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The Invasion of Normandy
Operation OVERLORD, the invasion
of Normandy, is considered the decisive battle of the war in Western
Europe. Before this battle the German Army still firmly occupied
France and the Low Countries, the Nazi government still had access
to the raw materials and industrial capacity of Western Europe,
and local resistance to Nazi rule was disorganized and not very
effective. After the successful invasion of France and the expansion
of the initial beachheads, the Allied armies moved over to the
offensive. OVERLORD proved a psychological and physical blow to
German military fortunes from which they would never recover.
Background to the Invasion of Normandy
Although planning for the operation began in the summer of 1942,
the powerful offensive capability of German ground forces in Western
Europe, the need to contain the U-boat threat to the Atlantic
convoy routes, the strategic decision to divert troops and amphibious
craft to the Mediterranean, and the ensuing difficulties of building
up offensive forces in Britain, all combined to prevent an invasion
of France in the following year. By late 1943, however, detailed
planning for the invasion had taken place and significant forces
and material had been gathered in Britain.
The naval component of the operation, code named Operation NEPTUNE,
comprised large numbers of warships, auxiliaries and landing craft.
In all, Britain, Canada, and the United States, as well as the
navies-in-exile of France, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and
Greece, supplied 1,213 warships for the invasion. Their main task
was to provide shore bombardment firepower for the troops going
ashore, to guard the transports, and to conduct minesweeping and
antisubmarine patrols on the flanks of the invasion corridor.
The same navies also provided 4,126 amphibious craft, including
a variety specialized landing craft, such as LSTs (Landing Ship,
Tank), LCIs (Landing Craft, Infantry), and LCTs (Landing Craft,
Tank [Rocket]). More than 3,500 of these landing craft were actually
used during the Normandy Invasion. These amphibious craft would
provide the crucial troop-carrying capacity to land the thousands
of men, vehicles, and artillery along the 50-mile wide target
area in the Bay of the Seine.
The initial assault from landing ships and craft was on a five-division
front between the Orne River and the Cotentin Peninsula. The region
was divided into five landing beaches, code named (from west to
east) Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The first two beaches
were assigned to the largely American-manned Western Task Force
and the other three were the responsibility of the British-dominated
Eastern Task Force. Although the Allies faced impressive German
defenses, which were heavily fortified with concrete, wire, and
other outworks, they knew from experience that an initial lodgment
was impossible to prevent. The overall battle itself, however,
would be decided by the ability of the Allies to reinforce their
initially-weak beachhead by sea as compared to the easier movement
of German reinforcements by land. The Allies believed they would
have the advantage in such a race since they enjoyed superior
concentration of force on the beaches--provided by the guns of
the mobile warships--and virtually dominated the air over northern
France.
The Battle
On 5 June 1944, the thousands of ships and craft taking part in
Operation NEPTUNE put to sea and began gathering in assembly areas
southeast of the Isle of Wight. From there, many passed through
the channels swept through the German defensive minefields and
moved into their respective waiting areas before dawn on 6 June.
Hundreds of antisubmarine escorts and patrol planes protected
the flanks of these assault convoys. Between 0530 and 0550, the
Allied gunfire support task groups began bombarding prearranged
targets along the beaches.
In the American sector, the landing at Utah beach began at 0630
and--despite occurring slightly south of the target area--proceeded
according to plan as the U.S. 4th division advanced rapidly toward
its initial objectives. At Omaha beach, where the landings began
at 0635, underwater obstacles bottled up many of the amphibious
craft and the congestion provided easy targets for German gunners.
The landing bogged down and it took a combination of short-range
destroyer gunnery support, aerial bombardment and desperate infantry
assaults to break the German defenses. It was not until noon that
the U.S. 1st and 29th divisions crossed the beach line in force.
The British sector proceeded more smoothly. Despite rougher seas
and higher-than-expected tides, which hindered the clearance of
beach obstacles, excellent naval gunfire support kept German defensive
fire suppressed at Sword and Juno beaches. The landings there,
which began at 0730 and 0735 respectively, proceeded apace and
the British 3d and Canadian 3d divisions moved inland by early
afternoon. At Gold beach, where the 50th division landed at 0725,
the beach obstacles were more numerous than expected and many
landing craft were lost. This hindered the buildup of forces ashore
and it wasn't until nightfall that the beach was secured.
Aftermath and Significance of the Battle
After overrunning the German beach defenses, the Allies rapidly
expanded the individual beachheads, and the workhorse amphibious
craft quickly reinforced the lodgment with new troops, munitions
and supplies. Superior Allied naval and shore-based artillery
then helped defeat the initial German counter-attacks at the same
time that Allied dominance of the air hindered the transportation
of German reinforcements to the region. By 25 July, the Allies
were strong enough to launch Operation COBRA and begin the liberation
of France.
In a larger strategic sense, the successful Allied landing in
France was a psychological blow to the German occupation of Europe.
It called into question the German Army's ability to control western
Europe, dramatically increased partisan activity against enemy
occupation, and heartened the spirits of all those fighting against
Nazi tyranny. The balance of power on the continent, already weakened
by Soviet offensives into Poland, was decisively tipped into Allied
favor. From that point on, the Allies would begin the drive into
Germany that ultimately destroyed the Nazi regime on 7 May 1945.