D-Day

Brandon Lemieux

D-Day, June 6th, 1944

Juno Beach

D-Day was the culmintation of allied planning and the stockpiling of resources to finally invade and recapture France from its German oppressors. This was to open another European front to draw off the Germans from the invasion of Italy and the Eastern front.

The invasion of Normandy involved the preliminary bombing of strategic targets beforehand, followed by the dropping of 24,000 Canadian, British, American, and French Free Fighting forces shortly after midnight to disrupt the Germans and prevent the beach landings from being swiftly counter-attacked. The final stage of the invasion plan was the landing of troops on five strategic beachheads by, with the Americans and British taking two each, and the Canadians taking one.

The invasion was originally scheduled to commence on May 1st, 1944, but was rescheduled for June 5th. However, hazardous weather during that time further postponed it to June 6th.

Who Was Involved?

On the Allied side, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of allied forces, while Montgomery had direct command over the ground forces as a whole. On the axis side, Erwin Rommel had control of the forces in France, although Hitler dictated a lot of what he did, which was a stark opposite of Rommel’s lack of faith in the “Atlantic Wall.” Other German commanders commanded their own respective ground forces to help keep it organised.

Why Did  This Happen?

The invasion was necessary for a number of reasons. For one, the invasion of Italy was getting stalled by the fierce German defence, and it was going to take an uneccessary amount of time to get a European breakout from that point on the continent. Another reason was the Soviets insistence on another European front being opened to take the pressure off themselves, although the Allies were a little late fulfilling the Soviets wish.

Capturing France and the nearby countries also gave them an easy way to getting into the heart of Germany and end the war. And despite their status as friendly forces, the Allies needed to get as much of Europe as possible into their hands instead of the Soviets, who were already imposing their will onto the foreign lands which they took from the Germany. 

 When you consider D-Day from a military perspective, there weren’t any consequences to think of. They successfully gained another foothold in Nazi occupied Europe, and were ready to liberate Paris and the rest of France from German oppression. However, there was a great loss of life, as the beaches were heavily defended and caused the men sent in to capture them to perish. An estimated 4500 allied soldiers were killed on D-Day, and about 10,000 wounded. The estimations for German casulaties is between 4,000 and 9,000. The massive loss of life, and psychological effects are costly side effects, but necessary if Europe was to be freed from the Nazi menace.

There were also civilian casulaties because of the allied bombardment of the coast of France, several thousand were forced to flee their homes or perish in the crossfire of the battle.

Historical Context

This event was justified for a variety of reasons. One reason was that pretty much the whole world was in a brutal war, and it needed to be ended. The invasion of France was an important stepping stone to the collapse of Germany’s military, and the liberation of much of Europe from their oppression. Without this invasion, many innocents, and soldiers for that matter, would have been killed as the war progressed and took longer to complete. The invasion was necessary for tactical reasons, and that’s all that should be considered given the nature of the war they were fighting. From a purely military standpoint, it could not be more necessary.

The allies were also liberating France, a critical ally that had been conquered by German, their Jewish population captured, and their normal citizens facing fierce sanctions and unfair treatment. Without the invasion, they would have continued to be oppressed and not in control of the land which was rightfully theirs.

Continuity and Change

As far as the battle is concerned, the success of the invasion, and their ability to defend their landings, essentially guarenteed an allied victory as Germany was being pushed back from the East and the West, while their tactics and technology was no longer advanced enough, and blitzkreig no longer effective enough, to secure quick and decisive victories.

The invasion didn’t change views of the war or military strategy, but instead further encouraged them to lay on the pressure and bring a swift end to Germany. The only thing that changed was that Germany’s defeat was all but certain barring a colossal failure of the allies superior military forces.

Historical Significance

This event was tied greatly into the outcome of the war, since if it had failed, it would have seriously crippled Britain’s ability to fight the war, and would have been a majour setback for the United States. If it had failed, it’s speculated that the Americans and Soviets would have met each other at the Rhine River rather than the Elbe River in the heart of Germany. The invasion was a key success in a war that couldn’t be lost, and was the largest seaborne invasion in military history.

The war, which was already swinging in the favour of the allies, was all but certainly won at some time in the future due to the success of the landings. Without this battle, the fat of Europe still had some question marks, as the Germans could potentially stop the advances made by the Soviet union in the east, and the allied forces in Italy. Instead, they now had to fight larger forces on 3 seperate fronts, while also garrisonning occupied countries from partisan units. It was less than an ideal position for the German occupiers, as the knock out blow was incoming .

This battle used knowledge gained from the failures of the Dieppe Raid, which massacered most of the Canadians involved and gained absolutely no tactical intel or advantage, partially justifying the lives lost there, as they saved more lives in a more important battle.

Sources

World War II in Colour (Documentary)

Wikipedia (Sources only)