11.10.2007 22:36
By the beginning of the summer of 1944, the balance of forces between Germany and the anti-Hitler coalition had changed significantly. On the Eastern Front Soviet troops confidently pushed back the Wehrmacht and were preparing to deliver decisive blows for the final liberation of all occupied territories. German troops suffered significant losses and had almost no reserves. The naval forces were weakened and could no longer conduct active operations on the Allied communications in Atlantic Ocean. Noticeable damage was caused to Germany's industrial potential. Germany's situation deteriorated sharply.
At the same time, the United States and England managed to prepare sufficient forces and means to make a decision to land allied forces in France. The political leadership of Germany and the military command realized the inevitability of the opening of a second front, but Germany’s ability to defend the English Channel coast and the Atlantic coast of France was largely determined by military operations on the Soviet-German front, where Germany was forced to keep its main forces. The German defense in the West relied on the “Atlantic Wall” - a system of fortifications along the coast. The German command made a miscalculation in determining the possible landing area for American-British troops. It believed that the landing would take place through the Pas-de-Calais Strait, so the main fortifications were located in the areas of naval bases and the Calais-Boulogne area, where the depth of defense reached 20 km from the coast. In other areas, including Normandy, anti-landing defenses were much weaker. Defensive structures were just being created; their construction proceeded slowly due to a lack of materials and labor. As of July 1944, work on the construction of fortifications on the English Channel coast was only 68% completed, and in the area of Senskaya Bay - 18%.
The fortifications of the Atlantic coast contained 2,692 artillery barrels, which approximately corresponded to 1 gun per 1 kilometer of coastline. Having such meager funds at his disposal, the commander-in-chief of the German troops in the West, Field Marshal G. Rundstedt, decided to leave only a small number of divisions directly on the coasts, capable of resisting the enemy’s landing forces. The main force was to consist of strong mobile reserves that could promptly appear in the landing area and strike the enemy. He believed that to implement this idea it was necessary to form three operational echelons of defense. The first echelon forces, located directly on the coasts, were supposed to exhaust the landing force. The goal of the second echelon troops, consisting of infantry divisions, was to delay the enemy’s advance deep into French territory. The third echelon - tank and motorized divisions - was supposed to complete the destruction of the invading Western Allied forces.
At the end of 1943, Rundstedt officially declared to Hitler that a long-term defense of the coast was impossible with the forces at his disposal. The field marshal argued that, in his opinion, it was pointless to fight the Allied amphibious assault without large tank and motorized formations. Finally, on November 10, Hitler created a special military group “B”, led by the famous Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. While subordinate to Rundstedt, E. Rommel had to study the Wehrmacht’s readiness for a counterattack against the enemy and develop proposals for improving the defense of the Atlantic coast. Erwin Rommel, who, unlike Rundstedt, had sad experience of fighting amphibious assaults, proposed new plan defense He considered it necessary to destroy the invading troops right in the surf while they were weak and helpless. Therefore, he made every effort to speed up the construction of fortifications, mine the beaches, and cover the coast with anti-landing and barbed wire barriers.
Indeed, modern military science proved that if the landing force is not dropped back into the sea within the first 48 hours, the campaign can be considered lost - the invasion troops have time to gain a foothold on the shore, land tanks and a second echelon of infantry necessary to develop an offensive from the captured bridgehead into the interior of the mainland. To prevent this, Rommel insisted on creating a reliable fire system directly on the coast and concentrating the main forces there, including tank divisions. After much bickering, the two field marshals came to a compromise: most of the infantry divisions and all the artillery were intended to destroy the enemy during the landings on the beach, and the tank and most combat-ready motorized divisions were allocated to the reserve, intended to carry out counterattacks in the landing area of the Western Allies.
In total, at the time of the invasion, Gerd von Rundstedt had two army groups and Panzer Group West. Army Group B, under the command of Rommel, with a total strength of 39 divisions, including 4 tank divisions, occupied the entire northern coast from the Süderzee Bay to the Loire. The average operational density of German troops was no more than one division per 100 kilometers of coastline.
Since the German command expected an invasion north of the mouth of the Seine, the strongest group of 1 tank and 9 infantry divisions was created in this area. Where the Allies actually landed, the defense was held by the 716th and 352nd Infantry Divisions, whose combat effectiveness left much to be desired. Field Marshal Blaskowitz's Army Group G, consisting of 16 divisions, was stationed south of the Loire. In Central France and Belgium, 3 tank and 1 motorized SS divisions of the OKB reserve (not subordinate to Field Marshal Rundstedt) were stationed, ready to strike in the direction where the enemy would land. Tank group “West” was in charge of combat training of armored forces and was considered as a reserve command for the combined actions of all tank formations in the main direction. The Luftwaffe 3rd Fleet, stationed in the West, also not subordinate to von Rundstedt, had 500 aircraft, of which only 160 aircraft (90 attack aircraft and 70 fighters) were ready for military action. Hitler promised to send 1,000 jet fighters to France, but no one saw them there. The lack of unified leadership of all German troops in the West subsequently became one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Wehrmacht in France.
The Allied Expeditionary Force (supreme commander General D. Eisenhower) consisted of the 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British, 1st Canadian Army) and 3rd American army- a total of 39 divisions and 12 brigades. The air forces of the United States and Great Britain had absolute superiority over the enemy. They numbered about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 2316 transport aircraft and 2591 gliders. The Strategic Air Forces in the European Theater of Operations consisted of the American 8th Air Force and the British Strategic Air Forces. The commander of the 8th Air Army, Lieutenant General K. Spaats, and his headquarters also coordinated the actions of the 15th Air Army, which was based in Italy. Tactical air forces included the American 9th Air Force and two armies of the British Air Force. They were commanded by Air Chief Marshal T. Lee-Mallory. The naval forces had over 6 thousand combat, transport and landing ships at their disposal. Canadian, French, Czechoslovak, and Polish formations and units also took part in the operation. The total number of expeditionary forces was over 2 million 876 thousand people. By the time of the landing, the overall superiority of the Allied forces over the enemy was 2.1 times in men, 2.2 times in tanks, and almost 23 times in aircraft.
The plan of the Normandy landing operation provided for landing sea and airborne assault forces on the coast of the Bay of Seine, seizing a bridgehead 15-20 km deep, accumulating forces and material resources, launching an offensive in an eastern direction and on the 20th day of the operation reaching the Avranches-Donfront-Falaise line. Subsequently, the expeditionary forces, in cooperation with the troops landed in the south of France, were supposed to cut off the Wehrmacht grouping in southwestern France, break through the “Siegfried Line” (German fortifications covering the border from Holland to Switzerland were called the “Siegfried Line” in honor of the name of the mythical the hero of the ancient German saga of the Nibelungs - Siegfried, who has invulnerability) and invade German territory.
Directly fighting began aviation training on June 5, 1944 at 22:35. Throughout the night, up to 2,600 bombers carried out successive attacks on 150-200 aircraft in waves. During this preparation, from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes on June 6, an airborne assault began at a distance of 5-12 km from the water's edge. The first echelons were dropped from parachutes, the second ones landed in areas captured by paratroopers. Despite some shortcomings of this landing (large dispersion, loss of weapons, poor interaction with aviation), the airborne divisions - two American on the right flank (101st and 82nd) and one British (6th) on the left - took up defensive positions. created favorable conditions for an amphibious landing.
On the night of June 6, the Allied fleet with amphibious assault forces crossed the English Channel without encountering any enemy resistance and by morning reached the deployment area 15-20 km from the coast of France. After an hour of artillery preparation, at 6:30 a.m. the amphibious assault began landing.
Under the cover of amphibious tanks, assault groups crossed to the shore, whose task was to pass through the barriers, provide their fire for the landing of engineer groups and their subsequent work to clear the barriers. After clearing the coastal areas, the landing of the first attacking echelon of divisions began, but the harmony of the established order was often disrupted. The landing was carried out with large displacements from the intended points. Amphibious tanks launched 3-4 km from the shore often sank, and in some areas troops suffered heavy losses due to minefields. Thus, in the American zone in the sector of the 5th Army Corps, out of 32 amphibious tanks, only 2 reached the shore, and the rest sank. In the English zone in the sector of the 3rd British and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions, under the influence of increased wind from the sea, the tide began half an hour earlier than expected. Therefore, the sappers did not have time to clear the barriers that were under water. This led to large losses of landing craft and amphibious tanks.
However, the American-British forces were able to land five infantry divisions on the first day, which linked up with the airborne assault. The decisive role in this was played by: firstly, the weak resistance of the German troops, the erroneous opinion of the German command, which still believed that the landing of the main Allied forces should be expected in the Pas-de-Calais area; secondly, powerful air support for the landing operation. In 24 hours on June 6, allied aviation carried out more than 10.5 thousand aircraft sorties. Its air supremacy was so great that the enemy in the landing area managed to make only 50 aircraft sorties per day.
The German command, unable to carry out retaliatory strikes with its aircraft, used a new weapon - V-1 projectile aircraft. The first strikes on England by V-1 aircraft were carried out on the night of June 13, and three days later systematic bombing of its cities began. However, at low speed (up to 610 km per hour) and flight altitude (up to 1000 m) of projectile aircraft, the English fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery could successfully fight them. Thus, out of 9251 projectiles fired by the Germans during the entire war, 4261 were shot down, and 2679 did not reach their target. technical reasons. A more significant achievement in the field missile weapons was the creation by the Germans of the V-2 ballistic missile. However, the use of these missiles began only in September and did not become widespread. In general, the use of new weapons by the Germans did not have a serious impact on the course of the Normandy operation. The main reasons for this were its technical imperfection, belated use, and, moreover, for the bombing of London and other cities of England, and not the troops and navy participating in the operation.
Without encountering serious resistance, the American-British troops immediately began advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses. By June 12, the expeditionary forces managed to expand it to 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth. By this time, the Anglo-American troops in Normandy numbered 327 thousand people. 54 thousand combat and transport vehicles and 104 thousand tons of cargo were also transported to the bridgehead. The 7th Corps of the 1st American Army fought stubborn battles on the distant approaches to Fort Cherbourg. The command of the German troops brought up reserves to eliminate the bridgehead on the coast. However, being confident that the landing in Normandy was only a diversionary maneuver, it still believed that the main attack of the Anglo-American troops would follow through the Pas de Calais Strait, and continued to keep large forces here.
The advance of American troops in a northern direction occurred quite quickly. Formations of the 1st American Army began an offensive on June 12 from the area west of Sainte-Mère-Eglise in a westerly direction, occupied Caumont, and by June 17 cut off the Cotentin Peninsula. By June 21 they approached Cherbourg. Fort Cherbourg was of enormous strategic importance for the Allied forces, who, due to the lack of ports, were experiencing great problems with supplying their troops on the continent. The next day, after powerful air preparation, the assault on the fortress began. It lasted several days, and on June 25, troops broke into the old forts of the city, built several centuries ago to fight the British. The next day, the city commandant ordered his units to lay down their arms. Individual groups of German troops still continued to resist, but by July 1, these groups were completely eliminated.
Heavy fighting by the Anglo-Canadian troops for the city of Caen continued. According to the prepared plan, troops under the command of Bernard Montgomery were supposed to capture this city on the first day of the invasion. However, three weeks after the landing, Caen still remained in German hands. Nevertheless, on June 25, Montgomery went on the offensive, but the very next day after the initial successes, the British troops encountered strong German resistance and stopped. Montgomery used strategic air forces to capture Caen. On the evening of July 7, 460 heavy bombers bombed Caen and Wehrmacht locations for 40 minutes. Early the next morning, the 21st Army Group launched an offensive, which, although it ended in the capture of the city, did not live up to the hopes placed on it and did not create a decisive turning point. At first, events developed favorably for the British, but on July 20 of the same month, when the British advance was stopped due to stubborn enemy resistance, Montgomery gave the order to retreat.
The Wehrmacht High Command (OKW) still feared an Allied landing in the Pas de Calais Strait area and did not dare to reinforce its troops in Normandy with formations from North-Eastern France. The Red Army's offensive in Poland and Belarus did not allow the German command to send additional troops and equipment to Western Europe and strengthen the defense in Normandy through strategic reserves and the transfer of forces from the Eastern Front. The OKW headquarters carried out only a partial transfer of forces and made a change in the leadership of German troops on the Western Front. On July 3, Field Marshal Rundstedt was replaced by Field Marshal G. Kluge. Soon Kluge had to take command of Army Group B, as Rommel was wounded.
Although the size of the bridgehead captured by the Allied forces in Normandy (up to 110 km along the front and a depth of 30-50 km) was 2 times smaller than those provided for according to the operation plan, in conditions of absolute air supremacy of the Allied aviation, it turned out to be possible to concentrate forces on it and means sufficient to develop offensive actions. On July 3, the 1st American Army went on the offensive. In 17 days, it advanced 10-15 km and occupied the city and important road junction of Saint-Lo. The British 2nd Army, after heavy and difficult attacks, captured Caen on July 19. The 3rd American and 1st Canadian armies were landed on the bridgehead. By July 25, the allied forces reached the line south of Saint-Lo, Comon, and Caen. This completed the Normandy landing operation.
During the period from June 6 to July 23, the Allies lost 122 thousand people (49 thousand British and Canadians and about 73 thousand Americans). The losses of German troops amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, as well as 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft.
This event can be called by different names (“D-Day”, Normandy operation or “Overlord”). This event is popular even outside the warring countries. This battle claimed numerous lives. A battle that went down in world history. Operation Overlord is a military procedure of the Allied forces; this operation was the opening of the second Western Front. It was held in France (Normandy). To date, Operation Overlord represents one of the largest amphibious operations in world history. At least three million people took part in it. Got its start this procedure in 1944 (June 6), and ended on August 31 of the same year. The ending of "Overlode" was the liberation of the city of Paris from the German occupiers. Operation Overload was distinguished by high-quality preparation for battle and organizational skill. Also, the ridiculous mistakes of the Reich Army played a huge role in this victory; it was they that provoked the German collapse in France.
The main goal of the American and British troops was to strike at the heart of the Third Reich; it was also necessary to destroy the main enemy from the Osinsky countries. The German goal (as the goal of a country that is defending itself) is simple: to prevent the troops from gaining a foothold in France, it was also necessary to provide them with technical and human losses, and at the end, dump them into the strait called the English Channel.
The Americans prepared for the landing in advance (one of the very first landing plans was studied three years before its implementation).
The operation was postponed multiple times and changed due to the fact that the United States could not make a final decision about what was more important - the Pacific or European theater of operations. So, Operation Overlord was launched when it was decided that the Pacific served as a tactical defense and Germany was the main rival.
The operation included two phases, each of them had its own name: “Neptune” and “Cobra”. “Neptune” envisaged the landing of troops with the further capture of the coastal part of the territory, and “Cobra” consisted of a further offensive inland and the capture of Paris. The first part lasted almost a month, the second – two. To avoid leaking information, troops were stationed in special bases that were forbidden to leave. Information propaganda was carried out regarding the place and time of Overlord. In addition to the troops of England and the United States, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian soldiers took part here. For a long time could not decide on the time and location, Brittany, Normandy and Pas-de-Calais were considered as the most suitable places for the landing. As you know, preference was given to Normandy. The main selection criteria were: the power of strengthening the defense, the echelon and radius of operation of the aviation of the allied forces. The Germans were confident that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area, due to the fact that this place is located closest to England. On June 6, the operation began during the daytime. The night before this day, a parachute landing was dropped behind enemy lines, this provided some assistance to the main forces. On the eve of the main attack, the Germans and their fortifications were bombarded by a massive air raid and ships.
Crossing the English Channel (Operation Neptune)
A decision was made in Casablanca. In August 1943, in Quebec, the Joint Chiefs of Staff presented the plan of operation to Roosevelt and Churchill. In November 1943, Stalin was informed about this plan in Tehran. It was decided that the British and American armies would land in France. The Red Army will help them by launching a major offensive in the east. Fascist Germany will be crushed in a huge vice.
From the beginning of 1943, troops concentrated in the southwest of England began intensive training in preparation for the landing operation. At the same time, the American and British air forces began to bomb German bases in occupied Europe. In 1944, the bombing of France, Belgium and Holland began. Since the main efforts were concentrated on the English Channel area, the Germans realized what exactly was being prepared. Information from spies and submarines confirmed these guesses. Huge Allied forces were gathering in the British Isles. It was clear that the crossing of the English Channel was being prepared.
But neither fascist spies nor submarines could tell the German High Command the date of the landing and the place where the ram would hit the wall of Fortress Europe.
Through reasoning, the German command came to the conclusion that the main blow would be delivered in the Calais area through the Strait of Dover, where the width of the water barrier was the smallest and the coast was most convenient for landing troops. In addition, the Allied armies would immediately be quite close to the German borders. It was precisely this conclusion that Eisenhower pushed the Germans to, almost openly calling Calais the landing site. And the Germans transferred their reinforcements to the Calais area, believing him.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff became convinced that the Germans had succumbed to the deception and ordered the Normandy landings. The shock troops were to land on a 50-mile stretch of coastline halfway between Cherbourg and Deauville. The sector's western border was on the Cotentin Peninsula. An advance through this peninsula would isolate Cherbourg, and with the inevitable fall of this important port, the Allies would have a sea gateway to Western Europe. To receive landing craft immediately after landing on the captured coast, it was planned to build artificial harbors as soon as the bridgeheads were occupied.
The landing sector was divided into 3 sections. In the west, near Deauville, the British were to land. The Americans landed in the center in the Omaha sector and in the west in the Utah sector.
The operation to invade Europe was given the code name "Overlord". Overall command was vested in the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, General Eisenhower. This book is not intended to examine the enormous mechanism and complex developments of the gigantic plan of action of the three branches of the armed forces. The book will give only the most general description Operation Neptune - the naval part of Operation Overlord.
The goal of Operation Neptune was to capture and hold beachheads on the Normandy coast by an invasion force totaling approximately 1 million soldiers. To land such a huge mass of troops, it was necessary to prepare many convoys and a colossal number of landing craft. Hundreds of transports and escort ships were involved in transporting troops. During the landing, ships of all types were involved. They cleared the way to the coast, landed troops, covered bridgeheads, supported the landing with fire, built and defended artificial harbors in which the subsequent unloading of transports was to take place.
Each of the missions of Operation Neptune was a colossal undertaking. The treacherous waters of the English Channel made convoy crossings a challenge due to strong winds, thick fogs and heavy seas. All this could dishevel any convoy. Approaching the Normandy coast, the Allied lead ships had to fight their way through the deadly fields of magnetic, contact, acoustic and other mines. Having cleared the barriers, the ships found themselves in shallow water, studded with various barriers and artificial obstacles - concrete blocks, steel hedgehogs hidden under water. The landing forces had to break through many miles of defensive positions. Fire support ships were supposed to destroy pillboxes, bunkers with guns installed in them, long-range artillery in the depths of the territory, and mobile artillery batteries. The Allies intended to build a huge artificial harbor, Mulberry, from sunken old ships, steel caissons and pontoons. They needed to be towed to shallow water and a section of the water area cordoned off. And all this had to be done despite the presence of German submarines in the English Channel and Luftwaffe aircraft in the skies overhead.
In total, more than 4,000 ships and vessels were assembled for Operation Neptune. British Admiral Sir Bertrand G. Ramsay was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Allied naval forces. The huge armada was divided into 5 operational formations: 3 British under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Philip L. Wyhan and 2 American under the command of Rear Admiral A.G. Pick. Since the landing was planned on an unequipped coast, it was scheduled for late May or early June, when weak tides and relatively calm weather would facilitate the actions of demolition teams and assault formations.
Bad weather delayed the start of Operation Overlord until 5 June. A sudden storm forced the ships to turn back, but this delay of a day could not disrupt the plans of Operation Neptune, although the colossal machine was put into action. On June 6, the Overlord was launched again, and the landing fleet set off again.
The forces participating in Operation Neptune departed from widely separated English ports and headed to the assembly area south of the Isle of Wight. Heavy fire support ships arrived from Belfast, Northern Ireland. American landing craft and escort ships left the ports of southwest England. British landing ships set out from the mouth of the Thames, Southampton and other ports in southeast England.
Following a complex schedule, all the numerous formations and groups of the huge armada arrived in the specified area of the English Channel and from there, in a predetermined order, headed to the shores of Normandy.
Ahead were minesweepers and ships with special teams demolitionists who were supposed to clear the way to the bridgeheads and mark the fairways they had made with luminous buoys. 4 parachute divisions landed in the interior of the territory to capture local airfields and important roads. The minesweepers were followed by small ships and hundreds of landing craft with assault units. They were to deploy on a baseline 3,000 yards from the shore. Next moved troop transports and cargo ships, for which a “Transport Zone” was defined 12–14 miles from the bridgeheads. Along with them were military fire support ships. They had to maneuver in special areas on the flanks of transport zones. Last came troop transports with reserves, heavy cargo ships, floating hospitals, a huge number of auxiliary ships and escort ships necessary to support such convoys.
Quite far from the coast of Normandy, the landing armada was divided into 3 groups. British and Canadian forces headed towards eastern sections landings, American Task Force "O" to the Omaha site, and Task Force "U" to the Utah site.
Task Force O was commanded by Rear Admiral J. L. Hall. Rear Admiral D.P. Moon commanded Task Force U. Both formations formed the Western Task Force under the command of Rear Admiral Kirk. Force "O" was assigned a fire support group under the command of Rear Admiral Ch.F. Bryant. It included the battleships Texas (flagship) and Arkansas, the light cruisers Glasgow, Montcalm, Georges Leygues, 8 American and 3 British destroyers. Task Force “U” was assigned the fire support group of Rear Admiral M.L. Deyo. It consisted of the old battleship Nevada, the British monitor Erebus, the heavy cruisers Tuscaloosa (flagship), Quincy and Hawkins, 2 British light cruisers, the Dutch gunboat Sumba and 8 American destroyers.
American destroyers that were part of the fire support groups are listed below. The list also names American escort destroyers that were part of the Western Task Force. Destroyers took part in literally every stage of Operation Neptune, so the overall picture of the landing can be imagined based on combat reports from destroyers and escort destroyers.
Fire support group "O"; 18th destroyer squadron: "Frankford" (Lieutenant Captain J.L. Semmes) under the pennant of the EEM-18 commander, Captain 1st Rank Harry Sanders, "Carmik" (Captain 2nd Rank R.O. Beer), "Doyle" (Lieutenant-Captain J.G. Marshall), "McCook" (Lieutenant-Captain R.L. Remy), "Baldwin" (Lieutenant-Captain E.S. Powell) under the braid pennant of the commander of DEM-36, Captain 2nd Rank U .J. Marshall, "Harding" (Captain 2nd Rank J.J. Palmer), "Satterlee" (Lieutenant-Captain R.W. Leach), "Thompson" (Lieutenant-Captain E.L. Gebelin).
Fire Support Group "U"; 34th Destroyer Division: “Butler” (Captain 2nd Rank M.D. Matthews) under the pennant of the commander of DEM-34, Captain 2nd Rank W.L. Benson, “Gherardi” (Captain 2nd Rank N.R. Curtin), “Herndon” (Captain 2nd Rank G.E. Moore), “Shubrik” (Lieutenant Captain W. Blenman); 20th Destroyer Division: “Hobson” (Lieutenant-Captain K. Loveland) under the pennant of the commander of DEM-20, Captain 2nd Rank L.U. Nilsson, “Forrest” (Captain 2nd Rank K.P. Letts), “Fitch” (Captain 2nd Rank K.C. Walpole), “Corrie” (Lieutenant Captain G.D. Hoffman).
Reserve fire support group; 119th Destroyer Division: “Barton” (Captain 2nd Rank J.W. Callahan) under the pennant of the EEM-60 commander, Captain 1st Rank W.L. Freseman, "Walk" (Captain 2nd Rank J.C. Tsam), "Laffey" (Captain 2nd Rank F.J. Becton), "O'Brien" (Captain 2nd Rank W.W. Outerbridge), "Meredith" ( captain 2nd rank J. Knupfer); 33rd Destroyer Division: "Jeffers" (Lieutenant-Captain G.K. Murray) under the pennant of the commander of EEM-17, Captain 1st Rank E.K. Murdo, "Nelson" (Lieutenant-Captain T.D. McGrath), "Murphy" (Captain 2nd Rank R.E. Wolverton), "Glennon" (Captain 2nd Rank C.E. Johnson), "Plunkett" (Captain 2nd Rank rank W. Outerson); 19th Destroyer Division: “Ellison” (Captain 2nd Rank E.W. Longton) under the pennant of the commander of EEM-10, Captain 1st Rank E.F. Conversa, "Hambleton" (Captain 2nd Rank G.E. Renken), "Rodman" (Captain 2nd Rank J.F. Foley), "Emmons" (Captain 2nd Rank E.B. Billingsley); 18th destroyer division: "Somers" (captain 2nd rank W.C. Hughes), DEM-18 also included "Davis" (captain 2nd rank W.E. Dunn) and "Jewett" (captain 2nd rank J. Ch. Parham).
The Western Task Force included the following escort destroyers: Emersbury (Lieutenant-Captain E.B. Wilbur) under the pennant of the DEME-19 commander, Captain 2nd Rank E.B. Adams, "Borum" (Lieutenant-Captain J.C. Davis), "Maloy" (Lieutenant-Captain F.D. Kellogg), "Bates" (Lieutenant-Captain G.E. Wilmerding), "Rich" (Capt. Lieutenant E.E. Michel), "Blessman" (Lieutenant-Captain J.E. Gillies).
So, the morning came on June 6, 1944, the day of the landing. Hitler vowed to drop troops into the sea “in exactly 9 hours.” Peering into the dark and gloomy shore, the crews of the American destroyers sailing as part of the advanced formations were not sure that Hitler’s words were empty boasting. But the sailors also remembered Admiral Kirk’s solemn statement: “I expect that the course of the upcoming battle will prove that American sailors are second to none in their fighting qualities!”
Normandy was ahead. The clock hands were inexorably approaching the scheduled time. Along with the vanguard, the destroyers Hobson, Fitch and Corrie were moving towards the Utah site.
During the Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front, the United States and England landed troops in France. The Anglo-American command prepared two landing operations: the main one - on the northern coast of France, in Normandy - called "Overlord" ("Overlord") and the auxiliary one - on the southern coast in the Marseille area - Operation Anvil ("Anvil"), 6 June 1944 saw the start of Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious operation of World War II. A huge fleet (6 thousand military, landing and transport ships) delivered 3 Allied armies, which included 10 tank divisions, to the shores of Normandy. A gigantic air armada - 11 thousand aircraft - covered them from the air. Together with the British and American troops, Canadian troops, Polish military units subordinate to the emigrant government in London, and French military units formed by the French Committee of National Liberation, which on the eve of the landing proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of France, took part in the landing. The landing was commanded by Montgomery, who received the rank of field marshal after winning in North Africa; General leadership of the invasion forces, the total number of which reached 1 million people, was carried out by General Eisenhower.
Since the main forces of the German army were on the Eastern Front, the commander-in-chief of the German forces in the West, Field Marshal Rundstedt, had only 58 incomplete divisions stationed in France, Belgium and Holland at his disposal. Some of them were “stationary”, that is, they did not have their own transport. There were only 12 divisions in the immediate vicinity of the Normandy landing site, with only 160 combat-ready aircraft. In terms of personnel, the Allied armies were three times larger than the German troops opposing them. They had twice as many guns, three times as many tanks and 60 times as many aircraft. Although the German command expected the Allied invasion, it was unable to determine in advance either the time or place of the landing. On the eve of the landing, a storm continued for several days, the weather forecast was poor, and Eisenhower was forced to postpone the invasion by one day. The German command believed that in such weather a landing would be completely impossible. The commander of the German forces in France, Field Marshal Rommel, just on the eve of the Allied landings, went home to rest in Germany and learned about the invasion only more than three hours later, far from his troops.
The adopted plan of operation provided for the landing of naval and airborne troops on the coast of the Gulf of the Seine, in the area from the Grand Vé bank to the mouth of the Orne River, a length of about 80 km, and on the twentieth day to create a bridgehead 100 km along the front and 100-110 km in depth. Here it was planned to concentrate forces sufficient to conduct further offensive operations in Northern France. On the first day of the operation, it was planned to land 5 infantry, 3 airborne divisions and several commando and ranger detachments ashore, advance to a depth of 15 - 20 km and on the sixth day increase the strength of troops on the bridgehead to 16 divisions. The landing area was divided into two zones - western and eastern. In the first of them, American troops were to land, and in the second, British-Canadian troops. The western zone was divided into two sections, the eastern - into three. One reinforced infantry division was simultaneously landed on each of them. The main task of the Allied fleet in the operation was to deliver troops to the landing area, to reliably provide cover for the landing force during the transition and during landing from attacks by submarines of enemy surface ships, and to assist the advance of troops ashore with artillery fire. The organization of the naval forces allocated to participate in Operation Neptune was subordinated to the task of most reliably ensuring, first of all, the landing of the first echelon of landing troops. For the landing of each division, independent formations were created.
Actions from the sea were to be preceded by the landing of significant forces of airborne troops in the depths of the enemy's defenses - 10 -15 km from the coast. They had to assist the amphibious landing during the landing and capture of the bridgehead, capture road junctions, crossings, bridges and other important objects and thereby prevent the enemy reserves from approaching the coast. The primary targets of air attacks were railway network structures, rolling stock, and airfields in France and Belgium. Since the end of March 1944, all aviation formations allocated to support Operation Overlord were directly subordinated to the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, General D. Eisenhower. Their practical leadership was carried out by his deputy, Air Chief Marshal A. Tedder. The American-British command, in order to achieve surprise of the landing, during the preparatory period carried out extensive measures to covertly concentrate forces and means, combat enemy reconnaissance and mislead him regarding the time and area of the landing.
On the night of June 6, 18 ships of the English fleet, together with groups of bomber aircraft, took demonstrative actions in the area northeast of Le Havre.
While they were maneuvering along the coast, the planes dropped strips of metallized paper to interfere with the work of the Germans. radar stations. Despite the weakness of German aviation and navy, the command of the expeditionary forces created reliable anti-submarine, mine and air defense. In particular, in order to prevent German ships from leaving the Bay of Biscay and the North Sea into the English Channel, large naval cover forces were deployed. After three months of preparation for the concentration area, located 100 - 150 km north of the southern coast of England, the landing troops in late May - early June were concentrated in the assembly areas, 20 -25 km from the landing site. On June 3-4, they headed to loading points - Falmouth, Plymouth, Weymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Newhaven. The landing was scheduled for June 5, but due to poor meteorological conditions it was postponed a day.
On the night of June 6, simultaneously with the transition of the amphibious assault, allied aviation began to strike artillery batteries, individual resistance centers, headquarters, troop concentrations and enemy rear areas. Strong blows aviation attacked targets in the area of Calais and Boulogne in order to divert the attention of the German command from the actual direction of the landing. The night before the landing, the airborne troops began being dropped. It involved 1,662 aircraft and 512 gliders from the American Air Force, and 733 aircraft and 335 gliders from the British Air Force. Units of the 82nd American Airborne Division landed west of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. There were only isolated units of German troops in this area, and the paratroopers did not encounter strong opposition; they soon occupied Sainte-Mère-Eglise.
On the morning of June 6, artillery preparation began, which was conducted by 7 battleships, 2 monitors, 24 cruisers, and 74 destroyers. In addition, American and British aircraft carried out massive strikes. As a result, the defense of Nazi troops on the coast was largely suppressed. At 6:30 a.m. in the western zone and an hour later in the eastern zone, the first amphibious assault forces landed on the shore. American troops that landed in the extreme western sector (“Utah”), by the end of June 6, advanced deep into the coast up to 10 km and linked up with the 82nd Airborne Division.
The 5th Corps of the 1st American Army, which landed in the Omaha sector, was severely defeated. Here the enemy's defense was not sufficiently suppressed. The artillery units landed late, and the troops of the first attack found themselves without fire support. The landing detachments of the corps, suffering heavy losses from enemy artillery and machine-gun fire, during the first day barely captured a small section of the coast 1.5-2 km deep. In the landing zone of the Anglo-Canadian forces, the resistance of the Nazi troops was weak. Having overcome it without much effort, the paratroopers joined forces with units of the 6th Airborne Division in the evening. By the end of the first day of the operation, the allied forces had created three bridgeheads with a depth of 2 to 9 km. The main forces of five infantry, three airborne divisions with reinforcement units numbering over 156 thousand people landed on the Normandy coast. During the first 24 hours of the landing operation, Allied strategic aviation carried out 14 thousand sorties. During the same time, only 50 German aircraft sorties were recorded in the landing area.
During June 7-8, the command of the expeditionary forces continued the intensive transfer of new forces and equipment to the captured bridgeheads. In three days, eight infantry, one tank, three airborne divisions and a large number and large number of reinforcement units were concentrated here. On the morning of June 9, the allied forces went on the offensive with the aim of creating a single bridgehead. During the period from June 9 to 12, the expeditionary forces managed to occupy the coast with a length of 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth, while 16 divisions and armored units equivalent to three armored divisions were already in the bridgehead.
The fascist German command, still believing that the enemy's main attack would come through the Pas-de-Calais Strait, continued to maintain large forces in this area. The transfer of German troops from other regions of France was thwarted by Allied aviation and French patriots.
On June 12, Hitler's headquarters made an unsuccessful attempt to cut through the grouping of Allied forces between the Orne and Vir rivers. By this time, she had pulled up three tank and one motorized divisions to the bridgehead, bringing the grouping of her troops in Normandy to 12 divisions. But these units were poorly staffed with people and equipment. To prevent the expansion of the bridgehead, the fascist German command introduced divisions into battle in parts as they approached the landing area. As a result, their efforts were scattered.
The Allied command, trying to take advantage of favorable conditions, took measures to further deploy offensive operations in order to expand the bridgehead. American troops received the task of capturing the Cotentin Peninsula with the port of Cherbourg. Anglo-Canadian troops were to advance south and occupy the city of Caen. On June 17, American troops reached West Coast Cotentin Peninsula in the Carteret region, cutting off this peninsula from the rest of Normandy. On June 27, the Americans captured Cherbourg, and on July 1, they completely cleared the Cotentin Peninsula of Nazi troops. In the first half of July, the Allies restored the port at Cherbourg. He began to play a significant role in supplying troops in France. The offensive of the Anglo-Canadian troops, launched on June 25-26 to capture Caen, did not achieve its goal. The Germans put up stubborn resistance. By the end of June, the Allied bridgehead in Normandy reached 100 km along the front and from 20 to 40 km in depth.
The OVK headquarters still did not dare to strengthen its troops in Normandy by transferring units from North-Eastern France. The directive of the Supreme High Command of July 7 indicated that there was a possibility of a second landing on the front of the 15th Army in the Pas-de-Calais Strait area. The main reason, which did not allow the Wehrmacht troops to be strengthened in the West, was the grandiose Soviet offensive that began in June armed forces in Belarus. It was adopted in accordance with the agreement with the allies. Hitler's command not only could not remove formations from the Soviet-German front, but was forced to transfer additional forces and means there. Lacking the ability to reinforce troops in the West and not daring to transfer forces from the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait to the bridgehead, Hitler's headquarters was unable to significantly strengthen the defense in Normandy. On July 7-8, the British launched an offensive with three infantry divisions and three armored brigades with the goal of capturing the northwestern part of Caen. Here they were opposed by a German airfield division. To suppress its defense and support the advancing troops, the Allied command attracted not only tactical, but also strategic aviation. Large ships of the navy took part in the artillery preparation. In addition, Caen was subjected to repeated bombing by Allied aircraft. By the end of July 9, the British infantry occupied a completely destroyed northwestern Part of city. After a respite on July 18, the British continued their assault on the city with four infantry and three tank divisions.
The troops occupied block after block as aircraft and artillery made their way through. On July 21 they completely captured the city. By July 25, the Allies reached the line south of Saint-Lo, Caumont, and Caen. This completed the Normandy landing operation. Thus, in the period from June 6 to July 24, the American-British command managed to land expeditionary forces in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead of about 100 km along the front and up to 50 km in depth. The dimensions of the bridgehead were approximately 2 times smaller than those provided for in the operation plan. However, the absolute dominance of the Allies in the air and sea made it possible to concentrate a large number of forces and assets here. The landing of the American-British Expeditionary Force in Normandy, which meant the opening of a second front in Western Europe, was the largest landing operation of strategic importance during the Second World War. In preparing and carrying out it, the Allies skillfully solved many problems: they achieved a surprise landing and clear interaction between ground forces, aviation, navy and airborne troops; carried out a rapid transfer across the English Channel to Normandy large quantity troops, military equipment and various cargoes. The success of the operation was facilitated by the enormous summer offensive of the Soviet armed forces, which forced the Nazi command to throw its main reserves to the eastern front. The difficulties and limited capabilities of the German troops during the fighting in Normandy are evidenced, in particular, by Romel’s telegram sent to Hitler on July 15, 1944. It reported that in recent weeks the losses of Army Group B reached 97 thousand people, and the received reinforcements amounted to only 6 thousand. Despite all this, the deadlines outlined by the plan of the Normandy operation were not met and the pace of the offensive was low. This was explained by the fact that the Allied command acted with extreme caution, trying to methodically and consistently oust the enemy. In some areas, Nazi troops offered stubborn resistance. The damage of the Nazi troops during the period of almost seven-week battles amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 2117 tanks and 345 aircraft. The Allies lost 122 thousand people between June 6 and July 23 (49 thousand British and Canadians and about 73 thousand Americans). The Allied command and expeditionary forces gained combat experience during the operation, which they used in subsequent operations.
The Anglo-American troops managed to achieve complete surprise. Possessing a huge advantage in forces and equipment, with absolute dominance at sea and in the air, they captured a large bridgehead in Normandy. All attempts by the German command to eliminate him were unsuccessful. The German “secret weapon” - the FAU-1 projectile aircraft, first used to bomb London on June 13, 1944, also did not produce the results expected by the Nazis. On July 25, 1944, the Allies launched an offensive in Normandy and defeated German forces in Northern France. The French partisans provided significant assistance to the allies, who attacked the rear units of the invaders, destroyed their transport and communications, blew up bridges, and committed sabotage on railways. General Eisenhower believed that partisan assistance was equivalent to the actions of 15 regular divisions.
On August 15, Operation Anvil began, to which Churchill had long and persistently objected. He proposed using the forces intended for it not in France, but in Italy - closer to the Balkans, but Eisenhower and Roosevelt refused to change the plans agreed upon in Tehran. On the southern coast of France, east of Marseille, the Allies landed two armies: American and French. Fearing that they would be cut off, German troops in southwestern and southern France began to retreat. Soon the Allied forces advancing from Northern and Southern France united. By September 1944, almost all of France was cleared of occupiers. Anglo-American troops entered the territory of Belgium and Holland. On September 3, 1944, they liberated the capital of Belgium, Brussels. Only western borders In Germany, the Allied offensive slowed down for a while.
The worst thing besides
lost battle
this is a won battle.
Duke of Wellington.
Allied landings in Normandy, Operation Overlord, "D-Day", Normandy operation. This event has many different names. This is a battle that everyone knows about, even outside the countries that fought the war. This is an event that claimed many thousands of lives. An event that will go down in history forever.
general information
Operation Overlord- a military operation of the Allied forces, which became the opening operation of a second front in the West. Held in Normandy, France. And to this day it is the largest landing operation in history - in total more than 3 million people were involved. The operation has begun June 6, 1944 and ended on August 31, 1944 with the liberation of Paris from the German occupiers. This operation combined the skill of organizing and preparing for combat operations of the Allied troops and the rather ridiculous mistakes of the Reich troops, which led to the collapse of Germany in France.
Goals of the warring parties
For Anglo-American troops "Overlord" set a goal to inflict crushing blow into the very heart of the Third Reich and, in cooperation with the advance of the Red Army along the entire eastern front, crush the main and most powerful enemy from the Axis countries. The goal of Germany, as the defending side, was extremely simple: not to allow the Allied troops to land and gain a foothold in France, to force them to suffer heavy human and technical losses and dump them into the English Channel.
Strengths of the parties and the general state of affairs before the battle
It is worth noting that the position of the German army in 1944, especially on the Western Front, left much to be desired. Hitler concentrated his main troops on the eastern front, where Soviet troops were victorious one after another. German troops were deprived of unified leadership in France - permanent shifts senior commanders, conspiracies against Hitler, disputes about possible place landings and the lack of a unified defensive plan did not in any way contribute to the successes of the Nazis.
By June 6, 1944, 58 Nazi divisions were stationed in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, including 42 infantry, 9 tank and 4 air field divisions. They were united into two army groups, “B” and “G”, and were subordinate to the “West” command. Army Group B (commander Field Marshal E. Rommel), located in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, included the 7th, 15th armies and the 88th separate army corps - a total of 38 divisions. Army Group G (commanded by General I. Blaskowitz) consisting of the 1st and 19th armies (11 divisions in total) was located on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and in southern France.
In addition to the troops that were part of the army groups, 4 divisions made up the reserve of the West command. Thus, the greatest densities of troops were created in North-Eastern France, on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait. In general, the German units were scattered throughout France and did not have time to arrive on the battlefield in time. For example, about 1 million more Reich soldiers were in France and initially did not participate in the battle.
Despite the relatively large number of people stationed in the area German soldiers and equipment, their combat effectiveness was extremely low. 33 divisions were considered “stationary”, that is, they either had no vehicles at all or did not have the required amount of fuel. About 20 divisions were newly formed or recovered from battles, so they were only 70-75% of normal strength. Many tank divisions also lacked fuel.
From the memoirs of the Chief of Staff of the West Command, General Westphal: “It is well known that the combat effectiveness of the German troops in the West, already at the time of the landing, was much lower than the combat effectiveness of the divisions operating in the East and Italy... A significant number of ground force formations located in France, the so-called “stationary divisions,” were very poorly equipped with weapons and by motor transport and consisted of older soldiers". The German air fleet could provide about 160 combat-ready aircraft. As for the naval forces, Hitler's troops had at their disposal 49 submarines, 116 patrol ships, 34 torpedo boats and 42 artillery barges.
The Allied forces, commanded by future US President Dwight Eisenhower, had 39 divisions and 12 brigades at their disposal. As for aviation and navy, in this aspect the Allies had an overwhelming advantage. They had about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 2300 transport aircraft; over 6 thousand combat, landing and transport ships. Thus, by the time of the landing, the overall superiority of the Allied forces over the enemy was 2.1 times in men, 2.2 times in tanks, and almost 23 times in aircraft. In addition, the Anglo-American troops constantly brought new forces to the battlefield, and by the end of August they already had about 3 million people at their disposal. Germany could not boast of such reserves.
Operation plan
The American command began preparing for the landing in France long before "D-Day"(the original landing project was considered 3 years before - in 1941 - and was codenamed “Roundup”). In order to test their strength in the war in Europe, the Americans, together with British troops, landed in North Africa (Operation Torch), and then in Italy. The operation was postponed and changed many times because the United States could not decide which theater of military operations was more important for them - the European or the Pacific. After the decision was made to choose Germany as the main rival, and Pacific Ocean limited to tactical defense, the development plan began Operation Overlord.
The operation consisted of two phases: the first was codenamed "Neptune", the second - "Cobra". "Neptune" assumed an initial landing of troops, the capture of coastal territory, "Cobra" - a further offensive deep into France, followed by the capture of Paris and access to the German-French border. The first part of the operation lasted from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944; the second began immediately after the end of the first, that is, from July 1, 1944 until August 31 of the same year.
The operation was prepared in the strictest secrecy, all troops that were supposed to land in France were transferred to special isolated military bases that were forbidden to leave, information propaganda was conducted regarding the place and time of the operation.
In addition to US and British troops, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand soldiers took part in the operation, and French resistance forces were active in France itself. For a very long time, the command of the allied forces could not accurately determine the time and place of the start of the operation. The most preferred landing sites were Normandy, Brittany and Pas-de-Calais.
Everyone knows that the choice was made on Normandy. The choice was influenced by factors such as the distance to the ports of England, the echelon and strength of defensive fortifications, and the range of the Allied aircraft. The combination of these factors determined the choice of the Allied command.
Until the very last moment, the German command believed that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area, since this place was closest to England, and therefore required the least time to transport cargo, equipment, and new soldiers. In Pas-de-Calais, the famous “Atlantic Wall” was created - an impregnable line of defense for the Nazis, while in the landing area the fortifications were hardly half ready. The landing took place on five beaches, which received code names“Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Sword”, “Juno”.
The start time of the operation was determined by the ratio of the water level and the time of sunrise. These factors were considered to ensure that the landing craft did not run aground and were not damaged by underwater obstacles, and that it was possible to land equipment and troops as close to the shore as possible. As a result, the day the operation began was June 6, and this day was named "D-Day". The night before the landing of the main forces, a parachute landing was dropped behind enemy lines, which was supposed to help the main forces, and immediately before the start of the main attack, the German fortifications were subjected to a massive air raid and Allied ships.
Progress of the operation
Such a plan was developed at headquarters. In reality, things didn't go quite that way. The landing force, which was dropped behind German lines the night before the operation, was scattered over a vast territory - over 216 square meters. km. for 25-30 km. from captured objects. Most of the 101st Division, which landed near Sainte-Maire-Eglise, disappeared without a trace. The 6th British Division was also unlucky: although the landing paratroopers were much more numerous than their American comrades, in the morning they came under fire from their own aircraft, with which they could not establish contact. The 1st US Division was almost completely destroyed. Some ships with tanks were sunk before they even reached the shore.
Already during the second part of the operation - Operation Cobra - Allied aircraft attacked their own command post. The offensive went much slower than planned. The bloodiest event of the entire company was the landing on Omaha Beach. According to the plan, early in the morning, German fortifications on all beaches were subjected to fire from naval guns and air bombing, as a result of which the fortifications were significantly damaged.
But on the Omaha, due to fog and rain, the naval guns and planes missed, and the fortifications did not receive any damage. By the end of the first day of the operation, on the Omaha the Americans had lost more than 3 thousand people and were unable to take the positions planned by the plan, while on the Utah during this time they lost about 200 people, took the necessary positions and united with the landing party. Despite all this, on the whole the landing of the Allied troops was quite successful.
Then the second phase was successfully started Operation Overlord, within which cities such as Cherbourg, Saint-Lo, Caen and others were taken. The Germans retreated, throwing weapons and equipment to the Americans. On August 15, due to mistakes by the German command, two German tank armies were surrounded, and although they were able to escape from the so-called Falaise Pocket, it was at the cost of huge losses. Allied forces then captured Paris on August 25, continuing to push the Germans back to the Swiss borders. After complete stripping French capital from the Nazis, Operation Overlord was declared completed.
Reasons for the victory of the Allied forces
Many of the reasons for the Allied victory and the German defeat have already been mentioned above. One of the main reasons was the critical position of Germany at this stage of the war. The main forces of the Reich were concentrated on the Eastern Front; the constant onslaught of the Red Army did not give Hitler the opportunity to transfer new troops to France. Such an opportunity arose only at the end of 1944 (Ardennes Offensive), but then it was already too late.
The better military-technical equipment of the Allied troops also had an effect: all the equipment of the Anglo-Americans was new, with full ammunition and a sufficient supply of fuel, while the Germans constantly experienced supply difficulties. In addition, the Allies constantly received reinforcements from English ports.
An important factor was the activity of the French partisans, who pretty well spoiled the supplies for the German troops. In addition, the Allies had a numerical superiority over the enemy in all types of weapons, as well as in personnel. Conflicts within the German headquarters, as well as the incorrect belief that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area and not in Normandy, led to a decisive Allied victory.
Operation meaning
In addition to the fact that the landing in Normandy showed the strategic and tactical skill of the command of the Allied forces and the courage of ordinary soldiers, it also had a huge impact on the course of the war. "D-Day" opened a second front, forced Hitler to fight on two fronts, which stretched the already dwindling forces of the Germans. This was the first major battle in Europe in which American soldiers proved themselves. The offensive in the summer of 1944 caused the collapse of the entire Western Front, the Wehrmacht lost almost all positions in Western Europe.
Representation of the battle in the media
The scale of the operation, as well as its bloodshed (especially on Omaha Beach) led to the fact that today there are many computer games, films on this topic. Perhaps the most famous film was the masterpiece of the famous director Steven Spielberg "Saving Private Ryan", which tells about the massacre that occurred on the Omaha. This topic was also discussed in "The Longest Day", television series "Brothers in Arms" and many documentaries. Operation Overlord has appeared in more than 50 different computer games.
Even though Operation Overlord was carried out more than 50 years ago, and now it remains the largest amphibious operation in the history of mankind, and now the attention of many scientists and experts is riveted to it, and now there are endless disputes and debates about it. And it’s probably clear why.
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