In order to ensure that there are enough landing ships, the British American Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to postpone the landing date to early June, and postpone the original landing in southern France to August.
Due to the landing date (codeDay D）It was postponed to early June, when the Allied General Command began to determine the specific date and time. This was a complex coordination issue. All services and arms put forward different requirements according to their own needs. The Army asked to land at the high tide of the waves to reduce the time the troops were exposed to the beach;The Navy requires landing at low tide to minimize the damage of landing craft to obstacles;The air force requires moonlight to facilitate airborne troops to identify ground targets. Finally, after careful consideration, a scientific plan in line with the various services was drawn up to land between high tide and low tide. Since the tides of the five beachheads are different, five different landing times (code name H) were specified,Day DThen it was arranged on the day of the full moon, and the airborne time was 1:00 in the morning. For the landing date meeting the above conditions, there were only two groups of consecutive days in June 1944, from June 5 to 7, and from June 18 to 20. Finally, the first day of the first group, June 5, was selected.[11]
Campaign objectives
The purpose of the campaign was to cross the English Channel, capture a strategic landing site in northern France, and create conditions for opening up the second battlefield in Europe and finally defeating Germany.The battle attempt was to land in Normandy and seize the landing site. On the 12th day of the landing, the landing site was expanded to 100 kilometers wide and 100 kilometers deep.It is planned to parachute two American paratrooper divisions on the right wing of the landing site, cut off German reinforcements from Cherbourg, and coordinate the landing forces to seize the "Utah" beachhead, parachute a British paratrooper division on the left wing, seize the crossing point of the Conn Canal, and then land the first eight strengthened battalions on five beachheads to establish landing sites. After consolidating and expanding the landing site, the follow-up forces will go ashore, and the right wing will attack Cherbourg first,The left wing develops to the front line from Kang'en River to Shengluo to cover the attack of the right wing forces;In the second stage, we captured Gongcheng, Baye, Izini, and Kalantan. In the third stage, we captured Brittany, pushed towards the Seine River, and reached Paris.[11]
On January 21, 1944, Eisenhower (middle) wasNorfolkThe hotel held the first meeting of the Supreme Headquarters of the Expeditionary Force, at which the program of landing operations was defined, making the meeting the most important Allied military conference in World War II.
The deployment map of the Allied forces and Germany in southern England and Normandy, France on June 6, 1944[37]
Campaign preparation
Announce
edit
Equipment materials
In 1943, the Allied forces had won a comprehensive victory in anti submarine escort in the Atlantic Ocean, ensuring that a large number of materials and personnel transported from the United States to Britain could safely cross the Atlantic Ocean.Britain has almost become a battalion, with nearly 3 million troops from 11 countries stationed. Every airport is full of aircraft, and every port is full of ships.According to incomplete statistics, from January 1942 to May 1944, various materials transported from the United States to Britain reached more than 5.3 million tons.
Among all materials, the most important is landing craft. In order to ensure a sufficient number of landing craft, the Allies not only postponed the landing time by one month, but also postponed the planned landing in southern France to August.Despite the strong opposition of the Navy, Marshall, the Chief of General Staff of the US Army, transferred a batch of landing craft from the Pacific battlefield and raised enough landing craft.
In order to fill the gap between the naval gun fire and the army's landing, the Allies loaded the artillery and multi barrel rockets onto the landing craft, converted them into fire support vessels, and attacked with the landing craft to provide continuous fire support.
In order to quickly break through German minefields and defensive positions, British tank expert Major General Hobart proposed to develop special tanks, form special armored forces, land before engineers landed, suppress German firepower, clear minefields, destroy obstacles and act as pioneers.After months of hard work, Britain has successfully developed a variety of special tanks, such as amphibious tanks, road paving "revolving drum" tanks, mine sweeping tanks, flamethrower tanks, bridge building tanks, engineering assault vehicles, and trained a group of special tank drivers. On this basis, the British army has formed the 79th Armored Division.The division conducted exercises on Norfolk Beach, England, which is similar to the terrain of Normandy.
In all preparations, the biggest project is the artificial harbor.Under the charge of Rear Admiral Tennant of the British Navy.A total of two artificial ports were built, and the codes were Mulberry A and Mulberry B.First of all, 146 hollow concrete caissons will be constructed, each of which is 61 meters long. There are eight different sizes according to the depth of seawater at the sunken place, with a minimum displacement of 1772 tons and a maximum displacement of 6044 tons.The caisson is equipped with a crew cabin and two anti-aircraft guns.There are buoyancy tanks for floating and sea valves for sinking, which can sink to the designated position within ten minutes after opening.The caisson cannot sail by itself, so it will be towed across the channel by tugboat and sunk on the 5.5 m isobath one nautical mile from the shore, forming a breakwater about 9000 meters long.A total of 600000 tons of concrete and 3100 tons of steel were needed to build these caissons, and the construction time was only half a year, almost exceeding the industrial capacity of Britain after four years of war. However, Britain fully completed this project, with 500 officers, 1000 soldiers, more than 20000 workers and many shipbuilding units participating in the construction.The whole project was finally completed in early June 1944.
In addition to the artificial harbor, the Allies also had an innovation - submarine oil pipeline.In order to ensure fuel supply, the Allied forces set up a special organization responsible for the submarine oil pipeline, laying four soft steel pipes with diameters of 15mm and 25mm from the British shore to the mooring facilities in the sea, and then to the landing beach.It can deliver 600 tons of fuel oil per hour from Britain to the beach, which can basically meet the requirements.
The Allies prepared carefully before the war. In order to solve the problem of identification between ourselves and the enemy, each officer and soldier in the airborne force was allocated a "cricket" toy worth only a few cents. This toy is only the size of a lighter. When you press it with your hand, it will make a "kabba" sound.The identification method stipulated by the Allies is one "Kaba" as an inquiry and two "Kaba" as an answer.A few cents of small toys solved a big problem.
Although the technical equipment of the Allied forces is better than that of the German forces, only a few of the millions of landing troops have participated in the battles in North Africa, Sicily and other places, and most of them have no actual combat experience. To compete with the German forces with combat experience, pre war training is very important.In September 1943, US Lieutenant Colonel Paul Thompson established a training base in the north of Devon, England. He chose a beach similar to the landing beach of the US army, set up minefields, anti tank trenches, blockhouses, barbed wire fences, obstacles, etc. according to the German defense fortifications detected, and then imagined various situations that might occur in wartime, and organized repeated training of the troops——After the war, many American soldiers spoke highly of Thompson's training and believed that it was the training designed by Thompson that enabled soldiers to face complex battlefield.At the same time, the British army carried out near real combat training on the remote beach in the east of England.The high-intensity combat training will definitely damage the equipment. After emergency repair, the Allied logistics repair personnel ensured that the integrity rate of the landing craft of the US and British forces on the eve of landing reached 97.6% and 99.3% respectively.[14][33]
Prewar training
From May 3 to May 8, 1944, the Allies organized the last large-scale joint exercise, under the command of British Admiral Ramsey, the commander of the Allied Navy.The drill was held in the training base of the US military. Except for crossing the strait, other links were the same as those in actual combat. The drill was successful. After the drill, the officer introduced the combat situation to the soldiers under strict confidentiality measures, first explained the unit's mission and landing location, and then explained the specific tasks and how to remove mines in combination with the photos of landing beachhead and sand table models,How to solve the German fire point and where to occupy it.Through the introduction, the soldiers made clear their tasks in the battle, and mastered the coping methods through training, so that they were confident in the landing battle.
Considering that the first batch of landing troops reached 176000 people, who were put into combat from the air and sea respectively, not only did the troops receive routine single training such as boarding, ferry, transfer, and assault landing, but also especially strengthened the coordinated operation of the sea, land, and air forces to avoid the recurrence of fratricidal accidental injuries when landing in Xixili.[14]
Reconnaissance psychological warfare
The Allied forces began their pre war reconnaissance as early as June 1943.Since the French resistance organization and the Allied secret service personnel could not enter the landing beach, they could not get relevant information, so aerial reconnaissance became the most important source of information.From April 1 to June 6, 1944 alone, the Allied forces dispatched as many as 45000 aircraft to carry out extensive aerial photographic reconnaissance in northern France, and obtained relatively comprehensive and systematic information.In addition to aircraft, the Allies also used pocket submarines and torpedo boats to arrive at the landing area at night to collect comprehensive information on hydrology, geology, meteorology, vegetation and German deployment.Although the Allied forces obtained a lot of intelligence through various means of reconnaissance, they were still unable to obtain some important intelligence due to various reasons, which had a certain impact on future operations.
The Allies also carried out a large-scale psychological warfare. In addition to using the BBC's broadcast, they broke the morale of German soldiers and encouraged the people in the occupied territories. In particular, from April 25, 1944, they regularly airdropped the latest military news and German domestic news to the German army, "Army News", which further shook the German army's morale.
Meteorology is one of the important guarantees for the smooth implementation of landing operations. For this reason, in early May 1944, the Allied Supreme Command appointed the British Air Force Colonel Professor of Meteorology Stug as the chief meteorological adviser, responsible for leading a meteorological team to report the meteorological conditions to the Supreme Command twice a week, and changed it to report the meteorological conditions twice a day from May 20.On June 4, there was a storm in the English Channel. At 21:30 p.m., the scientists of the weather team thought after careful analysis that there would be a period of good weather lasting about 12 hours after June 5, followed by severe weather.Eisenhower, as the commander in chief, faced a choice: whether to land on June 6.Eisenhower thought for a while and ordered the formation U with the longest voyage to start first. The final order will be issued in the early morning of June 5, when the formation U will return or continue to move forward according to this order.In the early morning of June 5, Stager reaffirmed that there would be a short period of fine weather on June 6. Eisenhower asked other members of the headquarters for their opinions, and they all agreed to land on June 6.Eisenhower finally ordered a landing on June 6.
Adequate material supply, realistic combat drills, extensive pre war reconnaissance, and accurate weather support provided a solid guarantee and foundation for Normandy's victory.[14]
Normandy Landing
Strategic deception
Normandy Landing is a strategic continental amphibious landing war, which is completely different from the island landing war between the United States and Japan in the Pacific Ocean. As long as you land on the beach, you will win.As the mainland is relatively deep, the defending party can also transfer reserve forces from other places to organize counter attacks and drive the landing party out of the sea even if it lands on the beach.Therefore, the key to success of Normandy landing is to resist the German counterattack and establish a unified and consolidated landing site in the first two weeks of landing.However, before the Allies occupied the port, they could only transport 12~15 divisions, including 1~2 armored divisions, by landing on the artificial harbor at the beach, and ensure the supply of food, oil and ammunition for these forces.In contrast, the German army deployed only 6 divisions in Normandy, but in three days, 25~30 divisions could be transferred from all over the country, of which 7~8 armored divisions were put into counterattack.With such a large military strength, the Allies are almost impossible to win.In other words, only by preventing German reinforcements from reaching Normandy can we win.In order to prevent German reinforcements, the Allies took a two pronged approach. On the one hand, they used powerful air forces to comprehensively bomb railway and road targets in northwest France, blocking the traffic to Normandy, so that German reinforcements could not reach.On the other hand, strategic deception and camouflage were carried out to convince the German headquarters that there would be another larger landing after the Normandy landing, so the reinforcements were not transferred to Normandy——This strategic deception is the most secret part of the Normandy landing. Until 50 years later, only part of it was disclosed in the declassified files, and some of it could only be speculated and imagined by future generations.
In December 1943, Lieutenant General Morgan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Allied Supreme Command, proposed to formulate relevant deception and confidentiality measures to ensure the success of landing.The program code is "Jay". The participating agencies of the program include the British Military Intelligence Agency, the Special Operations Agency, the Counter Intelligence Agency, the Double Cross Commission, the Political Warfare Implementation Office, the US Strategic Intelligence Agency (the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Allied Army, Navy and Air Intelligence Department.The core department is the British Supervision Office in London, which is mainly responsible for formulating and implementing strategic deception and reconnaissance operations, and coordinating the UK and allied intelligence agencies to jointly organize major operations.
The scope and difficulty of this strategic deception are unimaginable.In January 1944, the "Jay" plan was renamed the "Guard" plan.There are two main purposes: first, to induce the German army to disperse throughout Europe through various ways, so as to minimize the German army's garrison in France, especially in Normandy.The second is to convince the German Command that the Normandy landings were just aa feintThe purpose is to induce the German army to put into reserve force too early, so as to create conditions for the next large-scale main attack.
In order to achieve the first purpose of the "Defender" plan, that is, to disperse the German army, Bivan implemented the "Zeppelin" plan in southern Europe: at the beginning of 1944, the Soviet army had approached Romania and Hungary, and both Romania and Hungary foresaw that Germany was doomed, so they sent secret envoys to contact Britain and the United States to discuss surrenders secretly.However, the British radio and newspapers revealed the secrets of both sides intentionally or unintentionally.Germany could not tolerate the appearance of traitors in southern Europe, so it decided to send troops to occupy Hungary.But at that time, the German army in the eastern Soviet battlefield was very nervous and could not draw out troops;There are no soldiers to draw from the fierce battle on the beach of Anzio in southern Italy.Finally, three armored divisions and one infantry division were drawn from France, and on March 19, 1944, they occupied all of Hungary, putting Hungarian Prime Minister Cali in a concentration camp.Romania was frightened and stopped its secret contacts with Britain and the United States.Thus, although Germany controlled the situation in southern Europe, it lost four elite divisions in France.
In Northern Europe, the British side organized the "Northern Perseverance" plan.In January 1944, the British side visited the Soviet Union and cooperated with the Soviet intelligence agencies to create the illusion of attacking Norway and Sweden.The United Kingdom established a non-existent command of the 4th Group Army Group in Edinburgh, Scotland, and communicated with a similar fake command of the Soviet army by radio.With its excellent radio interception and positioning technology, the German army quickly measured the position of the headquarters of the fake army group, and sent planes to bomb.With various measures, the German army deployed 13 divisions in Norway and Sweden, including one armored division, to cope with the Allied attack.The 13 divisions did not leave Norway and Sweden until the end of the war.
In the Soviet German battlefield on the eastern front, the Soviet army actively cooperated. Before June 1944, it did not launch a new attack, but moved its troops frequently, making it impossible for the German army to identify the Soviet army's intentions and dare not easily draw out troops.After the Normandy landing, the Soviet army launched three large-scale offensive campaigns in Karelia, Belarus and Western Ukraine, firmly attracting the German army in the east.
The second and most important purpose of the "Guardian" plan was to convince the German army that the Normandy landing was just a feint to consume its reserve forces prematurely.However, those with a little military common sense can be sure that this is the main attack as long as they find that the first echelon of Normandy landing has 8 divisions.
The most important "mercury plan": in the southeast of England, the troops with the designation of the first group army group of the United States were invented. Through deception and camouflage in radio communication, barracks, troops, commanders and other aspects, the German headquarters learned that in the southeast of England, the Allied forces gathered about 40 divisions to form the first group army group with Patton as the commander,Then the main attack direction of landing must be Calais.
"Twilight Program": electronic jamming and deception implemented by allied air forces.According to the special instructions of the Supreme Command, the German army first bombed the large radio interception and decoding base set up in The Hague, the Netherlands, in August 1943, completely destroying it and eliminating the threat to the Allied radio communication.Secondly, during the large-scale air raid on the German radar station, the 9 German radar stations located north of the Seine River were deliberately not bombed, so that the German army could use these radar stations to find the fake fleet sent by the Allies before landing. The fake fleet sailed to Calais three hours before landing, consisting of 18 small boats, each with a raft and a balloon with a diameter of 8.8 meters,A radar transmitter is installed in the balloon, and the radar signal sent is equivalent to the radar signal of a 10000 ton landing ship. There are dozens of aircraft flying over the fleet throwing tin foil strips.These measures were reflected on the screen of the German radar station as a huge landing fleet headed for Calais under the cover of a large number of aircraft, further confusing the German army.
The use of double spies is also an important part of the "Guardian Plan".Thanks to the excellent work of the British anti spy agency, all German spy organizations in Britain were uncovered shortly after the war began, and German expatriates were quarantined and censored, completely eliminating the enemy agents in Britain.Although German intelligence agencies constantly sent spies to infiltrate and infiltrate Britain, on the one hand, British anti spy agencies work efficiently, and on the other hand, British currency and weights and measures are completely different from those of the European continent, making it easy to detect spies entering Britain, so Germany has been unable to carry out intelligence work in Britain.The British specially set up a "double cross committee" to engage in the conspiracy of arrested German spies to become double spies in British service.After a long period of patient and meticulous training, we finally have four double spies believed by the German intelligence agency: "Jia Bao", "Bao Bao", "Tricycle" and "Brewster".A large number of Allied landing ships were gathering in Dover, and the false information that the real landing was about to begin seriously interfered with the German command's correct analysis and judgment of the war situation.
Marshal Alan Brook, Chief of the British General Staff, said: "Since Hitler is such a fool, how can we defeat him with such a long time and great energy?" Then British Prime Minister Churchill and British Intelligence Director Menzies came to the Supreme Command and spoke highly of the organization and implementation of the "Guardian Plan": in the long history of British intelligence,This is the ultimate success!All these strategic deception and confidentiality plans around the Normandy landing have become the amulet to ensure the success of the landing.As Churchill said, "Truth is so precious in war, and we should defend it with lies."[15]
Battle general
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Allied General
Commander in Chief
Dwight David Eisenhower
Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States (from 1953 to 1961).
Eisenhower was born in the United States in 1890TexasDenison is a Christian family.He graduated from West Point in 1915 and ranked 61st in his class when he graduated. He only got the rank of sergeant.Later, he served in the 19th Infantry Division of San Antonio, Texas, with the rank of Second Lieutenant.[4]
During the Second World War, he served asallied forces The supreme commander in Europe, who was responsible for planning and implementing the surveillance attack on France from 1944 to 1945Vichy governmentandNazi Germany Action.Retired in February 1948Columbia UniversityThe headmaster served as the commander of NATO until 1953 (but he has been absent since 1950).1952American Republican PartyThe presidential candidate won the presidential election and became the 34th president of the United States. In 1956, he won the election again and was elected president again.He died of heart disease in Washington on March 28, 1969.
second-commander
Arthur William Ted
Arthur William Ted(Arthur William Tedder, 1890-1967), Marshal of the Royal Air Force.In 1914, he joined the First World War and went to France with the British Expeditionary Force to fight.After the end of World War I, Ted stayed in the Royal Air Force (an independent service in 1918) to serve in the construction and development of the Royal Air Force.During the Second World War, he served as the commander of the Middle East Royal Air Force, the commander of the North African theater air force, the commander of the Mediterranean theater air force, and the supreme deputy commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces Supreme Command.
Chief of Staff
Walter Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell Smith (Walter Bedell Smith, 1895-1961) During World War IIEisenhowerThe chief of staff of the United States, later the director of Central Intelligence,general of the army。BornIndianaIndianapolis.In 1918, he participated in the First World War in France.He graduated from Benningburg Walking School in 1932.Graduated successively in 1935 and 1937Army Command and General Staff Colleg Army Military Academy.1942 European BattlefieldUnited States Army Chief of Staff, attendNorth Africa CampaignAnd served as the Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces in North Africa.He served as ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1946 and commander of the First Group Army in 1949.In 1950CIALong.He retired in 1954.
Army Commander
bernard law montgomery
bernard law montgomery , British Field Marshal and strategist, was one of the most outstanding Allied generals during the outbreak of World War II.He is famous for successfully covering the Dunkirk retreatBattle of Alaman、Sicily LandingNormandy Landing is the three masterpieces of his military career.[5]
naval commander
Admiral Bertram Ramsay (1883-1945) was a British admiral.He joined the navy in 1898, went through various combat services and staff work, retired in 1938 and took the rank of lieutenant general.In August 1939, he was called to serve againDoverPort Commander until April 1942.During his tenure, he commanded the generator operation of Dunkirk's retreat and the strait defense battle of the Battle of Britain.1942-1943 Assisted in the planning and implementation of the Allied forces in North Africa andsicilyLanding operations.In 1944, he served as the naval commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, leading the rank of admiral, responsible for maritime transportation and support tasks.In January 1945, he died in a plane crash during his mission.
Air Force Commander
Succession in November 1942William Sholto DouglasAs Commander in Chief of the British Fighter Command, he was immediately promoted to Air Force General.At the end of 1943, he served as the air force commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, commanding the tactical air force to ensure the air supremacy in the preparation and implementation of the overlord's operations in Normandy landing.During the preparation for landing, he improved the control of British fighter planes to the extent that it was difficult for enemy planes to fly into the flying circle.So on the day of landing, the landing force was not interfered by the German Air Force.The British and American Air Force commanded by Lee Mallory during the landing operation had 9000 aircraft, completely suppressing the German Air Force, bombing German roads and railway transport lines, and greatly reducing the mobility of German backup reinforcements.Although his practice was strongly opposed by the strategic bombing faction, it directly contributed to the strategy of bombing the railway center within 150 miles of landing.In November 1944, he was transferred to the post of Air Force Commander in Chief of the Southeast Asian Allied Countries. On the way to his post with his wife, he was killed in a plane crash on December 14 in Grenoble.
The First Group Army of the United States
Omar Nelson Bradley (Omar Bradley), a famous American militarist, commander in chief, and five-star general of the Army (1950).The main commander of the US military in North Africa and Europe during World War II.He was the last five-star general to die and the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Gerd von Lundstedt(Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt, 1875-1953),Nazi Germany Field Marshal.In 1892, he graduated from Grosslehield Senior Military Academy and was assigned to the Kassel Infantry Regiment.In 1900, he became a lieutenant adjutant of the Infantry Corps.After graduating from the military school in 1907, he was promoted to captain of the infantry regiment.After the outbreak of the First World War, he initially took the post of staff officer of the 22nd Preparatory Division, succeeding the chief of a military in CarpathiansmajorChief of Staff of the 15th Army of the Western Front at the end of World War I.After the First World War, he successively served as the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Cavalry Division, the 2nd Group Army, the 2nd Cavalry Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, and the commander of the 3rd Military Region.In October 1932, he was promoted to Infantry General and served as Commander of the 1st Group Army.On July 19, 1940, he was promoted to German Field Marshal.He isnaziOne of the most senior military commanders in the regime has been lacking in interest and understanding of politics all his life.
Group B
Elvin Johannes Eugene Rommel
Erwin Ro mm el,Nazi Germany Our army marshal, famous strategist, tactician, theorist, nicknamed“Desert Fox, the eagle of the empire ".AndManstein、Heinz Guderian It was called by later generations during the Second World WarNazi Germany Three famous generals of.[6]
The Seventh Group Army
Friedrich Dorman(Friedrich Dollmann, 1882-1944.6.28). In 1914, Dorman participated in the First World War.After the war, he remained in the National Defense Force.In 1936, Dorman was promoted to commander of the ninth defense area.Later, he was commander of the 7th Group Army.In April 1940, Dorman commanded the seven armies to invade France.Later, he stayed in France to carry out occupation tasks and remained the commander of the 7th Group Army.On July 19, 1940, Dorman was promoted to senior general.In 1944, Dorman was responsible forNormandy The 7th Group Army.On June 5, 1944, Dorman left the headquarters for the Pictorial Exercise, when the Allies launched an attack.His troops bear the brunt.In the early morning of June 28, 1944, DormanCherbourgHe blamed him for his premature loss. He was afraid of being punished and took poison to kill himself at 10 am that day.
Commander in Chief of the Western Front
Group B Army Group
Otto Moritz Walter Model(Otto Moritz Walter Model, January 24, 1891-1945, April 21), German Field Marshal.At the end of the war, Modal was a captain, continued to serve in the army, and once served as the head of the Second Infantry Regiment.In 1935, he was appointed Director of the Technical Department of the Army Staff Headquarters.General Manstein, his officer at that time, praised him as a strong man in the crowd and referred to him as "the barracuda in the carp pond".
Military commanderThe position of the supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Allies was originally intended to be held by an experienced British general, but Churchill knew that the number of Americans would greatly exceed the British army after landing, so he took the initiative to propose that the position be held by a U.S. general.President Roosevelt had intended the Army Chief of StaffMarshallLater, considering that Marshall was more needed to coordinate in Washington, Marshall recommendedEisenhowerTake office.
Other members of the High Command include: Deputy Commander, British Air Force Marshal Ted, Chief of Staff, US Army Lieutenant General Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff, British Army Lieutenant General Morgan, Army Commander, British Army Admiral Montgomery, Naval Commander, British Admiral Ramsey, and Air Force Commander, British Air Force Admiral Mallory.
Army strengthThere are four group armies: the British 2nd Group Army, commanded by British Army Lieutenant General Dempsey, has jurisdiction over five armies and 13 divisions, and landed at the "Gold" and "Sword" beachhead on the left wing.The 1st Group Army of Canada, commanded by British Army Lieutenant General Duncan Grenim, has one army and three divisions, and landed at the "Juneau" beach.The above two group armies attacked Caen as the left wing.The 1st Group Army of the United States, commanded by a lieutenant general of the United States ArmyBradleyIt has jurisdiction over 5 armies and 14 divisions, landing at the beaches of "Omaha" and "Utah" to attack Sanloh and Karantan as the right wing, which is the main direction of attack.The three army groups form the 21st army group, which is composed of British army generalsMontgomeryRen Commander.This is the first echelon of landing troops.The 3rd Group Army of the United States is composed of the lieutenant general of the United States ArmyBartonRen, the commander, has four armies and nine divisions under the direct command of the Supreme Headquarters. As the second echelon, he will fight from the road opened by the first group army of the United States, break out of the Cottondon Peninsula, cross the Brittany Peninsula, and outflank the German army in Caen who fought with the British army, completely smash the German resistance and seize France and Belgium by victory.
Naval strengthIt is organized into two special task force fleets:
Fighters and bombers prepared by the US military for the Normandy landing
The Western Special Task Force is mainly composed of US Navy warships, including 3 battleships, 10 cruisers, 30 destroyers, 280 other warships, and more than 1700 landing ships. The commander is Rear Admiral Kirk of the US Navy, who gathers in Belfast, and the 9th Air Force of the US Tactical Air Force provides air cover.There are three formations under its jurisdiction: Formation U is responsible for transporting the 4th Infantry Division to land on the "Utah" beach, Formation O is responsible for transporting the 1st Infantry Division to land on the "Omaha" beach, and Formation B is responsible for transporting the 29th Infantry Division to land on the "Omaha" beach.
The eastern task force is mainly composed of British warships, including 3 battleships, 13 cruisers, 30 destroyers, 302 other warships, and 2426 landing ships. The commander is Rear Admiral Wian of the British Navy, who gathers in Grenook and is provided with air cover by the 2nd Air Force of the British Tactical Air Force.There are four formations under its jurisdiction: Group G is responsible for transporting the British 50th Infantry Division to land on the "Gold" beach, Group J is responsible for transporting the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division to land on the "Juno" beach, Group S is responsible for transporting the British 3rd Infantry Division to land on the "Sword" beach, and Group L is responsible for transporting the second tier British 7th Armored Division to land on the "Gold" beach.
The Navy also formed five naval gun fire support brigades with seven battleships, two shallow water gunships, 24 cruisers and 74 destroyers to provide naval gun fire support for five beachheads.
Air force strengthIn addition to the 2nd Air Force of the United States and the 9th Air Force of the United Kingdom, Eisenhower also threatened to resign and obtained the command of the British strategic bomber force with General Harris of the British Air Force as its commander and the 8th Air Force of the United States Strategic Air Force in Britain with Major General Doolittle of the United States Air Force as its commander from the British American Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee,In this way, the air force of the Supreme Command has four aviation teams.
The airborne forces are the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions of the United States and the 6th airborne division of the United Kingdom.This was the largest airborne force the Allies could muster in Europe.
Normandy Landing
In order to carry out the Normandy landing campaign, the Allied forces mustered up to 2.88 million troops.There are 36 divisions in the army, including 23 infantry divisions, 10 armored divisions and 3 paratroopers divisions, with about 1.53 million people.There are about 5300 warships put into operation by the Navy, including about 1200 combat ships, including 13 battleships, 47 cruisers, 134 destroyers, 4126 landing ships and more than 5000 transport ships.The Air Force has 13700 combat aircraft, including 5800 bombers, 4900 fighter planes and 3000 transport gliders.[3][12]
On the eve of landing, the ratio of the number of Allied and German army divisions in the western front was 16:1, and that of the army was 3:1.It can be seen that the Allies have a strong advantage.
In order to win the "Overlord" operation, the US military also mobilized 41 divisions, ready to start at any time.On the eve of landing, more than 1.9 million tons of various goods and materials were delivered to Britain every month in the United States.Britain is a small country. In a few months, nearly 3 million troops and so many ships, aircraft and war readiness materials have gathered in the main ports and departure areas. Like a huge military camp, there are many sentries everywhere and they are heavily guarded.Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied European Expeditionary Force, humorously said that the powerful army was stretched tight like a rolled spring, waiting for the time to release its energy and fly across the English Channel.[10]
German sequence
In order to resist the Allied landing, Germany began to build permanent coastal fortifications as early as December 1941, namely the so-called“Atlantic Wall ”。However, for various reasons, until May 1944, 68% of the project was completed in the area east of the Seine River, 18% in the area west of the Seine River, and only in Calais.
Army strengthBy May 1944, the German army had 179 divisions and 5 brigades in the eastern Soviet battlefield, accounting for about 65% of the total German forces.In France on the western frontBelgiumThe Netherlands, only the Commander in Chief of the Western Front Army MarshalGerd von Lundstedt59 divisions under command, 33 of themcoast defenceDivision, 15 infantry divisions, 8Armored Division, 2ParatrooperDivision.Even with the addition ofHitlerHands on strategyReserve teamTwo armored divisions, a total of 60 divisions, about 760000 people.The 58 divisions under the Western Front Command are divided into two divisionsGroup Army Group, a total of four army groups.Group B is composed of field marshalsRommelCommanded and stationed in northern France, 39 divisions are the main force of the German army in the western front.It governs the 15th Group Army, the commander is General Salmut, stationed in Calais, and has 23 divisions including 14 coastal defense divisions, 4 infantry divisions, and 5 armored divisions;The commander of the 7th Group Army is General Dorman, stationed inBrittany Peninsula It has 14 divisions including 8 coastal defense divisions, 5 infantry divisions and 1 armored division.Group G Army Group, under the command of General Braskovitz, stationed in FranceLuwa RiverThere are 19 divisions in the west.It governs the 1st Group Army, with Lieutenant General Chevalier as its commander and 10 divisions stationed in Belgium;The 19th Group Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Sondstein, was stationed in southern France, with 9 divisions in total.
Naval strengthThere are 5 destroyers, 49 submarines, 6 ocean minesweepers, 116 patrol ships, 309 minesweepers, 34 torpedo boats, 42 gunboats, and a total of 561 small and medium-sized warships, which are very weak.
Air force strengthIt is the third aviation team, with about 450 combat aircraft, including 160 fighters.Compared with the number of Allied combat aircraft, it is at an absolute disadvantage of 1:30.
In Normandy, the garrison consists of 6 divisions and 3 regiments belonging to the 7th Group Army, of which 3 coastal defense divisions have weak combat effectiveness;2 infantry divisions and 1 armored division, with a relatively strong combat effectiveness;The three regiments are two independent infantry regiments and one parachute regiment, with a total force of about 90000.Defensive fortifications are also relatively weak. Only a number of independent supporting points of reinforced concrete have been built. Most of the fortifications are field fortifications, and only a small number of air defense barriers have been set up in depth.In April 1944, Hitler judged that Normandy would be the landing site of the Allied forces and asked for more troops. Rommel, according to this instruction, transferred the 352nd Infantry Division in San Francisco to Normandy. It was this newly transferred elite division that brought disaster to the US troops at the "Omaha" beach.
The German army set up many anti tank obstacles along the coastline
The German army is not only weak, but also there has been disagreement among senior generals on the policy of anti landing.Marshal Lundstedt, commander in chief of the western front, advocated that the main force should be deployed in depth and counterattack tactics should be adopted to fight against landing;Commander of Group BRommelThe marshal advocated that the main force should be deployed on the beach, and the enemy should be annihilated on the beach relying on the beach fortifications.The two men had no choice but to compromise. Some troops were deployed on the beach and some troops were deployed in depth. No matter in the beach or in depth, the deployment of such forces could not form a superior force. They were unable to prevent Allied troops from landing on the beach or organize counterattacks.It lays the groundwork for future failure.More seriously, because the two men also had differences on the use of the armored forces, Hitler was angry and changed the two elite armored divisions of the western mobile forces under Rommel's command to the command of the Supreme Command. This decision actually deprived the western generals of their command over the armored forces, making Rommel lose the counterattack force that most frightened the Allies.[13]
Campaign progress
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Campaign Overview
The Normandy Landing Campaign was the largest in the 20th centuryLanding campaignIt is also one of the most influential landing campaigns in the war history.allied forces36 divisions have been mobilized, with a total force of 2.88 million, includingland forceThere are 1.53 million people, which is equivalent to all American troops at the end of the 20th century.From June 6, 1944 to the beginning of July, the US, Britain and Canada's million troops, 170000 vehicles and 600000 tons of various supplies successfully passed throughEnglish channel。By July 24, there were about 240000 casualties and prisoners on both sides of the war, including 122000 Allied casualties and 113000 German casualties and prisoners.By the end of August, the Allied forces had destroyed or severely damaged 40 German divisions. Three German field marshals and one German army commander had been dismissed or resigned, killed and captured 20 German army group commanders, military commanders, division commanders and other senior generals, captured and destroyed more than 3000 German artillery guns, and destroyed more than 1000 chariots.The German army lost 3500 planes, 13000 tanks, 20000 vehicles and 400000 personnel.The successful Normandy landing and the return of American and British troops to the European continent have fundamentally changed the strategic situation of the Second World War.[10]
stayBattle of Normandy The Allied forces in China's war were mainly composed of Canada, Britain and the United States, but after the beach capture was completed,Free FranceAnd Poland also participated in the battle, and some of the soldiers were fromBelgium、Czechoslovakia, Greece, Netherlands andNorwayEtc.
The attack on Normandy was launched the night before landing, with airborne troopsAirborne combatLarge scale aerial bombardment.The amphibious landing war began on the morning of June 6, 1944.Before landing, D-Day troops were mainly deployed in the coastal areas of southern England, especially inPortsmouth。The Normandy Campaign lasted for more than two months. Finally, the Allies successfully established the beachhead and liberated Paris on August 25, 1944.
Participants: the United States, Britain, Canada, Free France, Poland and Nazi Germany.
troops
Allied forces: 2876000 (July 25, 1944)
German army: 1380000 (July 23, 1944)
Battlefield of Normandy Landing Campaign
Bomb the enemy
Allied aviation is an important force in the preparation of landing operations. As early as June 1943, Britain and the United States began to carry out strategic bombing on German air bases and aviation industry, dropping about 70000 tons of bombs, which hit German military industry and air force heavily.In order to ensure the air supremacy in the landing area, a fierce assault was carried out on 40 major German airports within a radius of 200 kilometers from the landing point three weeks before the D Day. 3915 bombers were dispatched and 6700 tons of bombs were dropped, basically suppressing the German air force in the war zone.D Later, the Allied Air Force expanded its attack range and bombed 59 German airports within a radius of 470 kilometers from the landing point, so that the Allied forces had full control of the air. The German Air Force lost its ability to organize effective resistance and could only conduct some small-scale harassment.
In order to prevent German reinforcements from Normandy, the Allied Air Force implemented the air blockade code named "transport operations". This action was divided into two stages: the first stage was to bomb 39 railway targets in northwest Germany and 33 railway targets in France from the first three months to D, so as to completely block the traffic lines in this area. The Allied forces dispatched 20000 sorties in three months,76000 tons of bombs were dropped, including more than 71000 tons for attacking railway hubs and 4400 tons for attacking bridges.A total of 50 hubs were destroyed, 25 hubs were severely damaged, 74 bridges were blown up, and 18 of the 24 bridges on the Seine River were blown up.In addition, 1500 of 2000 locomotives and 16000 railway carriages were bombed in France, resulting in a 62% drop in railway traffic. Of 1600 trains, 600 were loaded with German supplies, so they were forced to stay at the German French border and could not enter France.
In the first five weeks of the D-day attack, the Allied forces, with a strong air force advantage, dispatched 53800 sorties to bombard the enemy's maritime fortifications and communication targets violently, dropping 30700 tons of bombs in total.[16]
Route Map of Allied Bomber Attack on June 6, 1944[36]
Electronic warfare
With the war approaching, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill personally asked about the preparation and implementation of electronic warfare landing, and organized electronic warfare scientists and technical experts to actively prepare for the war.At that time, the landing electronic warfare organization was a grand systematic project. In addition to the country to country relationship, the whole landing war must be coordinated, and the land, sea and air forces must be closely coordinated, including the implementation of the whole process of airborne operations.At that time, electronic warfare adopted many cutting-edge electronic technologies, some of which were special inventions, especially many innovations in electronic deception.From the operational effect of the whole landing campaign, the German army's thinking was really confused, resulting in a series of wrong judgments, which led to the failure of command. Electronic warfare can be said to have contributed a lot.By the time Hitler understood that the Allies were "a real landing operation, not a feint", the situation had gone.
When evaluating the electronic warfare effect of landing, Churchill said: "All kinds of deception measures we carried out before and after the general offensive have systematically caused the enemy's ideological confusion. Its achievements are commendable and its impact will be very far-reaching."
At the beginning of the war, the landing fleet set out, and the German radar network on the coast of France and Belgium was heavily bombed by the Allied Air Force. Most of the radars became "blind". At this time, the jamming and deception actions were introduced.The allied forces simulated the "ghost fleet" of the Royal Air Force flight squadron "set sail". The small fleet dragged the "hazelnut" balloon into the sea. When it reached 10 kilometers from the coast, it fired smoke bombs, and played the sound of the landing of the large army. The German army panicked.At the same time, the electronic deception simulating the false "airborne" spread rapidly, which made the German army repeatedly jump into the air and cry out to be deceived;After the communication jamming is launched, the enemy plane can not hear the navigation command at all, and has been wandering in the chaff jamming to find the target;When more than 200 ships equipped with jammers launched jamming near the coast, the remaining radars were completely covered. At this time, the German army had become a "vegetable".In the whole electronic warfare, the Allies reduced casualties and losses to a minimum, but achieved a huge victory of historic significance.[17]
airborne raid
Normandy Landing
During the Normandy Landing Campaign, the AlliesAirborne troopsIts mission is to land at both sides of the landing beachhead at a depth of 10-15 kilometers from the coast, stop the reinforcement of the enemy reserve team, and attack the German coastal defense positions from the rear to assist in landing at sea.In the first 1-2 days, the Allies only landed 6-8 infantry divisions, and only after the establishment of a large landing area for the armored division, could the armored division be put into operation.If the German army broke through the defense line of the landing force before the armored force landed, it would bring disaster to the landing.Therefore, the action of airborne troops is crucial to the success of landing at the initial stage of landing.
The British 1st Airborne Division was the first to launch combat operations（TongaOperations).As early as 00:16 midnight, they were airdropped to the left wing of the landing area. Their goal was to seize the bridge near the Pegasus Bridge to prevent the German armored forces from going to the coast to support them.The paratroopers quickly occupied these bridges and successfully controlled them until the landing commandos arrived later that day.The aim of this operation also included the capture of the bunker at Melville.Although the bunker was not destroyed, after the battle, all but six people were killed and wounded in the bunker.
In contrast, the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions of the US Army are not so lucky.Due to inexperienced pilots and complex ground conditions, coupled with the interception of enemy artillery, the troops were scattered everywhere.SomeParatrooperUnfortunately, they landed in the low-lying areas in the sea or inland that were deliberately submerged by the German army. Many people were drowned in knee deep water due to heavy equipment.After 24 hours, the 101st Division gathered only about 3000 people.However, from the overall strategic point of view, the Allies can be said to have benefited from misfortune.Parachutists were thrown all over Normandy, making the German army into chaos.The paratroopers went their own way, scattered the German army and achieved great success.And they made the German commander greatly overestimate the number of paratroopers, mobilized more unnecessary forces, and largely dispersed the pressure on the beach landing site.Many people still fought alone behind the enemy lines many days after Day D.On the morning of the 6th, the 82nd Division occupied St. - Mel - Eglis, which became the first liberated town in France.
Although there were many problems in Allied airborne, it still achieved great success, which showed that Eisenhower's view was correct.The Allied air landing captured vital transportation hubs, bridges and beach access roads in the initial time of landing, destroyed the German artillery positions, destroyed the stability of the German defense, held back the German reserves, and put the German army in a passive situation.It created conditions for the victory of landing.
At 22:00 on June 5, 1944, the Allied airborne assault guidance group began operations.The 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions of the US Army and the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army sent 26 transport planes, each carrying a 13 person airborne guidance group, to parachute from 150 meters in their respective predetermined areas.The work of the airborne guidance group was excellent. Except that the guidance group of the second regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army was destroyed by the German army, and a group of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army failed to set guidance signal signs in the scheduled airborne area, the other groups set guidance signals at the scheduled time and in the scheduled area.At this time, on the German position, the sentry was drowsy, and the guard of the troops was lax.At 1:00 on June 6, six soldiers of the Allied airborne troops landed on the Cherbourg Peninsula, which was the first batch of Allied soldiers to land in the Normandy battle.In order to hoodwink the German army, the Allied airborne troops dropped hundreds of scarecrows around six British soldiers, posing a false attack as usual.After landing, the six soldiers played out loud the recording of light weapons firing and soldiers shouting commands, which gave the German army an illusion;First, send a signal to the air to guide the airborne troops to land.
In the early morning, the first echelon of three airborne divisions, about 17000 people, took more than 1200 transport planes from three airport groups in the UK, 200~250 kilometers away from the airborne area, to Normandy.At that time, only 40 planes could transport one battalion of troops.From the first hour, the Allied airborne troops were like divine soldiers, opening the prelude to the big landing.
The 82nd Airborne Commando Division of the US Army was transported by 378 C-47 transport planes and 52 gliders, and airborne in the Saint Mann Igris area and on both sides of the Mettler River.After the air landing began, most of the members of the Pioneer Parachute Corps landed within 3 miles of the scheduled area.After landing, the paratroopers soon occupied the main points of the road from Cotantan Peninsula to Fort au.After landing, the airborne troops quickly attacked the local German army.The German army suddenly found the Allied airborne troops, and many officers and soldiers were extremely frightened. They were at a loss before the war, and could not counter attack the Allied landing forces at the beach.American airborne troops also took control of the causeway in the flood area north of Kalantan to meet the attack squadron landing from the sea.At the end of the 6th day, the 82nd Airborne Division, with a force of about 2000, occupied Saint Man Igris and failed to complete all tasks.At 17:00 on the 7th, this force joined up with the landing force.
The assault echelon of the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army was transported by 432 C-47 transport planes, which were airborne in the areas of Saint Martin Tevaraville Saint Mary Dumont and Saint Gomdumont respectively.The first batch of 150 people, anti tank guns and other equipment of the subsequent echelon landed with 52 gliders.The second batch of 157 people and supplies landed on 32 gliders.These troops landed behind the "Utah" beach. Although they did not encounter great resistance when landing, the "Romery stake" preset by the German army in the landing area damaged some gliders.At the end of the 6th day, the 101st Airborne Division gathered about 2500 people, captured the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th beach roads, and joined the first echelon of the 7th Army of the US landing force.
The advance detachment of the 6th Airborne Division of the British army landed near the Kern Canal and the Orn River Bridge in Pinover, occupied the bridge, and then built a bridgehead position.When the German army counterattacked under the cover of tanks, it was soon attacked by the British army.Half an hour after the advance team landed, the main force of the assault echelon began to parachute.The gliders of the following echelons encountered strong wind and dense clouds during the voyage, 20 gliders had broken their towlines, and some of them did not land in the predetermined area.After landing, the 6th Airborne Division only met with resistance from a few German troops, and completed the scheduled task under the condition that the airborne landing was relatively scattered.In the evening, the personnel of the 6th aircraft landing brigade took 145 gliders to glide and land.At this time, the 6th Airborne Division had already landed 6 parachuting battalions, 2 airborne battalions, 50 anti tank guns and some light tanks and artillery in the predetermined area.[10][34][39]
Route Map of Normandy Landing Campaign[39]
German defeat
German armored forces
stayD-DAYThere was only the 21st Armored Division to organize the counter attack, but the division chief was not at the command post, and the chief of staff had no right to mobilize the assembled troops, so he had to send the only 24 No. 4 tanks to attackCaenThe British army in the east.becausehastyThey were easily repulsed by the British army due to insufficient preparation and lack of infantry support.In the afternoon of the same day, the division commander Fishidinger hurried back to the division headquarters and assembled his troops to launch an attack on Luk Town between Juno Beach and Sword Beach. At that time, there was still a gap of thousands of meters between the two beaches. The German counterattack was hitting the key points of the Allies, which would bring no small difficulties to the Allies.While the 21st Armored Division was on its way, 500 transport planes of the Allied forces were flying overhead to transport follow-up troops and supplies for the British 6th Airborne Division, while Fishidinger mistakenly believed that the Allied paratroopers were just going to attack their own troops back and forth, panicked, didn't fight, gave up the counterattack and retreated in a hurry.In addition, the German army had no more counterattack on D day.
On June 6, 1944, which was predicted by Rommel as the decisive 24 hoursEisenhowerIt was called the longest day in history, and it passed peacefully.
On June 7, 1944,HitlerHe gave Rommel the command of the five armored divisions in the western armored cluster, and Rommel was determined to use this elite force to fight back on a large scale. But in the face of the severe situation, he had to set the first goal of the counterattack as to first prevent the Allies from connecting the five landing beaches into a complete large landing field, and then ensure Caen and Cherbourg.However, this armored force arrived from 100 to 200 kilometers away. Under the fierce air attack of the Allied forces, it was impossible to put into operation organically. Even if sporadic troops arrived at the beach, they suffered heavy casualties under the bombardment of the Allied warships, and lost their prestige in the past.In this way, during the whole day of June 7, 1944, under the absolutely superior firepower of the Allied naval and air forces, the German army was unable to launch a decisive large-scale counterattack.[19]
Assault landing
On June 6, 1944, while the airborne battle was fierce, a more intense battle was launched on the beach.One and a half hours before the landing, that is, at 5:00 on the 6th, 1136 planes of the Royal Air Force carried out an air attack on the German coastal gun positions between Le Havre and Cherbourg, dropping 5853 tons of bombs.1083 bombers of the 8th Air Force dropped 1763 tons of bombs on the German coastal fortifications.
it's dawn.The sound of gunfire and explosions on the Normandy coast became more and more intense.The Allied medium bombers and fighter planes bombed German positions more and more fiercely, and almost all the intended targets on German positions were destroyed.The German artillery was suppressed, the fortifications were destroyed, the communication facilities were destroyed, and the radar was either bombed or strongly interfered, making it difficult to find the target.
Under the cover of dense aerial fire, a huge fleet of more than 6000 Allied ships marched towards Normandy. Many landing ships, under the cover of minesweepers, bypassed the reefs, crossed dangerous beaches and gradually approached Normandy.
At 5:30, more than 100 Allied ships prepared for naval gun fire in front of the 80 km landing in Normandy.Due to the great suddenness, the firepower preparation has achieved good results.
The heavy bombardment of the air force and the heavy shelling of the naval ships opened a big gap between the "death zone" set up by the German army.At dawn, the ship carrying the landing troops slowly approached Normandy against the 20 foot high channel waves.According to the scheduled plan, between 6:30 and 7:45, all landing forces must land in five carefully selected landing areas.[10][18]
Sword Beach is close to Ouistreham at the Orne estuary. It is the easternmost beach of the five "Operation Overlord" beaches. Caen, the shipping center in northern France, is 9 miles south of the beach.
The landing force of the Baojiantan landing site: the 3rd Division of the British 1st Army Infantry.The landing troops were strongly blocked by the German army when they landed. At dusk, the landing troops joined the 6th Parachutist Division who landed by air.[10]
After seizing the beach, the British troops landing from the east of Baojian Beach soon defeated the fire of the German light infantry and joined the paratroopers who had parachuted inland in the afternoon.However, the British troops who landed from the west of Baojian Beach were strongly resisted by the tank troops of the 21st German Division, and could not successfully join the Canadian troops who landed from Juno Beach.The two sides fought fiercely until dusk, when the Allies successfully repulsed the German armored forces.Of the 29000 British troops who landed that day, only 630 were injured or killed.[18]
juno beach
Landing forces at the landing site of Juno Beach: the 3rd Infantry Division of the Canadian Army and an armored brigade strengthened.At first, the landing army was hit by German artillery. Among 306 landing ships, 90 ships and 8 amphibious tanks were lost. But when they were covered by armored forces, they fought back the German army's stubborn resistance and pushed inland for 4 miles.That night, the road from Okaya to Baya, where the landing troops were marching.[10]The German army at Juneau Beach was a regiment.The group is mainly composed ofRussiansandPersianComposition, morale is quite low, and combat effectiveness is also poor.However, the battle of the Canadian army was not smooth. The bad weather and wrong navigation made the landing had to be postponed for 20 minutes, that is to say, it had to land at high tide.Strangely enough, the Canadian army did not lose much when landing, but many landing boats were sunk by lightning when unloading personnel and returning, and the loss rate of a battalion was even as high as 80%.As the tide was rising, many soldiers drowned after launching due to heavy equipment.After landing, it was suppressed by German fire.Fortunately, the fire support of the Navy was in place in a timely manner, which did not lead to the tragedy of Omaha Beach.The heaviest loss at Juno Beach was not the Canadian troops, but the British troops who were responsible for getting through to Baojian Beach.The wooden shell landing boat that the British army rode was quite fragile, and many soldiers had to jump into the sea to escape after the landing boat was damaged, resulting in many drowning.The Allies lost more than 2000 people on Juno Beach, more thanOmaha BeachSlightly less.A total of 21400 officers and soldiers participated in the Juno beach landing battle, with 1200 casualties.[18]
Golden Beach
The landing troops at the Gold Beach landing site: the 50th Infantry Division of the 30th Army of the 2nd Group Army of the British Army, as well as an armored brigade and an assault battalion strengthened.
When the British landed, the visibility became better and better, and the Allied air force began to become active. The German garrison was heavily bombed by the Allied air force, which depressed its morale and reduced its combat effectiveness.When the British 50th Division began to land, it met German resistance, but the British army soon annihilated the enemy.In the afternoon, four British brigades landed.At dusk, the troops entered the mainland for about 5 miles, but did not reach the intended target Beiye.[10]
The 50th Division of the 30th Army of the British Army was responsible for capturing the Golden Beach, and the 7th Armored Division of the British Army was the second echelon.It was also the only armored division to land on five beaches.The division had travelled to Africa and defeated Rommel. It has rich experience in fighting.Due to the late landing time, the British army had sufficient firepower preparation, and several main firepower points of the German army were destroyed by naval guns before landing.British amphibious tanks were sent directly to the beach by landing ships to avoid the loss of the US in Omaha.Under the cover of naval guns and tanks, the infantry advanced very smoothly.Relative main force, responsible for Bessing Port (located at Omaha Beach andGolden BeachThe 47th British landing attack team was not going well.Due to the loss of all communication equipment when landing, the unit lost contact with the main force, and was subjected to fierce resistance by the German army, trapped on the beach for eight hours.After arriving at Bessing Port with difficulty, he dared not attack hastily because of unknown enemy situation, so he had to hide under the eyes of the German army for the night.It was not until the next day that German communication equipment was captured that the main force was contacted and Bessing Port was captured with the support of fire.The Allies lost about 1500 soldiers on Gold Beach.[18]
Omaha Beach
The 1st Infantry Division of the US Army landed on Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach(Omaha Beach) is the most fierce beach in the Normandy Landing Campaign.The landing force of Omaha landing site: the 1st Division of the 5th Army and a regiment attached to it.
Omaha beach is less than 200 meters wide, without shelter and a low breakwater.At first, it was defended by a regiment of the 716th German garrison division. However, when the Allies landed, the defense fortifications and force deployment of Omaha had undergone major changes. As a result, the 1st American Division was tenaciously resisted by the German army during the landing, and suffered heavy losses.
Before the war, when Rommel, commander of Group B army group in the west of the German army, went to Omahacha to see the defense facilities, he ordered the garrison to immediately reinforce the fortifications in this area.For this reason, the German army built three barriers with steel bars and cement under water, and many obstacles were laid with mines.Many solid support points and trenches that can strafe the beach head have been built on the shore, and a large number of mines have been laid on all the access roads that the allied forces may land.Rommel also transferred the 352nd Motorized Infantry Division with strong combat power to Omaha, where one regiment guarded the beach, and two regiments were deployed in Beiye, several miles away from the beach.Therefore, Omaha has become the real "Atlantic Barrier" in the whole western front battlefield.The Allied reconnaissance department did not find any significant changes in the deployment of German forces.According to the information provided to the Allies by the French intelligence service, the German army was equipped with six 155mm French guns on Omaha beach, with a range of about 12 nautical miles.
In the critical moment of landing battle, the Allied air superiority played an important role.As the Allies had the air supremacy, German aircraft were forced to move to a place far away from the landing site. During the Allied landing, the German Air Force did not pose a threat to the landing forces.The German navy did not play its due role.The 12 destroyers of the Allied forces, despite the threat of mines and various obstacles, tried every means to approach the shore to provide fire support for the landing forces.In the struggle of life and death, the US army finally landed in Normandy and opened a beachhead less than 2 miles deep.On that day, 3400 officers and soldiers of the US Army went ashore through this channel.The cost was heavy, with 3000 US troops killed and wounded successively.After 29 amphibious tanks of the landing force were launched, only 2 of them came ashore, and 27 of them were lost in 4 miles of water.Most of the dozens of amphibious armored vehicles equipped with 105mm guns sank as they moved towards the beach.Montgomery believed that there were two main reasons why the 1st Division of the US Army could land successfully in the dangerous combat environment: the courage of the troops and the naval artillery.[10]
The Allies suffered huge losses in Omaha Beach, so it is also called "Bloody Omaha".Movies《Saving Private Ryan》The classic war scene at the beginning of the middle school was drawn from Omaha Beach.
Omaha Beach is 6.4 kilometers long, and the coast is mostly 30 meters high cliffs, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.The landing operations here are undertaken by the 9th Army of the US Army.The Allies believed that the German army here was wrongGarrisonThere is only one regiment, and most of them are reservists. They have no armored vehicles, and their combat effectiveness is very poor.In fact, Rommel transferred all the elite 352 infantry divisions of the German army to Normandy in March, and a main group of 352 divisions was stationed at Omaha Beach.However, the Allied Intelligence Agency did not find the whereabouts of the 352 Division until the landing troops set out.
The weather conditions on the day of landing were extremely bad. Before landing, the Allies lost 10 landing boats and more than 300 officers and soldiers due to excessive wind and waves.Most of the officers and soldiers on the landing craft suffered from seasickness and wet and cold. They were almost exhausted before they reached the battle site.After the landing operation began, it was also very difficult. 27 of the 32 amphibious tanks prepared in the west section of the beach sank just after they went into the sea due to excessive wind and waves, and 2 of the 5 remaining tanks were soon destroyed by German artillery fire.Due to the influence of the tide and chaos of order, many American soldiers landed without knowing their direction and assembly point, and a large number of soldiers crowded on the beach to let the German artillery attack.For two hours, none of the US soldiers rushed to the beach in the west section, and only occupied a section of beach 9 meters wide in the east section. The landing operation was almost completely unsuccessful.
However, the US Navy has brought about a change for Omaha Beach.As the beach landing force had not contacted for a long time, the naval commander realized that the situation on Omaha beach might have been extremely serious, so 17 destroyers, regardless of the danger of being struck by mines, stranded and blown over by 155mm coastal artillery, advanced to a distance of only 730 meters from the beach, and landed at close range for the US militaryFire support。At this time, the American Expendables also climbed onto Cape Hawke, only to find that the so-called 155mm coastal gun was camouflaged by a telegraph pole.The navy, free of worries, poured out to the German stronghold without fearshellThe US troops who were previously blocked on the beach also began to charge under the leadership of the First Division of the elite troops.At noon, the second echelon of landing troops landed ahead of schedule.Under the guidance of the Air Force, the battleships and cruisers of the US Navy also began to shoot against the shore, and the German defense had basically collapsed.
When it was dark, the US army formally landed successfully, and the Fifth Army Headquarters went ashore and opened a command post.Commander Major General Jerome immediately sent a telegram to Bradley after landing: "Thank God for creating the US Navy."[18]
Normandy Landing
Utah Beach
Utah Beach Utah Beach is located on the west side of Carentan Bay. It is a beach about 3 miles wide and covered with low sand dunes.
The landing force at the landing site on Utah Beach: the 4th Infantry Division of the 7th Army of the 1st Army Group.A regiment of the 709th Division of the German Army defending this beach, mainly composed of reserves and foreign volunteers, is relatively weak in combat effectiveness.As the Allied airborne troops cut off the communication between the 709th Division and other forces, they did not receive advance warning against landing.Although the troops on duty found the Allied landing ships in time, they did not conduct effective defense.When the American 4th Division launched an attack, the German army soon surrendered.The 4th Division of the US Army did not receive too much resistance and landed successfully.In the evening of the battle, the number of US troops coming ashore from this landing site reached 23000, with only 197 casualties.On that day, the 4th Division of the US Army pushed 6 miles inland.[10]
Although the actual landing site of the Allied forces was a mile east of the planned landing site, fortunately, the German troops deployed few troops at the landing site.Within three hours after the attack, the Allied forces crossed the beach and took control of the coastal roads;Before noon that day, the landing troops met with the airborne troops who had parachuted into the enemy's rear five hours earlier;By midnight of the same day, the Allies had not only successfully reached the combat goal of this landing, but also advanced four miles inland.In all landing operations,Utah BeachLanding was the battle with the least casualties, with only 197 casualties among 23000 officers and soldiers.[18]
After a day of fierce fighting, nearly 10 divisions of the Allied forces landed successfully. 57500 US troops and 75215 British and Canadian troops successively landed in Normandy and occupied several landing sites of 8 to 10 kilometers. Although these landing sites have not yet established contact with each other, they have created conditions for subsequent troops to land.By the 7th, at the Nuoqingdi beachhead, the Allied airborne troops and landing troops together, 176000 people had set foot on the land of France, and 20000 various vehicles were driving on the land of Normandy.The Allies broke the "Atlantic Barrier" painstakingly set up by the German army at the cost of 8000 casualties and missing people.The German army's anti landing operations were slow in action, ineffective in command and communication.When the Allies began to land, the senior German general was only Gerd von Lundstedt.
On June 7, Allied landing forces began to establish a unified landing site.When the news of the Allied landing in Normandy reached Germany, the whole country was in panic, and people could hardly accept the reality of the second battlefield.
On June 8, when the Allied follow-up landing force landed, the airborne force captured the airport, port, town and transportation hub in the landing site, supported the second echelon to land, and connected and consolidated the landing site.After the first echelon captured and consolidated the landing site, the subsequent legions went ashore from the occupied port to prepare for the land attack campaign.At this time, in order to get rid of the passive situation, the German army began to strengthen the counterattack force in Normandy.However, Hitler, Gerd von Lundstedt, Rommel and other senior German commanders still believed that Calais was the main attack direction of the Allies, and Normandy was the secondary attack direction of the Allies, but the Allies deliberately increased the scale of Normandy at the beginning of the attack.Under the wrong judgment, the German army's anti landing operations became more and more passive.
On June 9, the Allied landing forces had built fortifications on French land to cover the subsequent echelons to continue landing.By June 12, the Allied landing areas were basically stable, forming a landing site 80 kilometers in front and 13 to 19 kilometers in depth.After a week of fighting, the "Atlantic Barrier" that Hitler had hoped for was broken by the Allies.[10]
Normandy Landing Location Map
joint operations
When the Allied landing beachhead became a consolidated and unified landing site, it developed inland as scheduled. The 1st Group Army of the US Army captured Cherbourg and took the main attack;The second group army of the British army attacked Caen, causing the illusion of going straight to Paris as a feint.
Although the German army had failed in its initial counterattack, it was not willing to let the Allies develop. Rommel adjusted his deployment, used infantry to defend Caen to the front line of Comon, and drew out armored forces to stop the American attack by counterattack.But before the new deployment was adjusted, the British army launched a preemptive offensive, which disrupted the German plan and effectively guaranteed the American attack on Cherbourg.
Great Victory in San Solo
On June 13, 1944, the 7th British Armored Division was on its way to Villeboge, southwest of Caen, whenAmiensThe German SS 2nd Armored Division was encountered when they arrived, and fierce fighting broke out between the two sides. British personnel and tanks lost a lot and were forced to retreat.Although the British attack did not make progress, it attracted the German elite 2nd Armored Division to the Caen area, creating conditions for the American attack.When the US army occupied Kalantan, the German army was unable to draw troops from the Caen area, so it had to urgently transfer the 17th SS Armored Division from the Brittany Peninsula to attack the US side to eliminate the threat of the US army to Cherbourg. After fierce fighting, the US army repulsed the German army, broke through the German defense line in the area of San Sovo on June 14, 1944, and finally captured San Sovo on June 16, 1944.According to Hitler's instructions, the four divisions in the area must try their best to block the advance of the US army, and then fight and retreat to Cherbourg to defend Cherbourg.Rommel clearly knew that these four divisions had consumed a lot of troops and equipment in the fight for several days, and were no longer competent to defend Cherbourg. Even if they retreated into Cherbourg, it would only make Cherbourg persist for a few more days.So he asked Hitler to withdraw these troops directly to the Seine River to strengthen the defense of the Seine River.But Hitler rejected his opinion.When there was a sign of a breakthrough in the area of San Sovo, Rommel, despite Hitler's instructions, decisively ordered all the troops that could be contacted to withdraw quickly to the south, which saved many troops.
On June 18, 1944, the US army captured Barneville in the middle of the Cotentine Peninsula.
On June 19, 1944, the US military gave full play to its strong mobility advantage, turned around and went straight to Fort Mont, cutting off the Cotentine Peninsula.
On the same day, the storm in the English Channel burst out with force 8 wind and 1.8m wave height, which caused great losses to the Allies.At the Mulberry A artificial port in the US military area, the floating wharf was disassembled, the caisson was broken, and the cross shaped steel parts collided with each other, causing serious damage.In the Mulberry B artificial port in the British section, only 4 caissons were destroyed due to the protection of submarine reefs.At the landing beachhead, the Allies had seven tank landing ships and one large personnelLanding ship, 1Oil tanker, 3 barges, 7 trawlers, 67 landing boats sunk by strong wind, 1CruiserAnd a ferry were damaged due to collision with each other, and some ships were injured due to the surge of wind and waves detonating the water pressure mines laid by the German army.The storm also threw nearly 800 ships onto the land, forcing the Allied forces to suspend unloading for five days, making 20000 vehicles and 100000 tons of materials unable to land as planned.The material losses caused by the storm greatly exceeded the losses in the 13 day battle, and forced the Allies to face serious difficulties in logistics supply.If the German army can seize this once in a blue moon and fight back, the war situation is likely to be rewritten.But at that time, the German forces were barely able to defend.
German army asks for help
Although the German Army transferred the 9th and 10th SS Armored Divisions from Hungary, which had just been withdrawn from the Soviet battlefield and reorganized, the railway in France was severely damaged, and the troops were difficult to assemble and maneuver, so they could not arrive in time. This was a great opportunity to miss.
On June 20, three divisions of the US military advanced to only 8 kilometers away from Cherbourg.Cherbourg is located in the north of the Cotentan Peninsula and is the largest port in northern France.The German army has built concrete field fortifications, and also used rivers and canals to set up anti tank barriers. It has deployed 20 gun companies in the suburbs of the city, 15 of which are 150 mm heavy guns. These guns can not only shoot at targets at sea, but also control inland roads.However, the military strength is insufficient, because the battle in the previous period has consumed a large number of effective forces. General Schreben, the commander of the city defense, incorporated the office workers into the fighting forces, and barely raised the strength of four regiments.
Plan of assault
On June 21, 1944, in order to preserve the port facilities, the US military broadcast to urge the defenders to surrender, which was rejected by the German army.So the US military decided to launch a strong attack on Cherbourg.
On June 22, 1944, the Allied air forces prepared their aerial firepower before the attack, dispatched 500 aircraft to carry out intensive bombing of Cherbourg, and dropped 1100 tons of bombs.Then three American divisions launched a fierce attack from the south, and the German army resisted desperately.By June 24, 1944, Schleiben had exhausted all the reserve teams. He called Berlin to ask for the Iron Cross medal to be dropped by air to give meritorious personnel a morale boost. He was still ready to stick to it.In order to attack Cherbourg as soon as possible, the US army urgently needs naval gun fire support, but the bad weather made the naval gun fire support not start until June 25, 1944.The Navy sent 3 battleships, 4 cruisers and 11 destroyers to form a naval gun support formation to support the ground forces. In order to avoid the accidental injury of naval guns to his own forces, the commander of the 7th Army, Lieutenant General Collins, asked the warship to provide summoning fire, only to return the German artillery fire that fired at the warship, and cancelled all other long-distance naval gun fire.The naval ships carried out seven hours of naval gun fire, which was extremely effective in suppressing the German artillery fire.With the support of powerful naval and air forces, the 7th Army of the US Army rushed into the urban area of Cherbourg at dusk on June 25, 1944.The next day, Schreben and the port naval commander, Major General Hennick, announced their surrender. However, some strongholds that lost contact with the main force still resisted. The U.S. military used tanks and bombers to attack together, gradually compressing the remnants of the German army to the northwest end of Cherbourg.On July 1, 1944, the German army in the final stronghold was forced to surrender.So far, the US military has occupied the entire Cottontang Peninsula. In the battle to seize Cherbourg and Cottontang Peninsula, the US military casualties reached 25000, and the German military casualties were captured about 36000.
Cherbourg was occupied, but it was in ruins.As early as June 7, the day after the Allies landed, the German army expected that the Allies would seize Cherbourg, and immediately began to plan to destroy Cherbourg. The wharf, breakwater, cranes and other port equipment were destroyed one by one. The port waters were covered with mines, and the channel was blocked with sunken ships.An American engineer expert saw the destruction of Cherbourg and thought it was "the most thorough and thorough destruction in history." As soon as the Allies occupied Cherbourg, they sent a large number of engineers, salvage teams, and minesweeping ships to clear it. It took three weeks to clear 133 mines and salvage 20 sunken ships, which restored the throughput capacity of Cherbourg Port.On July 16, the Allies unloaded the materials of the first transport ship from Cherbourg.By the end of July, the daily unloading volume of Cherbourg had reached 8500 tons.By September, the daily unloading volume had risen to 17000 tons.After another three months of efforts, Cherbourg's unloading capacity is second only toMarseilleAnd became the second largest port of the Allies in Europe.By the end of 1944, a total of 2137 transport ships had entered Cherbourg, with a total unloading capacity of 2.826 million tons.And made great contributions to the victory of the anti fascist war.[26]
Aerial view of Cherbourg[27]
Caen operation
At the same time that the US army captured Cherbourg,MontgomeryCommanding the Second Group Army of the British Army, he launched a battle code named "Epsom Racecourse" with four divisions on June 26, 1944, and stormed Caen.At noon of the same day, they captured Shekes and continued to move forward, but they were firmly counterattacked by the 12th German SS Armored Division on both the left and right wings, and it was very difficult to move forward.
On June 27, 1944, after a hard fight, the British army repulsed the German counterattack and occupied Laoliang. The 11th Armored Division of the vanguard troops controlled the bridge on the Oden River.
On June 28, 1944, the main force of the British army crossed the Oden River and established a bridgehead position with a front width of 3650 meters and a depth of 900 meters.
On June 29, 1944, the German army concentrated five armored divisions to launch a counterattack, and the Allied air forces took advantage of the sunny weather to launch a massive attack on the German armored forces, which broke up the German offensive.The 11th British Armored Division took the opportunity to occupy 112 highlands, a strategic position southwest of Caen.The German army was well aware of the important value of 112 Heights, and then organized several counter attacks, but failed.
Deadlocked state
On June 30, 1944, the German troops concentrated all their artillery fire on 112 Heights. Under the heavy shelling, the British army could not hold on to 112 Heights, so they had to give up 112 Heights and withdraw to the bank of the Oden River.Although the German army recaptured 112 highlands.However, under the fierce attack of the Allied air force, the armored forces could not be used in a concentrated way, which would not give play to the huge assault power of the armored forces. In general, only 200 infantry and 15-20 tanks could be used to form a small battle group to launch a short attack, which was difficult to win. In addition, in recent days, about 100 tanks were lost, but they could not be supplemented. Rommel, in order to ensure Caen,We had to abandon some outlying positions and deploy 700 of the 900 tanks in the suburbs of Caen.After occupying Kaluk Airport, the Allies were unable to move forward, and the two sides fell into a confrontation.
On June 29, 1944, Rommel and Gerd von Lundstedt met Hitler and reported on the current war situation.Hitler was very dissatisfied with this, and adjusted the personnel of the German army's senior commanders on the western front toKlugeThe Marshal replaced Gerd von Lundsteier as the commander in chief of the western front, Eberbach replaced von Schwerpenger to command the western armored forces, and renamed the headquarters the 5th Tank Group Army, replacing General Dorman who had just died with SS General Hauser as the commander of the 7th Group Army.
Allied counterattack
On July 1, 1944, the Allies announced that the naval operation in the "Overlord" landing operation was the successful end of the "Sea King" operation.The designation of the East and West Special Forces was immediately revoked, and part of the ships were transferred to the Mediterranean and Pacific.The Allies set up two new ones in Normandynaval baseThe headquarters, one in Cherbourg and one in Juno Beach, is specifically responsible for commanding the transportation and unloading of dispatchers and materials.
By the beginning of July, the Allied forces had landed 25 divisions, including 13 American divisions, 11 British divisions and 1 Canadian division, with a total of 1 million people, 567000 tons of materials and 172000 vehicles.The Allies still felt that the landing beach was too narrow, so they continued to expand the landing site.In order to ensure that the US army can launch a large-scale armored force in the future and obtain a favorable starting position for attack, the 1st Group Army of the US army immediately marched south after capturing Cherbourg.
On July 3, 1944, the Allied forces gathered 14 divisions and launched a fierce attack on about 7 German divisions in front of the landing site.Because the road ahead is vastswampThe hedgerow terrain unique to Normandy is easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, the air force cannot be deployed due to bad weather, so the progress is slow. It only advanced 6.4 kilometers in five days, and the casualties reached 5000.After seven days of bloody battles, another 5000 people were killed and wounded before advancing 4.8 kilometers.The casualties were so great, mainly because there were swamps on both sides of the road, and only one division could be deployed to smash the German army's resistance step by step on the road full of mines and obstacles.[27]
Pictures of Normandy Landing History
US landing
On July 6, 1944, under the command of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces, the 3rd Group Army of the United States, with strong mobility and assault power, set foot on the European continent under the leadership of the brave and skilled Patton.
On July 9, 1944, the German SS armored instructor was transferred to the Vail River area to fight against the American offensive. Although the division fought hard, it could not stop the American advance.
On July 11, 1944, the US military in the western line launched a pincer attack on the important transportation hub of Normandy, San Lo. However, the German army fought to death relying on the pre built fortifications, and the US military's attack failed.So the US military stopped attacking, reorganized its troops, replenished ammunition and prepared for the second round of attack.However, the German army had little personnel, equipment and ammunition left, and could not be supplemented. It was at the end of its tether.The second round of attack launched by the US army finally failed, and San Francisco was captured by the US army on July 18, 1944.In the battle of San Lo, Lieutenant General Max, the commander of the 84th Army, was killed by the German army at an important front in Normandy.The US military also paid a high price of nearly 40000 casualties to capture San Francisco.With the fall of Saint Lo, the German defense line in Normandy was divided into two sections by the Allies, which made the situation more passive and unfavorable.
At the same time, the British army in the east launched a second round of offensive against Caen.On July 7, 1944, the Allied forces dispatched 460 heavy bombers to intensively bomb German positions, dropping 2500 tons of bombs in 40 minutes.On July 8, 1944, two British divisions and one Canadian division, supported by naval gun fire, launched a centripetal assault on Caen.Unexpectedly, although the heavy bombing of the air force caused heavy casualties to the German army, it also caused rubble everywhere, and the extent of damage even seriously affected the advance of our ground forces. Therefore, the British army occupied Caen on July 10, 1944.[32]
Map of Normandy Landing Campaign[29]
Full landing
In the following week, the Allies continued to exert pressure on the front German army while replenishing troops and materials, making it impossible to readjust its deployment.On July 18, 1944, in order to further expand the landing site between the Aon River and the Divo River, the British army continued to push southeastward from Caen,Bombs are switched to instant fuzes to reduce damage to roads.The German army also changed its tactics, adopted deep echelon defense, used a large number of 88mm anti-aircraft guns to attack tanks, and constantly organized counter attacks in favorable terrain, resulting in heavy casualties of the British army, 150 tanks lost, and the attack was forced to stop.[20]
The battle ended
At the beginning of July 1944, the Allied landing forces had reached 1 million.Although the British attack did not make progress, by July 18, the United States and Britain had captured Sanloh and Caen at the beginning of the scheduled landing respectively. On the whole battlefield, the Allied forces had reached the Gongcheng Cormon Sanloh Lesotho line, forming a landing site with a front width of 150 kilometers and a depth of 15 to 35 kilometers, establishing and consolidating a strategic bridgehead.[20]On July 24, the Allied forces completed the preparations for the breakthrough and large-scale general attack on the French mainland, captured the starting position for large-scale armored forces to launch attacks, and laid a solid foundation for the recovery of Western Europe.The Normandy landings ended here.[31]
Battlefield of Normandy Landing Campaign
Campaign outcome
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Battle damage of Normandy Landing Campaign:
Allied forces suffered 122000 casualties, including 73000 US troops.The Navy lost 1 battleship, 3 cruisers, 8 destroyers and 3frigateAnd 48 other ships.
The German army lost 73000 people, captured 41000 people, and lost 114000 people in total.[20]
Campaign analysis
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Allied victories
Cemeteries in Normandy
The Normandy Landing Campaign is the largest amphibious landing campaign in the world history. It is a strategic campaign, laying the foundation for opening up the second battlefield in Europe and acceleratingfascistThe collapse of Germany and the post-war situation in Europe played an important role.The main reasons for the success of Allied landing are as follows:
1、 The successful organization of strategic deception made the German General Headquarters misjudge, which not only ensured the suddenness of the landing operation, but also ensured the smooth operation of the campaign, which had a significant impact on the whole campaign.The Allied forces successfully used a series of measures such as double agents, electronic jamming, camouflage of troops and ships in the southeast of England, and strict confidentiality measures through the effective feints of the sea and air forces, which made the German headquarters make a wrong judgment on the landing site and time of the Allied forces for a long time,Even after the Allied landings in Normandy, it was still considered as a restraining feint, which led to the waste of most German forces and weapons in the western front in the Calais area, while in Normandy, because of its weak forces, it could not resist the Allied landings.
2、 Master absolute air controlSea power。This is an important reason for successful landing.The Allied forces have put 13700 aircraft and 9000 warships into combat, dozens of times more than German aircraft and warships.Before landing, the Air ForceGerman Air ForceBase, aviation industry and new weapon development basebombardment, seriously weakening Germany'sWar potential。The Allies, by virtue of their absolute superiority in naval and air forces, ensured the safety of landing troops during the voyage.Before and after the landing, the Allied air forces made a strict air blockade of the traffic lines within the war zone, making it impossible for the few German reinforcements to launch a counter attack in a timely manner.At the critical moment of landing troops' assault on land, the sea and air forces provided extremely powerful firepower support, especially at Omaha Beach, which was completely dependent on the firepower support of the sea and air forces.
3、 Sufficient material preparation and thorough reconnaissance support.In order to ensure the success of landing, the Allied forces have made preparations for nearly a year, and there are many troops participating in the war with complete equipment. Before landing, the Allied forces have prepared enough combat materials and equipment.After landing, it also ensured uninterrupted supply in the later period.In particular, creative artificial ports and submarine oil pipelines have played a huge role in ensuring the smooth landing of troops and materials.In the reconnaissance support, on the one hand, they organized reconnaissance in Calais as a strategic deception, and on the other hand, they conducted a lot of hydrological, meteorological and geological reconnaissance in Normandy, providing a lot of valuable data for the selection of specific landing time and location.Through aerial reconnaissance, the German military deployment and defense facilities in Normandy were basically obtained, which played an important role in the implementation of the campaign.
4、 Realistic pre war training.As the landing operation is a very complex combat style, the Allies have repeatedly simulated the organization and actions of the participating forces before landing, which is similar to the actual combat, so that the troops can master the relevant combat skills as soon as possible and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.After the war, the participants spoke highly of the pre war training, especially Thompson's training base.
5、 The impact of bad weather.Weather is one of the key factors in landing operations.Due to the influence of bad weather, the Allies not only postponed the landing time from June 5, 1944 to June 6, but also suffered from many difficulties in the process of airborne operations, sea crossing, firepower preparation, etc.But it was also the bad weather that made the German army lose the necessary vigilance and increased the suddenness of the landing.
Despite the great success of Allied landing, many problems were exposed in the battle.For example, despite the absolute sea and air superiority and landing in the secondary defense direction where the enemy's forces are weak, the organization and command are not effective and the attack power of the troops is not sharp enough, so the speed of establishing the landing site is too slow, averaging only 1.8-2.7 kilometers per day, which affects the campaign progress to a certain extent.Another example is that the reconnaissance work was not timely and thorough enough, especially the failure to quickly identify the whereabouts of the German elite 352 Infantry Division, which made the US troops landing on Omaha beach face stubborn resistance and suffered huge casualties.Another example is the improper use of air force forces, resulting in a serious waste of force and weapons.In the preparation of aviation firepower before landing on June 6, 2500 sub heavy bombers were dispatched and 10000 tons of bombs were dropped. The effect of bombing small, pointy coastal fortifications from high altitude was not ideal.In the bombing of Caen on July 7, 2500 tons of bombs were dropped on an area of about 3.5 square kilometers. The massive debris caused by such a violent bombing even seriously hindered the advance of our ground forces.[21][35]
Map of Allied operations in Normandy, France, from June 13 to 30, 1944[38]
German defeat
Normandy Landing
Strategically, the forces had to be dispersed due to multiple checks.In June 1944, Germany deployed 179 divisions and 5 brigades in the Soviet Union, 13 divisions in Norway and Sweden in northern Europe, and 21 divisions in Italy,Yugoslavia25 divisions, Greece 12 divisions,HungaryThere are 4 divisions.There are 60 divisions in France, Belgium and the Netherlands on the Atlantic coast, accounting for about 18% of the total force. Among the 60 divisions, there are 23 divisions deployed in Calais, and only 6 divisions and 3 regiments landed in Normandy, accounting for about 2% of the total force.Although the German army successively mobilized 21 divisions from all over the country for reinforcements after the Allied army landed, due to the air blockade of the Allied air force, most of these reinforcements were scattered into the battle without formation, and could not organize a strong counterattack.In the same period, the Allied forces landed from Normandy in 43 days, with a total of nine armies and 39 divisions of about 1.65 million people (among the 39 divisions, there were 20 divisions in the United States, 14 divisions in Britain and 3 divisions in Canada,Free FranceAnd Poland;There are 24 infantry divisions, 11 armored divisions and 4 airborne divisions), about 660000 tons of materials, about 4000 tanks and about 200000 various motor vehicles.Tactically, the command was not unified, and the German campaign commander had no right to command the navy and air force, so he could not organize an effective coordinated anti landing of the three services.Even in the army, there is no unified anti landing policy. Gerd von Lundstedt, the commander in chief of the German army in the west, has serious differences with Rommel, the commander of the military group of Group B. The former advocates that the main force should be deployed in the depth of the campaign to fight against the landing with a firm counterattack;The latter advocated that the enemy should be wiped out on the beach by virtue of solid beach fortifications.This disagreement led to the fact that the four German armored divisions in France were neither deployed in the depth of the campaign nor in the coastal areas, which seriously weakened the German defense force, which was already weak. In addition, the command of the German strategic reserve armored division was also in the German headquarters, and the orders were not transmitted smoothly due to the electronic interference and air strikes of the Allied forces,Missed the best opportunity to fight back.
Normandy Landing
The sea and air forces are too weak, and the strength is too different.As an important anti landing force, the German navy and air force were too weak. Their air force had to fight on the vast Soviet German battlefield and also deal with the Allied invasion of GermanyStrategic bombingThe number of aviation forces available in Normandy is pitiful. The German army tried its best to deploy only 400 planes from all over the country, but the number of planes to fight against the allied forces was 13000, 30 times more!How can we win?The Luftwaffe dispatched 1683 sorties in the week after June 6, which could be said to be all it had, but only once directly related to the AlliesAviation fire preparation67% of the 2500 sorties dispatched, which is only 6% of the total sorties dispatched by the Allies in a week, does not play a very important role, and can only carry out some harassing air strikes, just to show that the German Air Force is stillbattleonly.
For the navy,German NavyThe development of the German Navy was unbalanced, focusing only on the development of submarines and ignoring large surface ships. After several years of war, by June 1944, there were few large surface ships left in the German Navy, and only submarines and small ships could resist landing.After June 6, the German army successively dispatched 41 submarines, but under the interception of the powerful anti submarine forces of the Allies, 6 submarines were lost, and only 13 submarines enteredEnglish channelAnd made achievements in sinking one tank landing ship, one frigate and one destroyer.German small ships have also been dispatched many times to lose 2 destroyers, 1 minesweeper, 9 torpedo boats and 1 patrol boat;At the cost of five torpedo boats and two mine sweepers wounded, the Allies sank one destroyer, five tank landing ships, three personnel landing boats and five transport ships.Although the German navy and air force tried their best, they were far from equal in strength and played little role.[21]
Campaign influence
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The victory of the Normandy landingsallied forcesThe opening of the second battlefield on the European continent meant that Nazi Germany was trapped in two sides of the war, reducing theSoviet ArmyAnd cooperated with the Soviet army to forcefully capture Berlin, forcing Fascist Germany to advanceUnconditional surrender。The US military thus put its main force into the Pacific Ocean to fight against Japan, accelerating the end of the Second World War.
The victory of the Normandy landing announced the opening of the second battlefield of the Allied forces in the European continent, which meant that Nazi Germany was trapped in the dilemma of fighting on both sides and being attacked from both sides. It completely shattered the German wishful thinking of drawing out 50 divisions to be used in the Soviet battlefield after the German army tried to defeat the American and British landings with western troops.By August 1944, people with a little military common sense knew that Germany's final defeat was inevitable.The victory in Normandy was the death knell of Nazi Germany.
As the largest and most complex amphibious landing in history, the Normandy Landing Campaign has great research value in military history and military theory, which will be studied and discussed by future generations.[21]
Pictures of Normandy Landing History
Campaign evaluation
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American historian Samuel Newland: "From the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor to the fall of Paris, from the defense of Stalingrad to the capture of Berlin, there was no battle in the Second World War comparable to the Normandy landings."[7]（Comments on American Historians）
On June 6, 2004, President Bush of the United States and Prime Minister of the United KingdomBlair, President of FranceChiracAnd Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the celebration ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Normandy landings.
EisenhowerAfter landing in Normandy, he said: "Undoubtedly, the Normandy battlefield is one of the largest slaughterhouses ever seen in the war field. The passages, roads and fields there are full of abandoned weapons and equipment, as well as human and livestock bodies. It is extremely difficult even to pass through this area. The only scene I saw wasDanteBe able to describe.He walked hundreds of yards at a time, and his feet were all stepping on dead people and decaying corpses... "
The successful Normandy landing and the return of American and British troops to the European continent have fundamentally changed the strategic situation of the Second World War.The largest landing campaign in the history of human war has profound enlightenment for future wars.[10]（China Military Online Review）
Landing operations under modern conditions must be conducted jointly by the three armed forces.Whether the land, sea and air forces and various forces participating in the war can form an organic unity and win with the joint efforts of the whole is not only the key to win the landing victory, but also the fundamental task of command and coordination.
In order to uniformly command the joint operations of all services in the Normandy Landing Campaign, the Allied Forces formed the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces with US Army General Eisenhower as the highest commander.This is a typical joint operation command organization. Due to the establishment of a strong joint operation command organization, although the Allied forces in this battle reached 2.88 million, more than 13000 combat aircraft, and more than 7000 ships, the land, sea, and air forces basically achieved tacit cooperation, ensuring the realization of the campaign objectives.It was under the direction of such a flexible and efficient top command that the Allies directed a live play of the anti fascist war on the Normandy battlefield, which wrote a brilliant chapter in the history of human war.
In contrast, the German army has never established a command organization to coordinate the operations of all services and arms in the anti landing operation, and the command organizations at all levels are in chaos.[24]Due to the chaos of the command mechanism before the war, Lundstedt, the German commander in chief of the western front, as the top commander of the anti landing campaign, had no right to command the sea and air forces, and it was impossible to effectively coordinate all services and arms to form an overall force.In addition, the German naval and air forces in this area are very weak, so the actual effect of coordination and cooperation is naturally very small.German defeat is inevitable.[25]（Sina.com）
Normandy Landing
Commemoration for future generations
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Official commemoration of all countries
70th Anniversary of Normandy Landing
On May 6, 2014, the President of RussiaVladimir PutinThe spokesman said Putin would not rule out going to France next month to participate in the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.spokesmanPeskovHe said that he was studying the trip, and "no doubt" did not rule it out.Including US President Barack Obama and the British QueenElizabeth IIWestern dignitaries, such as, are expected to participate in the commemoration.[8]
The 75th Anniversary of Normandy Landing
On June 5, 2019, in Portsmouth, the British port city, Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Theresa May[28], President Trump of the United States, President Malcolm of France, Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada, Chancellor Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Morrison of Australia and other leaders of more than a dozen countries participated in the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day landings with more than 300 World War II veterans.[9]
80th Anniversary of Normandy Landing
On June 1, 2024, people set off fireworks in Aromanche, Normandy, France and other places to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Normandy's landing.[41]On June 6, the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.France held a grand commemoration.French President Malcolm, American President Biden, British King Charles, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and German Prime Minister Schultz attended.No Russian representative was present.[44]
On May 30, 2024, the French Presidential Palace announced that Russia was finally not invited to participate in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on June 6 because of the war against Ukraine.At the same time, Ukrainian President Zelensky and about 20 heads of state and government of the allied countries, from US President Joe Biden to German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, were invited.[42]fiveOn January 31, the press secretary of the Russian President and Kremlin spokesman Peskov said, "(the Russian side) has not discussed this matter and has no intention to participate. In fact, we (the French side) have not had any special contact.".On June 5, 2024, as for "the French side does not invite the Russian side to participate in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings", the President of the French Patriot Party Florian Filippo posted on social media X, saying that this is a "shameful" act.[43]
Veterans participate in commemoration
On June 6, 2014, a World War II veteran who was nearly 90 years old "fled" from a nursing home in southern England the day before and went to France to participate in activities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Bernard Jordan, 89, a retired British naval officer, wore a medal and covered with a raincoat on the 5th and slipped away from the "Pine Tree Nursing Home" in Hoff, Sussex, England. Then he took a coach with some veterans to Normandy, France, to participate in the "D Day" commemoration.[22]
Normandy Landing Sculpture
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On July 3, 2023, according to the Caen Memorial, Leon Gautier, the last survivor of the French soldiers who took part in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, died in Caen on the third day at the age of 100.[40]
