Difference between revisions of "Operation Overlord" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox Military Conflict
 
{{Infobox Military Conflict
 
| conflict          = Operation Overlord
 
| conflict          = Operation Overlord
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* {{flag|Canada|1921}}
 
* {{flag|Canada|1921}}
 
* {{flagdeco|France|1794}} [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|France]]
 
* {{flagdeco|France|1794}} [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|France]]
* {{flagdeco|Poland|1928}} [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Poland]]<ref>Antony Beevor, ''D-Day: The Battle for Normandy'' (New York, New York; Toronto, Canada: Viking, 2009, ISBN 978-0670021192), 82.</ref>
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* {{flagdeco|Poland|1928}} [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Poland]]<ref>Antony Beevor, ''D-Day: The Battle for Normandy'' (New York, NY; Toronto, Canada: Viking, 2009, ISBN 978-0670021192), 82.</ref>
 
* {{flag|Australia}}
 
* {{flag|Australia}}
* {{flagcountry|Dominion of New Zealand}}<ref>Beevor, 2009, 76.</ref>
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* {{flagcountry|Dominion of New Zealand}}<ref>Beevor 2009, 76.</ref>
 
* {{flagdeco|Belgium}} [[Free Belgian Forces|Belgium]]<ref>Jeffrey Williams, ''The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945'' (Toronto, Canada: Stoddart, 1988, ISBN 0773721940), x.</ref>
 
* {{flagdeco|Belgium}} [[Free Belgian Forces|Belgium]]<ref>Jeffrey Williams, ''The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945'' (Toronto, Canada: Stoddart, 1988, ISBN 0773721940), x.</ref>
 
* {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Czechoslovak government-in-exile|Czechoslovakia]]<ref>Beevor, 2009, 492.</ref>
 
* {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Czechoslovak government-in-exile|Czechoslovakia]]<ref>Beevor, 2009, 492.</ref>
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* {{flagdeco|Luxembourg}} [[Free Luxembourgish forces|Luxembourg]]{{sfn|Luxembourg Army website}}
 
* {{flagdeco|Luxembourg}} [[Free Luxembourgish forces|Luxembourg]]{{sfn|Luxembourg Army website}}
 
* {{flagdeco|Netherlands}} [[Dutch government-in-exile|Netherlands]]<ref>Jeffrey Williams, x.</ref>
 
* {{flagdeco|Netherlands}} [[Dutch government-in-exile|Netherlands]]<ref>Jeffrey Williams, x.</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|Norway}} [[Nygaardsvold's Cabinet|Norway]]<ref>Beevor, 2009, 82.</ref>
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* {{Flagdeco|Norway}} [[Nygaardsvold's Cabinet|Norway]]<ref>Beevor 2009, 82.</ref>
 
}}
 
}}
 
| combatant2        = '''[[Axis powers|Axis]]'''<br>'''{{flagcountry|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}'''<br>{{flagcountry|Italy|name=Italian Social Republic}}<ref>The Italian Social Republic forces during Operation Overlord were composed by the 4,000 men of the 1ª Divisione Atlantica Fucilieri di Marina. Circa 100 of them were stationed on the island of [[Cézembre]]. Other forces include former prisoners-of-war put in labor and anti-air units. </ref>
 
| combatant2        = '''[[Axis powers|Axis]]'''<br>'''{{flagcountry|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}'''<br>{{flagcountry|Italy|name=Italian Social Republic}}<ref>The Italian Social Republic forces during Operation Overlord were composed by the 4,000 men of the 1ª Divisione Atlantica Fucilieri di Marina. Circa 100 of them were stationed on the island of [[Cézembre]]. Other forces include former prisoners-of-war put in labor and anti-air units. </ref>
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| strength1        = {{plainlist |
 
| strength1        = {{plainlist |
 
* 1,452,000 troops (by 25 July)<ref>Around 812,000 were American and 640,000 were British and Canadian. Niklas Zetterling, ''Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness'' (Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz, 2000, ISBN 0921991568), 408.</ref>  
 
* 1,452,000 troops (by 25 July)<ref>Around 812,000 were American and 640,000 were British and Canadian. Niklas Zetterling, ''Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness'' (Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz, 2000, ISBN 0921991568), 408.</ref>  
* 2,052,299 (by the end of August){{sfn|Badsey|1990|p=85}}
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* 2,052,299 (by the end of August)<ref>Stephen Badsey, ''Normandy 1944: Allied Landings and Breakout Osprey Campaign Series'' (Botley, Oxfordshire, England: Osprey Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0850459214), 85.</ref>
 
}}
 
}}
 
| strength2        = {{plainlist |
 
| strength2        = {{plainlist |
* 380,000 troops (by 23 July)<ref>Niklas Zetterling, ''Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness'' (Winnipeg, Canada: [[J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing|J.J. Fedorowicz]], 2000, ISBN 0921991568), 32.</ref>
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* 380,000 troops (by 23 July)<ref>Niklas Zetterling, ''Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness'' (Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, 2000, ISBN 0921991568), 32.</ref>
 
* ~640,000 troops total<ref>Zetterling, 34.</ref>
 
* ~640,000 troops total<ref>Zetterling, 34.</ref>
* 2,200<ref>Milton Shulman, ''Defeat in the West'' (Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger, 2007 (1947), ISBN 978-0548439487), 192.</ref>&nbsp;– 2,500 tanks and assault guns<ref>Chester Wilmot,''The Struggle For Europe''. Ware, Hertfordshire, England: Wordsworth Editions, 1997 (1952), ISBN 853266779), 434.</ref>{{sfn|Buckley|2006|pp=117–120}}
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* 2,200<ref>Milton Shulman, ''Defeat in the West'' (Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger, 2007 (1947), ISBN 978-0548439487), 192.</ref>&nbsp;– 2,500 tanks and assault guns<ref>Chester Wilmot, ''The Struggle For Europe'' (Ware, Hertfordshire, England: Wordsworth Editions, 1997 (1952), ISBN 853266779), 434.</ref>
 
}}
 
}}
 
| casualties1      = {{plainlist |
 
| casualties1      = {{plainlist |
* 226,386 casualties<ref>Michael Tamelander, Niklas Zetterling, ''Avgörandets Ögonblick: Invasionen i Normandie'' (Determining the Decisive Moments: The Invasion of Normandy) (Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 2003 (1995) ISBN 978-9113012049), 341.</ref><ref>In addition, the Allied air forces made 480,317 sorties directly connected to the operation, with the loss of 4,101 planes and 16,714 lives.</ref>
+
* 226,386 casualties<ref>Michael Tamelander and Niklas Zetterling, ''Avgörandets Ögonblick: Invasionen i Normandie'' (Determining the Decisive Moments: The Invasion of Normandy) (Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 2003), 341.</ref><ref>In addition, the Allied air forces made 480,317 sorties directly connected to the operation, with the loss of 4,101 planes and 16,714 lives.</ref>
 
* 4,101 aircraft<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 341.</ref>
 
* 4,101 aircraft<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 341.</ref>
 
* ~4,000 tanks<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342.</ref>
 
* ~4,000 tanks<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342.</ref>
 
}}
 
}}
 
| casualties2      = {{plainlist |
 
| casualties2      = {{plainlist |
* 288,695<ref>Zetterling, 77.</ref> to 530,000<ref>Dennis Giangreco, Kathryn Moore and Norman Polmar, ''Eyewitness D-Day: Firsthand Accounts from the Landing at Normandy to the Liberation of Paris'' (New York, New York: Sterling, 2004, ISBN 978-0760750452), 252.</ref> casualties
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* 288,695<ref>Zetterling, 77.</ref> to 530,000<ref>Dennis Giangreco, Kathryn Moore and Norman Polmar, ''Eyewitness D-Day: Firsthand Accounts from the Landing at Normandy to the Liberation of Paris'' (New York, NY: Sterling, 2004, ISBN 978-0760750452), 252.</ref> casualties
 
* 2,127 aircraft<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342–343.</ref>
 
* 2,127 aircraft<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342–343.</ref>
 
* 1,500<ref>Zetterling, 83.</ref> to 2,400 tanks and assault guns lost<ref>Wilmot, 434.</ref>
 
* 1,500<ref>Zetterling, 83.</ref> to 2,400 tanks and assault guns lost<ref>Wilmot, 434.</ref>
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| casualties3      = '''Civilian deaths:'''
 
| casualties3      = '''Civilian deaths:'''
 
{{plainlist |
 
{{plainlist |
* 11,000–19,000 killed in pre-invasion bombing<ref>Beevor, 2009, 519.</ref>
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* 11,000–19,000 killed in pre-invasion bombing<ref>Beevor 2009, 519.</ref>
* 13,632–19,890 killed during invasion<ref>Edward R. Flint, ''The development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British Sector of Allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944'' (Cranfield, Bedford, England: Cranfield University; Cranfield Defence and Security School, Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Security and Resilience Group, 2009, OCLC 757064836), 336–337.</ref>
+
* 13,632–19,890 killed during invasion<ref>Edward R. Flint, ''The development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British Sector of Allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944'' (Cranfield, Bedford, England: Cranfield University; Cranfield Defence and Security School, Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Security and Resilience Group, 2009), 336–337.</ref>
 
* '''Total:''' 25,000–39,000 killed
 
* '''Total:''' 25,000–39,000 killed
 
}}
 
}}
| campaignbox      = {{Campaignbox Normandy}}
 
{{Campaignbox Western Europe (1944–1945)}}
 
{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War II)}}
 
{{Campaignbox Free French}}
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
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The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the [[Washington Conference (1943)|Trident Conference]] in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in May 1943. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was appointed commander of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]], and General [[Bernard Montgomery]] was named as commander of the [[21st Army Group]], which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasion. The coast of [[Normandy]] of northwestern France was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed [[Utah Beach|Utah]] and [[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], the British at [[Sword Beach|Sword]] and [[Gold Beach|Gold]], and the Canadians at [[Juno Beach|Juno]]. To meet the conditions expected on the [[Normandy]] beachhead, special technology was developed, including two artificial ports called [[Mulberry harbor]]s and an array of specialized tanks nicknamed [[Hobart's Funnies]]. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted [[Operation Bodyguard]], a substantial [[military deception]] that used electronic and visual misinformation to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. Führer [[Adolf Hitler]] placed German Field Marshal [[Erwin Rommel]] in charge of developing fortifications all along Hitler's proclaimed [[Atlantic Wall]] in anticipation of an invasion.
 
The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the [[Washington Conference (1943)|Trident Conference]] in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in May 1943. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was appointed commander of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]], and General [[Bernard Montgomery]] was named as commander of the [[21st Army Group]], which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasion. The coast of [[Normandy]] of northwestern France was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed [[Utah Beach|Utah]] and [[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], the British at [[Sword Beach|Sword]] and [[Gold Beach|Gold]], and the Canadians at [[Juno Beach|Juno]]. To meet the conditions expected on the [[Normandy]] beachhead, special technology was developed, including two artificial ports called [[Mulberry harbor]]s and an array of specialized tanks nicknamed [[Hobart's Funnies]]. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted [[Operation Bodyguard]], a substantial [[military deception]] that used electronic and visual misinformation to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. Führer [[Adolf Hitler]] placed German Field Marshal [[Erwin Rommel]] in charge of developing fortifications all along Hitler's proclaimed [[Atlantic Wall]] in anticipation of an invasion.
 
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{{toc}}
 
The Allies failed to accomplish their objectives for the first day, but gained a tenuous foothold that they gradually expanded when they captured the port at [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]] on June 26 and the city of [[Caen]] on July 21. A failed counterattack by German forces on August 8 left 50,000 soldiers of the [[7th Army (Wehrmacht)|7th Army]] trapped in the [[Falaise pocket]]. The Allies launched a second invasion from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] of southern France (code-named [[Operation Dragoon]]) on August 15, and the [[Liberation of Paris]] followed on August 25. German forces retreated east across the [[Seine]] on August 30, 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord.
 
The Allies failed to accomplish their objectives for the first day, but gained a tenuous foothold that they gradually expanded when they captured the port at [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]] on June 26 and the city of [[Caen]] on July 21. A failed counterattack by German forces on August 8 left 50,000 soldiers of the [[7th Army (Wehrmacht)|7th Army]] trapped in the [[Falaise pocket]]. The Allies launched a second invasion from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] of southern France (code-named [[Operation Dragoon]]) on August 15, and the [[Liberation of Paris]] followed on August 25. German forces retreated east across the [[Seine]] on August 30, 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord.
  
 
== Preparations for D-Day ==
 
== Preparations for D-Day ==
In June 1940, Germany's leader [[Adolf Hitler]] had triumphed in what he called "the most famous victory in history"—the [[fall of France]].<ref>I.C.B. Dear, M.R.D. Foot, ''The Oxford Companion to World War II'' (Oxford, England, New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 (original 1995), ISBN 978-0192806666), 322.</ref> British craft evacuated to England over 338,000 Allied troops trapped along the northern coast of France (including much of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF)) in the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] (May 27 to June 4).<ref>Winston Churchill, ''Their Finest Hour'', The Second World War, volume II (Mariner Books, 1986, ISBN 978-0395410561), 115.</ref> British planners reported to Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] on October 4 that even with the help of other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries and the United States, it would not be possible to regain a foothold in continental Europe in the near future.<ref>Mark Zuehlke, ''Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944'' (Vancouver, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004, ISBN 1553650506), 20.</ref> After the Axis [[Operation Barbarossa|invaded the Soviet Union]] in June 1941, Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]] began pressing for a [[Western Front (World War II)#1944–45: The Second Front|second front]] in Western Europe. Churchill declined because he felt that even with American help the British did not have adequate forces for such a strike,<ref>Ken Ford, Steven J. Zaloga, ''Overlord: The D-Day Landings''. Oxford, England; New York, NY: Osprey, 2009, ISBN 978-1846034244), 8–10.</ref> and he wished to avoid costly frontal assaults such as those that had occurred at the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme]] and [[Battle of Passchendaele|Passchendaele]] in [[World War I]].<ref>Winston Churchill, ''Closing the Ring'', The Second World War, volume V, (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985, ISBN 978-0140086157), 582.</ref> Two tentative plans code-named [[Operation Roundup (1942)|Operation Roundup]] and [[Operation Sledgehammer]] were put forward for 1942–43, but neither was deemed by the British to be practical or likely to succeed.<ref>Zuehlke, 21–22.</ref> Instead, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] expanded their activity in the Mediterranean, launching the [[Operation Torch|invasion]] of [[French North Africa]] in November 1942, the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] in July 1943, and [[Allied invasion of Italy|invading Italy]] in September.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 10–11.</ref> These campaigns provided the troops with valuable experience in [[amphibious warfare]].<ref>Beevor, 2012, 319.</ref>
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In June 1940, Germany's leader [[Adolf Hitler]] had triumphed in what he called "the most famous victory in history"—the [[fall of France]].<ref>I.C.B. Dear, M.R.D. Foot, ''The Oxford Companion to World War II'' (Oxford, England, New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 (original 1995), ISBN 978-0192806666), 322.</ref> British craft evacuated to England over 338,000 Allied troops trapped along the northern coast of France (including much of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF)) in the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] (May 27 to June 4).<ref>Winston Churchill, ''Their Finest Hour'', The Second World War, volume II (Mariner Books, 1986, ISBN 978-0395410561), 115.</ref> British planners reported to Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] on October 4 that even with the help of other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries and the United States, it would not be possible to regain a foothold in continental Europe in the near future.<ref>Mark Zuehlke, ''Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944'' (Vancouver, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004, ISBN 1553650506), 20.</ref> After the Axis [[Operation Barbarossa|invaded the Soviet Union]] in June 1941, Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]] began pressing for a [[Western Front (World War II)#1944–45: The Second Front|second front]] in Western Europe. Churchill declined because he felt that even with American help the British did not have adequate forces for such a strike,<ref>Ken Ford and Steven J. Zaloga, ''Overlord: The D-Day Landings'' (Oxford, England; New York, NY: Osprey, 2009, ISBN 978-1846034244), 8–10.</ref> and he wished to avoid costly frontal assaults such as those that had occurred at the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme]] and [[Battle of Passchendaele|Passchendaele]] in [[World War I]].<ref>Winston Churchill, ''Closing the Ring'', The Second World War, volume V, (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985, ISBN 978-0140086157), 582.</ref> Two tentative plans code-named [[Operation Roundup (1942)|Operation Roundup]] and [[Operation Sledgehammer]] were put forward for 1942–43, but neither was deemed by the British to be practical or likely to succeed.<ref>Zuehlke, 21–22.</ref> Instead, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] expanded their activity in the Mediterranean, launching the [[Operation Torch|invasion]] of [[French North Africa]] in November 1942, the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] in July 1943, and [[Allied invasion of Italy|invading Italy]] in September.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 10–11.</ref> These campaigns provided the troops with valuable experience in [[amphibious warfare]].<ref>Beevor 2012, 319.</ref>
  
Attendees at the [[Trident Conference]] in Washington in May 1943 took the decision to launch a cross-Channel invasion within the next year. Churchill favored making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean theater]], but the Americans, who were providing the bulk of the men and equipment, over-ruled him. British Lieutenant-General [[Frederick E. Morgan]] was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), to begin detailed planning.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 10-11.</ref> The initial plans were constrained by the number of available landing-craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific.<ref>Wilmot, 177–178, chart, 180.</ref> In part because of lessons learned in the [[Dieppe Raid]] of August 19, 1942, the Allies decided not to directly assault a heavily defended French seaport in their first landing.<ref>Andrew Whitmarsh, ''D-Day in Photographs'' (Stroud,Gloucestershire, England: History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752450957), 9.</ref> The failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly [[close air support]], and specialized ships able to travel extremely close to shore.<ref>Zuehlke, 23</ref> The short operating-range of British aircraft such as the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] and [[Hawker Typhoon|Typhoon]] greatly limited the number of potential landing-sites, as comprehensive air-support depended upon having planes overhead for as long as possible.<ref>Martin Gilbert, ''The Second World War: A Complete History'' (New York, NY: H. Holt, 1989, ISBN 978-0805017885), 397, 478.</ref> Morgan considered four sites for the landings: [[Brittany]], the [[Cotentin Peninsula]], Normandy, and the [[Pas de Calais]]. As Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, the Germans could have cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 13–14.</ref>
+
Attendees at the [[Trident Conference]] in Washington in May 1943 took the decision to launch a cross-Channel invasion within the next year. Churchill favored making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean theater]], but the Americans, who were providing the bulk of the men and equipment, over-ruled him. British Lieutenant-General [[Frederick E. Morgan]] was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), to begin detailed planning.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 10-11.</ref> The initial plans were constrained by the number of available landing-craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific.<ref>Wilmot, 177–178, chart, 180.</ref> In part because of lessons learned in the [[Dieppe Raid]] of August 19, 1942, the Allies decided not to directly assault a heavily defended French seaport in their first landing.<ref>Andrew Whitmarsh, ''D-Day in Photographs'' (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752450957), 9.</ref> The failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly [[close air support]], and specialized ships able to travel extremely close to shore.<ref>Zuehlke, 23.</ref> The short operating-range of British aircraft such as the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] and [[Hawker Typhoon|Typhoon]] greatly limited the number of potential landing-sites, as comprehensive air-support depended upon having planes overhead for as long as possible.<ref>Martin Gilbert, ''The Second World War: A Complete History'' (New York, NY: H. Holt, 1989, ISBN 978-0805017885), 397, 478.</ref> Morgan considered four sites for the landings: [[Brittany]], the [[Cotentin Peninsula]], Normandy, and the [[Pas de Calais]]. As Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, the Germans could have cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 13–14.</ref>
  
[[File:Shermans-loaded-in-LCT.jpg|thumb|left|US Army [[M4 Sherman]] tanks loaded in a [[landing craft tank]] (LCT), ready for the invasion of France, c. late May or early June 1944]]
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[[File:Shermans-loaded-in-LCT.jpg|thumb|rightt|400px|US Army [[M4 Sherman]] tanks loaded in a [[landing craft tank]] (LCT), ready for the invasion of France, c. late May or early June 1944]]
  
Pas de Calais, the closest point in continental Europe to Britain, was the location of launch sites for [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1]] and [[V-2 rocket]]s, then still under development.<ref>V-weapons were first launched against the UK on June 12.</ref> The Germans regarded it as the most likely initial landing zone, and accordingly made it the most heavily fortified region.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 33–34.</ref> It offered the Allies few opportunities for expansion, however, as the area is bounded by numerous rivers and canals,<ref>Wilmot, 170</ref> whereas landings on a broad front in Normandy would permit simultaneous threats against the port of [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]], coastal ports further west in Brittany, and an overland attack towards Paris and eventually into Germany. Normandy was therefore chosen as the landing site.<ref>Stephen Ambrose, ''D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II'' (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994 (1993), ISBN 978-0671673345), 73–74.</ref> The most serious drawback of the Normandy coast—the lack of port facilities—would be overcome through the development of artificial harbors.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 14.</ref>
+
Pas de Calais, the closest point in continental Europe to Britain, was the location of launch sites for [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1]] and [[V-2 rocket]]s, then still under development.<ref>V-weapons were first launched against the UK on June 12.</ref> The Germans regarded it as the most likely initial landing zone, and accordingly made it the most heavily fortified region.<ref>Beevor 2009, 33–34.</ref> It offered the Allies few opportunities for expansion, however, as the area is bounded by numerous rivers and canals,<ref>Wilmot, 170.</ref> whereas landings on a broad front in Normandy would permit simultaneous threats against the port of [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]], coastal ports further west in Brittany, and an overland attack towards Paris and eventually into Germany. Normandy was therefore chosen as the landing site.<ref>Stephen Ambrose, ''D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II'' (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994 (1993), ISBN 978-0671673345), 73–74.</ref> The most serious drawback of the Normandy coast—the lack of port facilities—would be overcome through the development of artificial harbors.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 14.</ref>
  
The COSSAC staff planned to begin the invasion on May 1, 1944.<ref>Wilmot, 170</ref> The initial draft of the plan was accepted at the [[Quebec Conference, 1943|Quebec Conference]] in August 1943. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was appointed commander of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]] (SHAEF).<ref>Gilbert, 491.</ref> General [[Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] was named commander of the [[21st Army Group]], which comprised all of the land forces involved in the invasion. On December 31, 1943, Eisenhower and Montgomery first saw the COSSAC plan, which proposed amphibious landings by three [[Division (military)|divisions]], with two more divisions in support. The two generals immediately insisted on expanding the scale of the initial invasion to five divisions, with airborne descents by three additional divisions, to allow operations on a wider front and to speed up the capture of the port at Cherbourg. The need to acquire or produce extra landing craft for the expanded operation meant delaying the invasion until June 1944.<ref>Whitmarsh, 12–13.</ref> Eventually the Allies committed 39 divisions to the Battle of Normandy: 22 American, 12 British, three Canadian, one Polish, and one French, totaling over a million troops<ref>Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'' (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (original 1993), ISBN 978-0521558792) 684.</ref> all under overall British command.<ref>L. F. Ellis, G. R. G. Allen, A. E. Warhurst, ''Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy'' (History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series) London, England: Naval & Military Press, 2004 (original 1962), ISBN 1845740580), 521–533.</ref><ref>The British 79th Armoured Division never operated as a single formation, and thus has been excluded from the total. In addition, a combined total of 16 (three from the 79th Armoured Division) British, Belgian, Canadian, and Dutch independent brigades were committed to the operation, along with four battalions of the Special Air Service.</ref>
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The COSSAC staff planned to begin the invasion on May 1, 1944.<ref>Wilmot, 170.</ref> The initial draft of the plan was accepted at the [[Quebec Conference, 1943|Quebec Conference]] in August 1943. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was appointed commander of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]] (SHAEF).<ref>Gilbert, 491.</ref> General [[Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] was named commander of the [[21st Army Group]], which comprised all of the land forces involved in the invasion. On December 31, 1943, Eisenhower and Montgomery first saw the COSSAC plan, which proposed amphibious landings by three [[Division (military)|divisions]], with two more divisions in support. The two generals immediately insisted on expanding the scale of the initial invasion to five divisions, with airborne descents by three additional divisions, to allow operations on a wider front and to speed up the capture of the port at Cherbourg. The need to acquire or produce extra landing craft for the expanded operation meant delaying the invasion until June 1944.<ref>Whitmarsh, 12–13.</ref> Eventually the Allies committed 39 divisions to the Battle of Normandy: 22 American, 12 British, three Canadian, one Polish, and one French, totaling over a million troops<ref>Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'' (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (original 1993), ISBN 978-0521558792), 684.</ref> all under overall British command.<ref>L. F. Ellis, G. R. G. Allen, and A. E. Warhurst, ''Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy'' (London, England: Naval & Military Press, 2004 (original 1962), ISBN 1845740580), 521–533.</ref><ref>The British 79th Armoured Division never operated as a single formation, and thus has been excluded from the total. In addition, a combined total of 16 (three from the 79th Armoured Division) British, Belgian, Canadian, and Dutch independent brigades were committed to the operation, along with four battalions of the Special Air Service.</ref>
  
 
=== Allied invasion plan ===
 
=== Allied invasion plan ===
[[File:Allied Invasion Force.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Normandy landings|D-day]] assault routes into Normandy]]
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[[File:Allied Invasion Force.jpg|thumb|400px|[[Normandy landings|D-day]] assault routes into Normandy]]
  
"Overlord" was the name assigned to the establishment of a large-scale [[lodgement]] on the Continent.<ref>Churchill, 1951, 642.</ref> The first phase, the amphibious invasion and establishment of a secure foothold, was code-named [[Operation Neptune]]. To gain the required air superiority needed to ensure a successful invasion, the Allies launched a bombing campaign (codenamed [[Operation Pointblank]]) to target German aircraft-production, fuel supplies, and airfields. Under the [[Transport Plan]], communications infrastructure and road and rail links were bombed to cut off the north of France and to make it more difficult to bring up reinforcements. These attacks were widespread so as to avoid revealing the exact location of the invasion,<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 14.</ref> and elaborate [[military deception|deceptions]] were planned to prevent the Germans from determining the timing as well.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 3.</ref>
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"Overlord" was the name assigned to the establishment of a large-scale [[lodgement]] on the Continent.<ref>Churchill 1985, 642.</ref> The first phase, the amphibious invasion and establishment of a secure foothold, was code-named [[Operation Neptune]]. To gain the required air superiority needed to ensure a successful invasion, the Allies launched a bombing campaign (codenamed [[Operation Pointblank]]) to target German aircraft-production, fuel supplies, and airfields. Under the [[Transport Plan]], communications infrastructure and road and rail links were bombed to cut off the north of France and to make it more difficult to bring up reinforcements. These attacks were widespread so as to avoid revealing the exact location of the invasion,<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 14.</ref> and elaborate [[military deception|deceptions]] were planned to prevent the Germans from determining the timing as well.<ref>Beevor 2009, 3.</ref>
  
 
The coastline of Normandy was divided into seventeen sectors, with codenames using a [[spelling alphabet]]—from Able, west of [[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], to Roger on the east flank of [[Sword Beach|Sword]]. Eight further sectors were added when the invasion was extended to include [[Utah Beach|Utah]] on the Cotentin Peninsula. Sectors were further subdivided into beaches identified by the colors Green, Red, and White.<ref>William F. Buckingham, ''D-Day: The First 72 Hours'' (Stroad, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus, 2004, ISBN 978-0752428420), 88.</ref>
 
The coastline of Normandy was divided into seventeen sectors, with codenames using a [[spelling alphabet]]—from Able, west of [[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], to Roger on the east flank of [[Sword Beach|Sword]]. Eight further sectors were added when the invasion was extended to include [[Utah Beach|Utah]] on the Cotentin Peninsula. Sectors were further subdivided into beaches identified by the colors Green, Red, and White.<ref>William F. Buckingham, ''D-Day: The First 72 Hours'' (Stroad, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus, 2004, ISBN 978-0752428420), 88.</ref>
  
Allied planners envisaged preceding the sea-borne landings with airborne drops: near Caen on the eastern flank to secure the [[Orne (river)|Orne River]] bridges, and north of [[Carentan]] on the western flank. The initial goal was to capture Carentan, [[Isigny-sur-Mer|Isigny]], [[Bayeux]], and Caen. The Americans, assigned to land at Utah and Omaha, were to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture the port facilities at Cherbourg. The British at Sword and [[Gold Beach|Gold]], and the Canadians at [[Juno Beach|Juno]], were to capture Caen and form a front line from [[Caumont-l'Éventé]] to the south-east of Caen in order to protect the American flank, while establishing airfields near Caen. Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give the Anglo-Canadian forces a suitable staging area for a push south to capture the town of [[Falaise, Calvados|Falaise]]. A secure lodgement would be established and an attempt made to hold all territory captured north of the [[Avranches]]-Falaise line during the first three weeks. The Allied armies would then swing left to advance towards the [[River Seine]].<ref>Churchill, 1951, 592–593.</ref><ref>Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 78, 81.</ref>
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Allied planners envisaged preceding the sea-borne landings with airborne drops: near Caen on the eastern flank to secure the [[Orne (river)|Orne River]] bridges, and north of [[Carentan]] on the western flank. The initial goal was to capture Carentan, [[Isigny-sur-Mer|Isigny]], [[Bayeux]], and Caen. The Americans, assigned to land at Utah and Omaha, were to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture the port facilities at Cherbourg. The British at Sword and [[Gold Beach|Gold]], and the Canadians at [[Juno Beach|Juno]], were to capture Caen and form a front line from [[Caumont-l'Éventé]] to the south-east of Caen in order to protect the American flank, while establishing airfields near Caen. Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give the Anglo-Canadian forces a suitable staging area for a push south to capture the town of [[Falaise, Calvados|Falaise]]. A secure lodgement would be established and an attempt made to hold all territory captured north of the [[Avranches]]-Falaise line during the first three weeks. The Allied armies would then swing left to advance towards the [[River Seine]].<ref>Churchill 1985, 592–593.</ref><ref>Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 78, 81.</ref>
  
The invasion fleet, led by Admiral Sir [[Bertram Ramsay]], was split into the Western Naval Task Force (under Admiral [[Alan G Kirk]]) supporting the American sectors and the Eastern Naval Task Force (under Admiral Sir [[Philip Vian]]) in the British and Canadian sectors.<ref>Churchill, 1951, 594.</ref><ref>Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, J. Michael Wenger, ''D-Day: The Story and Photographs'' (McLean, VA: Brassey's, 1994, ISBN 0028810570), 6.</ref> The American forces of the [[First Army (United States)|First Army]], led by Lieutenant General [[Omar Bradley]], were comprised of [[VII Corps (United States)|VII Corps]] (Utah) and [[V Corps (United States)|V Corps]] (Omaha). On the British side, Lieutenant-General [[Miles Dempsey]] commanded the [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]], under which [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX Corps]] was assigned to Gold and [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I Corps]] to Juno and Sword.<ref>Whitmarsh, Map, 12.</ref> Land forces were under the overall command of Montgomery, and air command was assigned to [[Air Chief Marshal]] Sir [[Trafford Leigh-Mallory]].<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 25.</ref> The [[First Canadian Army]] included personnel and units from [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Poland]], Belgium, and the Netherlands.<ref>Jeffrey Williams, x.</ref> Other Allied nations also participated.<ref>Richard J. Evans, ''The Third Reich at War'' (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008, ISBN 978-0143116714), 623.</ref>
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The invasion fleet, led by Admiral Sir [[Bertram Ramsay]], was split into the Western Naval Task Force (under Admiral [[Alan G Kirk]]) supporting the American sectors and the Eastern Naval Task Force (under Admiral Sir [[Philip Vian]]) in the British and Canadian sectors.<ref>Churchill 1985, 594.</ref><ref>Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, J. Michael Wenger, ''D-Day: The Story and Photographs'' (McLean, VA: Brassey's, 1994, ISBN 0028810570), 6.</ref> The American forces of the [[First Army (United States)|First Army]], led by Lieutenant General [[Omar Bradley]], were comprised of [[VII Corps (United States)|VII Corps]] (Utah) and [[V Corps (United States)|V Corps]] (Omaha). On the British side, Lieutenant-General [[Miles Dempsey]] commanded the [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]], under which [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX Corps]] was assigned to Gold and [[I Corps (United Kingdom)|I Corps]] to Juno and Sword.<ref>Whitmarsh, Map, 12.</ref> Land forces were under the overall command of Montgomery, and air command was assigned to [[Air Chief Marshal]] Sir [[Trafford Leigh-Mallory]].<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 25.</ref> The [[First Canadian Army]] included personnel and units from [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Poland]], Belgium, and the Netherlands.<ref>Jeffrey Williams, x.</ref> Other Allied nations also participated.<ref>Richard J. Evans, ''The Third Reich at War'' (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008, ISBN 978-0143116714), 623.</ref>
  
 
=== Reconnaissance ===
 
=== Reconnaissance ===
[[File:Air plan for landings in Normandy June 1944.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|alt=A map of southern Britain, northern France and Belgium, marked with the routes the Allied air and naval invasion forces used in the D-Day landings, areas where Allied aircraft patrolled, locations of railway targets that were attacked, and areas where airfields could be built|Air plan for the Allied landing in Normandy]]
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[[File:Air plan for landings in Normandy June 1944.jpg|thumb|400px|Air plan for the Allied landing in Normandy]]
 
The [[Allied Expeditionary Air Force]] undertook over 3,200 photo-reconnaissance sorties from April 1944 until the start of the invasion. Photos of the coastline were taken at extremely low altitude to show the invaders the terrain, obstacles on the beach, and defensive structures such as bunkers and gun emplacements. To avoid alerting the Germans as to the location of the invasion, this work had to be undertaken over the entire European coastline. Inland terrain, bridges, troop emplacements, and buildings were also photographed, in many cases from several angles, to give the Allies as much information as possible.<ref>Zuehlke, 81.</ref> Members of [[Combined Operations Pilotage Parties]] clandestinely prepared detailed harbor maps, including [[depth sounding]]s.<ref>Whitmarsh, 21.</ref>
 
The [[Allied Expeditionary Air Force]] undertook over 3,200 photo-reconnaissance sorties from April 1944 until the start of the invasion. Photos of the coastline were taken at extremely low altitude to show the invaders the terrain, obstacles on the beach, and defensive structures such as bunkers and gun emplacements. To avoid alerting the Germans as to the location of the invasion, this work had to be undertaken over the entire European coastline. Inland terrain, bridges, troop emplacements, and buildings were also photographed, in many cases from several angles, to give the Allies as much information as possible.<ref>Zuehlke, 81.</ref> Members of [[Combined Operations Pilotage Parties]] clandestinely prepared detailed harbor maps, including [[depth sounding]]s.<ref>Whitmarsh, 21.</ref>
  
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=== Technology ===
 
=== Technology ===
[[File:Arromanches Mulberry-Harbour Beetle-Pontoons 1 90.jpg|thumb|Remains of [[Mulberry harbour]] B at [[Arromanches-les-Bains]] (Gold) as seen in 1990]]
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[[File:Arromanches Mulberry-Harbour Beetle-Pontoons 1 90.jpg|thumb|400px|Remains of [[Mulberry harbour]] B at [[Arromanches-les-Bains]] (Gold) as seen in 1990]]
  
In response to the lessons learned at the disastrous Dieppe Raid, the Allies developed new technologies to help ensure the success of Overlord. To supplement the preliminary offshore bombardment and aerial assaults, some of the landing craft were equipped with artillery and anti-tank guns to provide close supporting fire. The Allies had decided not to immediately attack any of the heavily protected French ports and two artificial ports, called [[Mulberry harbor]]s, were designed by COSSAC planners. Each assembly consisted of a floating outer [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]], inner concrete [[caisson (engineering)|caissons]] (called [[Phoenix breakwaters]]) and several floating piers.<ref>Wilmot, 181-183</ref> The Mulberry harbors were supplemented by [[blockship]] shelters (codenamed "Gooseberries").<ref>Wilmot, 321</ref> With the expectation that fuel would be difficult or impossible to obtain on the continent, the Allies built a "Pipe-Line Under The Ocean" ([[Operation Pluto|PLUTO]]). Specially developed pipes {{convert|3|in|cm}} in diameter were to be laid under the Channel from the [[Isle of Wight]] to Cherbourg by D-Day plus 18. Technical problems and the delay in capturing Cherbourg meant the pipeline was not operational until 22 September. A second line was laid from [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]] to Boulogne in late October.<ref>Whitmarsh, 89–90.</ref>
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In response to the lessons learned at the disastrous Dieppe Raid, the Allies developed new technologies to help ensure the success of Overlord. To supplement the preliminary offshore bombardment and aerial assaults, some of the landing craft were equipped with artillery and anti-tank guns to provide close supporting fire. The Allies had decided not to immediately attack any of the heavily protected French ports and two artificial ports, called [[Mulberry harbor]]s, were designed by COSSAC planners. Each assembly consisted of a floating outer [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]], inner concrete [[caisson (engineering)|caissons]] (called [[Phoenix breakwaters]]) and several floating piers.<ref>Wilmot, 181-183.</ref> The Mulberry harbors were supplemented by [[blockship]] shelters (codenamed "Gooseberries").<ref>Wilmot, 321.</ref> With the expectation that fuel would be difficult or impossible to obtain on the continent, the Allies built a "Pipe-Line Under The Ocean" ([[Operation Pluto|PLUTO]]). Specially developed pipes {{convert|3|in|cm}} in diameter were to be laid under the Channel from the [[Isle of Wight]] to Cherbourg by D-Day plus 18. Technical problems and the delay in capturing Cherbourg meant the pipeline was not operational until 22 September. A second line was laid from [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]] to Boulogne in late October.<ref>Whitmarsh, 89–90.</ref>
  
The British military built a series of specialized tanks, nicknamed [[Hobart's Funnies]], to deal with conditions expected during the Normandy campaign. Developed under the supervision of Major-General [[Percy Hobart]], these were specially modified [[M4 Sherman]] and [[Churchill tank]]s. Examples include the [[Sherman Crab]] tank (equipped with a mine flail), the [[Churchill Crocodile]] (a flame-throwing tank), and the [[Churchill Ark|Armored Ramp Carrier]], which other tanks could use as a bridge to scale sea-walls or to overcome other obstacles.<ref>Wilmot, 182</ref> In some areas, the beaches consisted of a soft clay that could not support the weight of tanks. The "[[Hobart's Funnies#Designs|bobbin]]" tank would overcome this problem by deploying a roll of matting over the soft surface and leaving the material in place as a route for more conventional tanks.<ref>Wilmot, 195</ref> The [[Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers]] (AVREs) were modified for many tasks, including laying bridges and firing large charges into [[Pillbox (military)|pillboxes]].<ref>For and Zaloga, 208.</ref> The Duplex-Drive tank ([[DD tank]]), another design developed by Hobart's group, was a self-propelled amphibious tank kept afloat using a waterproof canvas screen inflated with compressed air.<ref>Zuehlke, 42–43.</ref> These tanks were easily swamped, and on D-Day many sank before reaching the shore, especially at Omaha.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 73.</ref>
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The British military built a series of specialized tanks, nicknamed [[Hobart's Funnies]], to deal with conditions expected during the Normandy campaign. Developed under the supervision of Major-General [[Percy Hobart]], these were specially modified [[M4 Sherman]] and [[Churchill tank]]s. Examples include the [[Sherman Crab]] tank (equipped with a mine flail), the [[Churchill Crocodile]] (a flame-throwing tank), and the [[Churchill Ark|Armored Ramp Carrier]], which other tanks could use as a bridge to scale sea-walls or to overcome other obstacles.<ref>Wilmot, 182.</ref> In some areas, the beaches consisted of a soft clay that could not support the weight of tanks. The "[[Hobart's Funnies#Designs|bobbin]]" tank would overcome this problem by deploying a roll of matting over the soft surface and leaving the material in place as a route for more conventional tanks.<ref>Wilmot, 195.</ref> The [[Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers]] (AVREs) were modified for many tasks, including laying bridges and firing large charges into [[Pillbox (military)|pillboxes]].<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 208.</ref> The Duplex-Drive tank ([[DD tank]]), another design developed by Hobart's group, was a self-propelled amphibious tank kept afloat using a waterproof canvas screen inflated with compressed air.<ref>Zuehlke, 42–43.</ref> These tanks were easily swamped, and on D-Day many sank before reaching the shore, especially at Omaha.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 73.</ref>
  
 
=== Deception ===
 
=== Deception ===
In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted [[Operation Bodyguard]], the overall strategy designed to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings.<ref>Weinberg, 680.</ref> [[Operation Fortitude]] included Fortitude North, a misinformation campaign using fake radio-traffic to lead the Germans into expecting an attack on Norway,<ref>Anthony Cave Brown, ''Bodyguard of Lies: The Extraordinary True Story Behind D-Day'' (Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2007 (1975) ISBN 978-1599213835), 465.</ref> and Fortitude South, a major deception designed to fool the Germans into believing that the landings would take place at Pas de Calais in July. A fictitious [[First U.S. Army Group]] was invented, supposedly located in [[Kent]] and [[Sussex]] under the command of Lieutenant General [[George S. Patton]]. The Allies constructed dummy tanks, trucks, and landing craft, and positioned them near the coast. Several military units, including [[II Canadian Corps]] and [[2nd Canadian Division]], moved into the area to bolster the illusion that a large force was gathering there.<ref>Zuehlke, 71–72.</ref> As well as the broadcast of fake radio-traffic, genuine radio messages from 21st Army Group were first routed to Kent via landline and then broadcast, to give the Germans the impression that most of the Allied troops were stationed there.<ref>Whitmarsh, 27.</ref> Patton remained stationed in England until July 6, thus continuing to deceive the Germans into believing a second attack would take place at Calais.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 282.</ref> Military and civilian personnel alike were aware of the need for secrecy, and the invasion troops were as much as possible kept isolated, especially in the period immediately before the invasion. [[Henry J. F. Miller|One American general]] was sent back to the United States in disgrace after revealing the invasion date at a party.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 3.</ref>
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In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted [[Operation Bodyguard]], the overall strategy designed to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings.<ref>Weinberg, 680.</ref> [[Operation Fortitude]] included Fortitude North, a misinformation campaign using fake radio-traffic to lead the Germans into expecting an attack on Norway,<ref>Anthony Cave Brown, ''Bodyguard of Lies: The Extraordinary True Story Behind D-Day'' (Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2007 (1975), ISBN 978-1599213835), 465.</ref> and Fortitude South, a major deception designed to fool the Germans into believing that the landings would take place at Pas de Calais in July. A fictitious [[First U.S. Army Group]] was invented, supposedly located in [[Kent]] and [[Sussex]] under the command of Lieutenant General [[George S. Patton]]. The Allies constructed dummy tanks, trucks, and landing craft, and positioned them near the coast. Several military units, including [[II Canadian Corps]] and [[2nd Canadian Division]], moved into the area to bolster the illusion that a large force was gathering there.<ref>Zuehlke, 71–72.</ref> As well as the broadcast of fake radio-traffic, genuine radio messages from 21st Army Group were first routed to Kent via landline and then broadcast, to give the Germans the impression that most of the Allied troops were stationed there.<ref>Whitmarsh, 27.</ref> Patton remained stationed in England until July 6, thus continuing to deceive the Germans into believing a second attack would take place at Calais.<ref>Beevor 2009, 282.</ref> Military and civilian personnel alike were aware of the need for secrecy, and the invasion troops were as much as possible kept isolated, especially in the period immediately before the invasion. [[Henry J. F. Miller|One American general]] was sent back to the United States in disgrace after revealing the invasion date at a party.<ref>Beevor 2009, 3.</ref>
  
 
The Germans thought they had an extensive network of spies operating in the UK, but in fact all their agents had been captured, and some had become [[double agent]]s working for the Allies as part of the [[Double-Cross System]]. The double agent [[Juan Pujol García]], a Spanish opponent of the Nazis known by the code name "Garbo," developed over the two years leading up to D-Day a fake network of informants that the Germans believed were collecting intelligence on their behalf. In the months preceding D-Day, Pujol sent hundreds of messages to his superiors in Madrid, messages specially prepared by the British intelligence service to convince the Germans that the attack would come in July at Calais.<ref>Whitmarsh, 27.</ref>
 
The Germans thought they had an extensive network of spies operating in the UK, but in fact all their agents had been captured, and some had become [[double agent]]s working for the Allies as part of the [[Double-Cross System]]. The double agent [[Juan Pujol García]], a Spanish opponent of the Nazis known by the code name "Garbo," developed over the two years leading up to D-Day a fake network of informants that the Germans believed were collecting intelligence on their behalf. In the months preceding D-Day, Pujol sent hundreds of messages to his superiors in Madrid, messages specially prepared by the British intelligence service to convince the Germans that the attack would come in July at Calais.<ref>Whitmarsh, 27.</ref>
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=== Rehearsals and security ===
 
=== Rehearsals and security ===
[[File:Invasion Training in England 04.jpg|thumb|left|Training exercise with [[live ammunition]] ]]
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[[File:Invasion Training in England 04.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Training exercise with [[live ammunition]] ]]
  
 
Training exercises for the Overlord landings took place as early as July 1943.<ref>Zuehlke, 35.</ref> As the nearby beach resembled the planned Normandy landing-site, the town of [[Slapton, Devon|Slapton in Devon]], was evacuated in December 1943, and taken over by the armed forces as a site for training exercises that included the use of landing craft and the management of beach obstacles.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 50–51, 54–57.</ref> A [[friendly fire]] incident there on April 27, 1944 resulted in as many as 450 deaths.<ref>Nigel Lewis, ''Exercise Tiger: The Dramatic True Story of a Hidden Tragedy of World War II'' (New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, 1990, ISBN 0131277960), 254.</ref> The following day, an additional estimated 749 American soldiers and sailors died when [[E-boat|German torpedo-boats]] surprised members of Assault Force "U" conducting [[Exercise Tiger]].<ref>Ben Fenton, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1460267/The-disaster-that-could-have-scuppered-Overlord.html "The disaster that could have scuppered Overlord,"] ''The Telegraph'' (26 April 2004). Retrieved January 13, 2021.</ref><ref>Lewis, 227.</ref> Exercises with landing craft and live ammunition also took place at the Combined Training Centre in [[Inveraray]] in Scotland.<ref>Zuehlke, 36.</ref> Naval exercises took place in Northern Ireland, and medical teams in London and elsewhere rehearsed how they would handle the expected waves of casualties. Paratroopers conducted exercises, including a huge demonstration drop on March 23, 1944 observed by Churchill, Eisenhower, and other top officials.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 59–62.</ref>
 
Training exercises for the Overlord landings took place as early as July 1943.<ref>Zuehlke, 35.</ref> As the nearby beach resembled the planned Normandy landing-site, the town of [[Slapton, Devon|Slapton in Devon]], was evacuated in December 1943, and taken over by the armed forces as a site for training exercises that included the use of landing craft and the management of beach obstacles.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 50–51, 54–57.</ref> A [[friendly fire]] incident there on April 27, 1944 resulted in as many as 450 deaths.<ref>Nigel Lewis, ''Exercise Tiger: The Dramatic True Story of a Hidden Tragedy of World War II'' (New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, 1990, ISBN 0131277960), 254.</ref> The following day, an additional estimated 749 American soldiers and sailors died when [[E-boat|German torpedo-boats]] surprised members of Assault Force "U" conducting [[Exercise Tiger]].<ref>Ben Fenton, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1460267/The-disaster-that-could-have-scuppered-Overlord.html "The disaster that could have scuppered Overlord,"] ''The Telegraph'' (26 April 2004). Retrieved January 13, 2021.</ref><ref>Lewis, 227.</ref> Exercises with landing craft and live ammunition also took place at the Combined Training Centre in [[Inveraray]] in Scotland.<ref>Zuehlke, 36.</ref> Naval exercises took place in Northern Ireland, and medical teams in London and elsewhere rehearsed how they would handle the expected waves of casualties. Paratroopers conducted exercises, including a huge demonstration drop on March 23, 1944 observed by Churchill, Eisenhower, and other top officials.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 59–62.</ref>
  
Allied planners considered tactical surprise to be a necessary element of the plan for the landings.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 46.</ref> Information on the exact date and location of the landings was provided only to the topmost levels of the armed forces. Men were sealed into their marshalling areas at the end of May, with no further communication with the outside world. Troops were briefed using maps that were correct in every detail except for the place names, and most were not told their actual destination until they were already at sea.<ref>Whitmarsh, 30, 36.</ref> A news blackout in Britain increased the effectiveness of the deception operations.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 3.</ref> Travel to and from the [[Republic of Ireland]] was banned, and movement within several kilometers of the coast of England restricted.<ref>Dear andFoot, 667.</ref>
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Allied planners considered tactical surprise to be a necessary element of the plan for the landings.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 46.</ref> Information on the exact date and location of the landings was provided only to the topmost levels of the armed forces. Men were sealed into their marshalling areas at the end of May, with no further communication with the outside world. Troops were briefed using maps that were correct in every detail except for the place names, and most were not told their actual destination until they were already at sea.<ref>Whitmarsh, 30, 36.</ref> A news blackout in Britain increased the effectiveness of the deception operations.<ref>Beevor 2009, 3.</ref> Travel to and from the [[Republic of Ireland]] was banned, and movement within several kilometers of the coast of England restricted.<ref>Dear andFoot, 667.</ref>
  
 
=== Weather forecasting ===
 
=== Weather forecasting ===
[[File:6thAirdivnormandybriefing.jpg|thumb|Men of the British 22nd Independent Parachute Company, [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]] being briefed for the invasion, 4–5 June 1944]]
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[[File:6thAirdivnormandybriefing.jpg|thumb|400px|Men of the British 22nd Independent Parachute Company, [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]] being briefed for the invasion, 4–5 June 1944]]
 
The invasion planners specified a set of conditions regarding the timing of the invasion, deeming only a few days in each month suitable. A full moon was desirable, as it would provide illumination for aircraft pilots and have the [[Spring tides|highest tides]]. The Allies wanted to schedule the landings for shortly before dawn, midway between low and high tide, with the tide coming in. This would improve the visibility of obstacles the enemy had placed on the beach while minimising the amount of time the men had to spend exposed in the open. Specific criteria were also set for wind speed, visibility, and cloud cover.<ref>Whitmarsh, 31.</ref> Eisenhower had tentatively selected June 5 as the date for the assault. However, on June 4, conditions were clearly unsuitable for a landing; high winds and heavy seas made it impossible to launch landing craft, and low clouds would prevent aircraft from finding their targets.<ref>Whitmarsh, 33.</ref>
 
The invasion planners specified a set of conditions regarding the timing of the invasion, deeming only a few days in each month suitable. A full moon was desirable, as it would provide illumination for aircraft pilots and have the [[Spring tides|highest tides]]. The Allies wanted to schedule the landings for shortly before dawn, midway between low and high tide, with the tide coming in. This would improve the visibility of obstacles the enemy had placed on the beach while minimising the amount of time the men had to spend exposed in the open. Specific criteria were also set for wind speed, visibility, and cloud cover.<ref>Whitmarsh, 31.</ref> Eisenhower had tentatively selected June 5 as the date for the assault. However, on June 4, conditions were clearly unsuitable for a landing; high winds and heavy seas made it impossible to launch landing craft, and low clouds would prevent aircraft from finding their targets.<ref>Whitmarsh, 33.</ref>
  
By the evening of June 4, the Allied meteorological team, headed by Group Captain [[James Stagg]] of the [[Royal Air Force]], predicted that the weather would improve sufficiently so that the invasion could go ahead on 6 June. He met Eisenhower and other senior commanders at their headquarters at [[Southwick House]] in Hampshire to discuss the situation.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 21.</ref> General Montgomery and Major General [[Walter Bedell Smith]], Eisenhower's chief of staff, were eager to launch the invasion. Admiral Bertram Ramsay was prepared to commit his ships, while Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory expressed concern that the conditions would be unfavorable for Allied aircraft. After much discussion, Eisenhower decided that the invasion should go ahead.<ref>Wilmot, 224–226.</ref> Allied control of the Atlantic meant that German meteorologists did not have access to as much information as the Allies on incoming weather patterns.<ref>Whitmarsh, 34.</ref> As the ''Luftwaffe'' meteorological center in Paris predicted two weeks of stormy weather, many ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' commanders left their posts to attend war games in [[Rennes]], and men in many units were given leave.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 131.</ref> Marshal [[Erwin Rommel]] returned to Germany for his wife's birthday and to meet Hitler to try to get more Panzers.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 42–43.</ref>
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By the evening of June 4, the Allied meteorological team, headed by Group Captain [[James Stagg]] of the [[Royal Air Force]], predicted that the weather would improve sufficiently so that the invasion could go ahead on 6 June. He met Eisenhower and other senior commanders at their headquarters at [[Southwick House]] in Hampshire to discuss the situation.<ref>Beevor 2009, 21.</ref> General Montgomery and Major General [[Walter Bedell Smith]], Eisenhower's chief of staff, were eager to launch the invasion. Admiral Bertram Ramsay was prepared to commit his ships, while Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory expressed concern that the conditions would be unfavorable for Allied aircraft. After much discussion, Eisenhower decided that the invasion should go ahead.<ref>Wilmot, 224–226.</ref> Allied control of the Atlantic meant that German meteorologists did not have access to as much information as the Allies on incoming weather patterns.<ref>Whitmarsh, 34.</ref> As the ''Luftwaffe'' meteorological center in Paris predicted two weeks of stormy weather, many ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' commanders left their posts to attend war games in [[Rennes]], and men in many units were given leave.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 131.</ref> Marshal [[Erwin Rommel]] returned to Germany for his wife's birthday and to meet Hitler to try to get more Panzers.<ref>Beevor 2009, 42–43.</ref>
  
 
Had Eisenhower postponed the invasion, the next available period with the right combination of tides (but without the desirable full moon) was two weeks later, from June 18 to 20. As it happened, during this period the invaders would have encountered a major storm lasting four days, between June 19 and 22, that would have made the initial landings impossible.<ref>Whitmarsh, 33.</ref>
 
Had Eisenhower postponed the invasion, the next available period with the right combination of tides (but without the desirable full moon) was two weeks later, from June 18 to 20. As it happened, during this period the invaders would have encountered a major storm lasting four days, between June 19 and 22, that would have made the initial landings impossible.<ref>Whitmarsh, 33.</ref>
  
 
=== German preparations and defenses ===
 
=== German preparations and defenses ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-263-1580-05, Atlantikwall, Soldaten der Legion "Freies Indien".jpg|thumb|German troops of the [[Indian Legion]] on the [[Atlantic Wall]] in France, 21 March 1944]]
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-263-1580-05, Atlantikwall, Soldaten der Legion "Freies Indien".jpg|thumb|400px|German troops of the [[Indian Legion]] on the [[Atlantic Wall]] in France, 21 March 1944]]
 
Nazi Germany had at its disposal 50 divisions in France and the Low Countries, with another 18 stationed in Denmark and Norway.<ref>As of November 1943. They also had 206 divisions on the Eastern Front, 24 in the Balkans, and 22 in Italy.</ref> Fifteen divisions were in the process of formation in Germany, but there was no strategic reserve.<ref>Wilmot, 144.</ref> The Calais region was defended by the [[15th Army (Wehrmacht)|15th Army]] under ''[[Generaloberst]]'' (Colonel General) [[Hans von Salmuth]], and Normandy by the [[7th Army (Wehrmacht)|7th Army]] commanded by ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Friedrich Dollmann]]. Combat losses throughout the war, particularly on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], meant the Germans no longer had a pool of able young men from which to draw. German soldiers were now on average six years older than their Allied counterparts. Many in the Normandy area were ''[[Ostlegionen]]'' (eastern legions)—conscripts and "volunteers" from [[Turkestan legion|Turkestan]],<ref>Stephen J. Zaloga, ''The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day'' (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0811712286), 58–59.</ref> Russia, Mongolia, and elsewhere. The ''Wehrmacht'' had provided them mainly with unreliable captured equipment; they lacked motorized transport.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 13, 16–19.</ref> Formations that arrived later, such as the [[12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend|12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'']], were for the most part younger and far better equipped and trained than the static troops stationed along the coast.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 37.</ref>
 
Nazi Germany had at its disposal 50 divisions in France and the Low Countries, with another 18 stationed in Denmark and Norway.<ref>As of November 1943. They also had 206 divisions on the Eastern Front, 24 in the Balkans, and 22 in Italy.</ref> Fifteen divisions were in the process of formation in Germany, but there was no strategic reserve.<ref>Wilmot, 144.</ref> The Calais region was defended by the [[15th Army (Wehrmacht)|15th Army]] under ''[[Generaloberst]]'' (Colonel General) [[Hans von Salmuth]], and Normandy by the [[7th Army (Wehrmacht)|7th Army]] commanded by ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Friedrich Dollmann]]. Combat losses throughout the war, particularly on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], meant the Germans no longer had a pool of able young men from which to draw. German soldiers were now on average six years older than their Allied counterparts. Many in the Normandy area were ''[[Ostlegionen]]'' (eastern legions)—conscripts and "volunteers" from [[Turkestan legion|Turkestan]],<ref>Stephen J. Zaloga, ''The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day'' (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0811712286), 58–59.</ref> Russia, Mongolia, and elsewhere. The ''Wehrmacht'' had provided them mainly with unreliable captured equipment; they lacked motorized transport.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 13, 16–19.</ref> Formations that arrived later, such as the [[12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend|12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'']], were for the most part younger and far better equipped and trained than the static troops stationed along the coast.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 37.</ref>
  
In early 1944, OB West was significantly weakened by personnel and materiel transfers to the Eastern Front. During the Soviet [[Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive]] (December 24, 1943 – April 17, 1944), the [[Oberkommando des Heeres|German High Command]] was forced to transfer the entire [[II SS Panzer Corps]] from France, consisting of the [[9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen|9th]] and [[10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg|10th]] SS Panzer Divisions, as well as the [[349th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|349th Infantry Division]], 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion and the 311th and 322nd StuG Assault Gun Brigades. All told, the German forces stationed in France were deprived of 45,827 troops and 363 tanks, assault guns, and self-propelled anti-tank guns.<ref>Gregory Liedtke, "Lost in the Mud: The (Nearly) Forgotten Collapse of the German Army in the Western Ukraine, March and April 1944," ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies'' 28 (1) (January 2, 2015), 227–228, 235.</ref> It was the first major transfer of forces from France to the east since the creation of [[List of Adolf Hitler's directives|Führer Directive 51]], which no longer allowed any transfers from the west to the east. There were also transfers to the Italian front: von Rundstedt complained that many of his best units had been sent on a "fool's errand" to Italy, saying it was "madness&nbsp;... that frightful boot of a country should have been evacuated&nbsp;... we should have held a decent front with a few divisions on the Alpine frontier."<ref>Paul Williams, ''Hitler's Atlantic Wall: Pas De Calais'' (Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2013, 978-1848848177), 182.</ref>
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In early 1944, OB West was significantly weakened by personnel and materiel transfers to the Eastern Front. During the Soviet [[Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive]] (December 24, 1943 – April 17, 1944), the [[Oberkommando des Heeres|German High Command]] was forced to transfer the entire [[II SS Panzer Corps]] from France, consisting of the [[9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen|9th]] and [[10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg|10th]] SS Panzer Divisions, as well as the [[349th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|349th Infantry Division]], 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion and the 311th and 322nd StuG Assault Gun Brigades. All told, the German forces stationed in France were deprived of 45,827 troops and 363 tanks, assault guns, and self-propelled anti-tank guns.<ref>Gregory Liedtke, "Lost in the Mud: The (Nearly) Forgotten Collapse of the German Army in the Western Ukraine, March and April 1944," ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies'' 28 (1) (January 2, 2015), 227–228, 235.</ref> It was the first major transfer of forces from France to the east since the creation of [[List of Adolf Hitler's directives|Führer Directive 51]], which no longer allowed any transfers from the west to the east. There were also transfers to the Italian front: von Rundstedt complained that many of his best units had been sent on a "fool's errand" to Italy, saying it was "madness&nbsp;... that frightful boot of a country should have been evacuated&nbsp;... we should have held a decent front with a few divisions on the Alpine frontier."<ref>Paul Williams, ''Hitler's Atlantic Wall: Pas De Calais'' (Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2013, ISBN 978-1848848177), 182.</ref>
  
 
The [[1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]], [[9th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|9th]], [[11th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|11th]], [[19th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|19th]] and [[116th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|116th]] Panzer divisions, alongside the [[2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich|2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich"]], had only arrived in March–May 1944 to France for extensive refit after being badly damaged during Dnieper-Carpathian operation. Seven of the eleven panzer or ''panzergrenadier'' divisions stationed in France were still not fully operational or only partially mobile in early June 1944.<ref>Liedtke, 224–225.</ref>
 
The [[1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler]], [[9th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|9th]], [[11th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|11th]], [[19th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|19th]] and [[116th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|116th]] Panzer divisions, alongside the [[2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich|2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich"]], had only arrived in March–May 1944 to France for extensive refit after being badly damaged during Dnieper-Carpathian operation. Seven of the eleven panzer or ''panzergrenadier'' divisions stationed in France were still not fully operational or only partially mobile in early June 1944.<ref>Liedtke, 224–225.</ref>
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==== Atlantic Wall ====
 
==== Atlantic Wall ====
 
{{Main|Atlantic Wall}}
 
{{Main|Atlantic Wall}}
[[File:Atlantikwall.png|thumb|left|{{legend-line|#e7c81f solid 3px|[[Atlantic Wall]]}}]]
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[[File:Atlantikwall.png|thumb|right|300px|{{legend-line|#e7c81f solid 3px|[[Atlantic Wall]]}}]]
  
 
Alarmed by the raids on [[St Nazaire Raid|St Nazaire]] and Dieppe in 1942, Hitler ordered the construction of fortifications all along the Atlantic coast, from Spain to Norway, to protect against an expected Allied invasion. He envisioned 15,000 emplacements manned by 300,000 troops, but due to shortages, particularly of concrete and manpower, most of the [[strongpoint]]s were never built. As the expected site of an Allied invasion, Pas de Calais was heavily defended.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 30.</ref> In the Normandy area the best fortifications were concentrated at the port facilities at Cherbourg and [[Saint-Malo]].
 
Alarmed by the raids on [[St Nazaire Raid|St Nazaire]] and Dieppe in 1942, Hitler ordered the construction of fortifications all along the Atlantic coast, from Spain to Norway, to protect against an expected Allied invasion. He envisioned 15,000 emplacements manned by 300,000 troops, but due to shortages, particularly of concrete and manpower, most of the [[strongpoint]]s were never built. As the expected site of an Allied invasion, Pas de Calais was heavily defended.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 30.</ref> In the Normandy area the best fortifications were concentrated at the port facilities at Cherbourg and [[Saint-Malo]].
  
A report by Rundstedt to Hitler in October 1943 regarding the weak defenses in France led to the appointment of Rommel to oversee the construction of further fortifications along the expected invasion-front, which stretched from the Netherlands to Cherbourg.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 33.</ref> Rommel was given command of the newly re-formed [[Army Group B]], which included the 7th Army, the 15th Army, and the forces guarding the Netherlands.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon and Wenger, 11.</ref> Nazi Germany's tangled command structure made it difficult for Rommel to achieve his task. He was not allowed to give orders to the [[Organization Todt]], which was commanded by armaments minister [[Albert Speer]], so in some places he had to assign soldiers to do construction work.<ref>Whitmarsh, 12-13.</ref>
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A report by Rundstedt to Hitler in October 1943 regarding the weak defenses in France led to the appointment of Rommel to oversee the construction of further fortifications along the expected invasion-front, which stretched from the Netherlands to Cherbourg.<ref>Beevor 2009, 33.</ref> Rommel was given command of the newly re-formed [[Army Group B]], which included the 7th Army, the 15th Army, and the forces guarding the Netherlands.<ref>Goldstein, Dillon and Wenger, 11.</ref> Nazi Germany's tangled command structure made it difficult for Rommel to achieve his task. He was not allowed to give orders to the [[Organization Todt]], which was commanded by armaments minister [[Albert Speer]], so in some places he had to assign soldiers to do construction work.<ref>Whitmarsh, 12-13.</ref>
  
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-719-0240-05, Pas de Calais, Atlantikwall, Panzersperren.jpg|thumb|Beach obstacles at [[Pas de Calais]], 18 April 1944]]
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-719-0240-05, Pas de Calais, Atlantikwall, Panzersperren.jpg|thumb|400px|Beach obstacles at [[Pas de Calais]], 18 April 1944]]
  
 
Rommel believed that the Normandy coast could be a possible landing point for the invasion, so he ordered the construction of extensive defensive works along that shore. In addition to concrete gun-emplacements at strategic points along the coast, he ordered wooden stakes, metal tripods, mines, and large anti-tank obstacles to be placed on the beach to delay the approach of landing craft and to impede the movement of tanks. Expecting the Allies to land at high tide so that the infantry would spend less time exposed on the beach, he ordered many of these obstacles to be placed at the high-tide mark. Tangles of barbed wire, booby traps, and the removal of ground cover made the approach hazardous for infantry.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 54–56.</ref> On Rommel's order, the number of mines along the coast was tripled. Given the Allied air supremacy (4,029 Allied aircraft assigned to operations in Normandy plus 5,514 aircraft assigned to bombing and defense, versus 570 Luftwaffe planes stationed in France and the Low Countries<, booby-trapped stakes known as ''Rommelspargel'' ([[Rommel's asparagus]]) were set up in meadows and fields to deter airborne landings.<ref>Whitmarsh, 13, 31.</ref>
 
Rommel believed that the Normandy coast could be a possible landing point for the invasion, so he ordered the construction of extensive defensive works along that shore. In addition to concrete gun-emplacements at strategic points along the coast, he ordered wooden stakes, metal tripods, mines, and large anti-tank obstacles to be placed on the beach to delay the approach of landing craft and to impede the movement of tanks. Expecting the Allies to land at high tide so that the infantry would spend less time exposed on the beach, he ordered many of these obstacles to be placed at the high-tide mark. Tangles of barbed wire, booby traps, and the removal of ground cover made the approach hazardous for infantry.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 54–56.</ref> On Rommel's order, the number of mines along the coast was tripled. Given the Allied air supremacy (4,029 Allied aircraft assigned to operations in Normandy plus 5,514 aircraft assigned to bombing and defense, versus 570 Luftwaffe planes stationed in France and the Low Countries<, booby-trapped stakes known as ''Rommelspargel'' ([[Rommel's asparagus]]) were set up in meadows and fields to deter airborne landings.<ref>Whitmarsh, 13, 31.</ref>
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== Invasion ==
 
== Invasion ==
 
{{Main|Normandy landings}}
 
{{Main|Normandy landings}}
<blockquote>You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.<ref>Whitmarsh, 42.</ref></blockquote>
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<blockquote>You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world (Eisenhower, Letter to Allied Forces).<ref>Whitmarsh, 42.</ref></blockquote>
  
[[File:Operation Tonga.jpg|thumb|left|British [[Pathfinder (RAF)|Pathfinders]] synchronise their watches in front of an [[Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle]].]]
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[[File:Operation Tonga.jpg|thumb|right|400px|British [[Pathfinder (RAF)|Pathfinders]] synchronise their watches in front of an [[Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle]].]]
  
By May 1944, 1.5&nbsp;million American troops had arrived in the United Kingdom.<ref>Whitmarsh, 11.</ref> Most were housed in temporary camps in the south-west of England, ready to move across the Channel to the western section of the landing zone. British and Canadian troops were billeted in accommodation further east, spread from [[Southampton]] to [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]], and even on the east coast for men who would be coming across in later waves. A complex system called Movement Control assured that the men and vehicles left on schedule from twenty departure points. Some men had to board their craft nearly a week before departure.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 1–2.</ref> The ships met at a rendezvous point (nicknamed "Piccadilly Circus") south-east of the Isle of Wight to assemble into convoys to cross the Channel. Minesweepers began clearing lanes on the evening of June 5,<ref>Whitmarsh, 33.</ref> and a thousand bombers left before dawn to attack the coastal defenses.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 74, 79.</ref> Some 1,200 aircraft departed England just before midnight to transport three airborne divisions to their drop zones behind enemy lines several hours before the beach landings. The American [[82nd Airborne Division|82nd]] and [[101st Airborne Division]]s were assigned objectives on the Cotentin Peninsula west of Utah. The [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 6th Airborne Division]] was assigned to capture intact the bridges over the [[Caen Canal]] and River Orne.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 51–52.</ref> The [[Free French]] 4th [[1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment|SAS]] battalion of 538 men was assigned objectives in Brittany ([[Operation Dingson]], [[Operation Samwest]]).<ref>Henry Corta, ''Qui ose gagne (Who dares, wins)'' (Vincennes, France: Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, 1997, ISBN ISBN 2863231030), 64–79.</ref> Some 132,000 men were transported by sea on D-Day, and a further 24,000 came by air. Preliminary naval bombardment commenced at 05:45 and continued until 06:25 from five battleships, twenty cruisers, sixty-five destroyers, and two monitors.<ref>Whitmarsh, 30.</ref> Infantry began arriving on the beaches at around 06:30.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 70.</ref>
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By May 1944, 1.5&nbsp;million American troops had arrived in the United Kingdom.<ref>Whitmarsh, 11.</ref> Most were housed in temporary camps in the south-west of England, ready to move across the Channel to the western section of the landing zone. British and Canadian troops were billeted in accommodation further east, spread from [[Southampton]] to [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]], and even on the east coast for men who would be coming across in later waves. A complex system called Movement Control assured that the men and vehicles left on schedule from twenty departure points. Some men had to board their craft nearly a week before departure.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 1–2.</ref> The ships met at a rendezvous point (nicknamed "Piccadilly Circus") south-east of the Isle of Wight to assemble into convoys to cross the Channel. Minesweepers began clearing lanes on the evening of June 5,<ref>Whitmarsh, 33.</ref> and a thousand bombers left before dawn to attack the coastal defenses.<ref>Beevor 2009, 74, 79.</ref> Some 1,200 aircraft departed England just before midnight to transport three airborne divisions to their drop zones behind enemy lines several hours before the beach landings. The American [[82nd Airborne Division|82nd]] and [[101st Airborne Division]]s were assigned objectives on the Cotentin Peninsula west of Utah. The [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 6th Airborne Division]] was assigned to capture intact the bridges over the [[Caen Canal]] and River Orne.<ref>Beevor 2009, 51–52.</ref> The [[Free French]] 4th [[1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment|SAS]] battalion of 538 men was assigned objectives in Brittany ([[Operation Dingson]], [[Operation Samwest]]).<ref>Henry Corta, ''Qui ose gagne (Who dares, wins)'' (Vincennes, France: Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, 1997, ISBN ISBN 2863231030), 64–79.</ref> Some 132,000 men were transported by sea on D-Day, and a further 24,000 came by air. Preliminary naval bombardment commenced at 05:45 and continued until 06:25 from five battleships, twenty cruisers, sixty-five destroyers, and two monitors.<ref>Whitmarsh, 30.</ref> Infantry began arriving on the beaches at around 06:30.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 70.</ref>
  
 
=== Beaches ===
 
=== Beaches ===
 
{{Main|Utah Beach|Pointe du Hoc|Omaha Beach|Gold Beach|Juno Beach|Sword Beach}}
 
{{Main|Utah Beach|Pointe du Hoc|Omaha Beach|Gold Beach|Juno Beach|Sword Beach}}
  
[[File:Troops move out over the seawall on Utah Beach.jpg|thumb|right|U.S. soldiers of the 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division advance over the sea-wall at Utah.]]
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[[File:Troops move out over the seawall on Utah Beach.jpg|thumb|right|400px|U.S. soldiers of the 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division advance over the sea-wall at Utah.]]
  
The craft bearing the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 4th Infantry Division]] assaulting [[Utah Beach|Utah]] were pushed by the current to a spot about {{convert|1800|m|yd}} south of their intended landing zone. The troops met light resistance, suffering fewer than 200 casualties.<ref>Thomas Alexander Hughes, ''Overlord: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical A'' (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2010, ISBN 978-1439118535), 5.</ref> Their efforts to push inland fell far short of their targets for the first day, but they were able to advance about {{convert|4|mi}}, making contact with the 101st Airborne Division.<ref>Whitmarsh, 51.</ref> The airborne landings west of Utah were not very successful, as only ten per cent of the paratroopers landed in their drop zones. Gathering the men together into fighting units was made difficult by a shortage of radios and by the terrain, with its hedgerows, stone walls and marshes. The 82nd Airborne Division captured its primary objective at [[Sainte-Mère-Église]] and worked to protect the western flank. Its failure to capture the river crossings at the River [[Merderet]] resulted in a delay in sealing off the Cotentin Peninsula. The 101st Airborne Division helped protect the southern flank and captured the lock on the [[Douve|River Douve]] at La Barquette,<ref>Beevor, 2009, 115-116.</ref> but did not capture the assigned nearby bridges on the first day.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 166-172.</ref>
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The craft bearing the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 4th Infantry Division]] assaulting [[Utah Beach|Utah]] were pushed by the current to a spot about {{convert|1800|m|yd}} south of their intended landing zone. The troops met light resistance, suffering fewer than 200 casualties.<ref name=Hughes>Thomas Alexander Hughes, ''Overload: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World II'' (Free Press, 2002< ISBN 978-0743247832), 5.</ref> Their efforts to push inland fell far short of their targets for the first day, but they were able to advance about {{convert|4|mi}}, making contact with the 101st Airborne Division.<ref>Whitmarsh, 51.</ref> The airborne landings west of Utah were not very successful, as only ten per cent of the paratroopers landed in their drop zones. Gathering the men together into fighting units was made difficult by a shortage of radios and by the terrain, with its hedgerows, stone walls and marshes. The 82nd Airborne Division captured its primary objective at [[Sainte-Mère-Église]] and worked to protect the western flank. Its failure to capture the river crossings at the River [[Merderet]] resulted in a delay in sealing off the Cotentin Peninsula. The 101st Airborne Division helped protect the southern flank and captured the lock on the [[Douve|River Douve]] at La Barquette,<ref>Beevor 2009, 115-116.</ref> but did not capture the assigned nearby bridges on the first day.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 166-172.</ref>
  
 
At [[Pointe du Hoc]], the task for the two hundred men of the [[2nd Ranger Battalion (United States)|2nd Ranger Battalion]], commanded by Lieutenant Colonel [[James Rudder]], was to scale the {{convert|30|m|ft}} cliffs with ropes and ladders to destroy the gun battery located there. While under fire from above, the men scaled the cliff, only to discover that the guns had already been withdrawn. The Rangers located the weapons, unguarded but ready to use, in an orchard some {{convert|550|m|yd}} south of the point, and disabled them. Under attack, the men at the point became isolated, and some were captured. By dawn on D+1, Rudder had only 90 men able to fight. Relief did not come until D+2, when members of the [[743rd Tank Battalion]] arrived.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 95–104.</ref>
 
At [[Pointe du Hoc]], the task for the two hundred men of the [[2nd Ranger Battalion (United States)|2nd Ranger Battalion]], commanded by Lieutenant Colonel [[James Rudder]], was to scale the {{convert|30|m|ft}} cliffs with ropes and ladders to destroy the gun battery located there. While under fire from above, the men scaled the cliff, only to discover that the guns had already been withdrawn. The Rangers located the weapons, unguarded but ready to use, in an orchard some {{convert|550|m|yd}} south of the point, and disabled them. Under attack, the men at the point became isolated, and some were captured. By dawn on D+1, Rudder had only 90 men able to fight. Relief did not come until D+2, when members of the [[743rd Tank Battalion]] arrived.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 95–104.</ref>
  
[[File:Into the Jaws of Death 23-0455M edit.jpg|thumb|left|The photograph ''[[Into the Jaws of Death]]'' shows American troops, part of the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Infantry Division]], leaving a [[Higgins Boat]] on Omaha.]]
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[[File:Into the Jaws of Death 23-0455M edit.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The photograph ''[[Into the Jaws of Death]]'' shows American troops, part of the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Infantry Division]], leaving a [[Higgins Boat]] on Omaha.]]
  
[[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], the most heavily defended sector, was assigned to the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Infantry Division]], supplemented by troops from the [[29th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 29th Infantry Division]].<ref>Hughes, 5.</ref> They faced the [[352nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|352nd Infantry Division]], rather than the expected single regiment.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 45.</ref> Strong currents forced many landing craft east of their intended position or delayed them. Casualties were heavier than all the other landings combined, as the men were subjected to fire from the cliffs above.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 76–77, 334.</ref> Problems clearing the beach of obstructions led to the beachmaster calling a halt to further landings of vehicles at 08:30. A group of destroyers arrived around this time to offer supporting artillery fire.<red>Ford and Zaloga, 90–91.</ref> Exit from Omaha was possible only via five gullies, and by late morning barely six hundred men had reached the higher ground. By noon, as the artillery fire took its toll and the Germans started to run out of ammunition, the Americans were able to clear some lanes on the beaches. They also started clearing the draws of enemy defenses so that vehicles could move off the beach.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 56, 83.</ref> The tenuous beachhead was expanded over the following days, and the D-Day objectives were accomplished by D+3.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 337.</ref>
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[[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], the most heavily defended sector, was assigned to the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Infantry Division]], supplemented by troops from the [[29th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 29th Infantry Division]].<ref name=Hughes/> They faced the [[352nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|352nd Infantry Division]], rather than the expected single regiment.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 45.</ref> Strong currents forced many landing craft east of their intended position or delayed them. Casualties were heavier than all the other landings combined, as the men were subjected to fire from the cliffs above.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 76–77, 334.</ref> Problems clearing the beach of obstructions led to the beachmaster calling a halt to further landings of vehicles at 08:30. A group of destroyers arrived around this time to offer supporting artillery fire.<red>Ford and Zaloga, 90–91.</ref> Exit from Omaha was possible only via five gullies, and by late morning barely six hundred men had reached the higher ground. By noon, as the artillery fire took its toll and the Germans started to run out of ammunition, the Americans were able to clear some lanes on the beaches. They also started clearing the draws of enemy defenses so that vehicles could move off the beach.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 56, 83.</ref> The tenuous beachhead was expanded over the following days, and the D-Day objectives were accomplished by D+3.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 337.</ref>
  
[[File:The Invasion of Normandy 1944 B5258.jpg|thumb|right|Gold on 7 June 1944.]]
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[[File:The Invasion of Normandy 1944 B5258.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Gold on 7 June 1944.]]
  
 
At [[Gold Beach|Gold]], high winds made conditions difficult for the landing craft, and the amphibious DD tanks were landed close to shore or directly on the beach instead of further out as planned.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 281–282.</ref> Aerial attacks had failed to hit the Le Hamel strong point, and its 75&nbsp;mm gun continued to do damage until 16:00. On the western flank, the 1st Battalion, [[Royal Hampshire Regiment|Hampshire Regiment]] captured [[Arromanches]] (future site of Mulberry "B"), and contact was made on the eastern flank with the Canadian forces at Juno.
 
At [[Gold Beach|Gold]], high winds made conditions difficult for the landing craft, and the amphibious DD tanks were landed close to shore or directly on the beach instead of further out as planned.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 281–282.</ref> Aerial attacks had failed to hit the Le Hamel strong point, and its 75&nbsp;mm gun continued to do damage until 16:00. On the western flank, the 1st Battalion, [[Royal Hampshire Regiment|Hampshire Regiment]] captured [[Arromanches]] (future site of Mulberry "B"), and contact was made on the eastern flank with the Canadian forces at Juno.
  
Landings of infantry at [[Juno Beach|Juno]] were delayed because of rough seas, and the men arrived ahead of their supporting armor, suffering many casualties while disembarking. Most of the offshore bombardment had missed the German defenses. In spite of these difficulties, the Canadians quickly cleared the beach and created two exits to the villages above. Delays in taking [[Bény-sur-Mer]] led to congestion on the beach, but by nightfall the contiguous Juno and Gold beachheads covered an area {{convert|12|mi}} wide and {{convert|7|mi|sigfig=1}} deep<ref>Wilmot, 270, 275–276,</ref> Casualties at Juno were 961 men.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 131.</ref>
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Landings of infantry at [[Juno Beach|Juno]] were delayed because of rough seas, and the men arrived ahead of their supporting armor, suffering many casualties while disembarking. Most of the offshore bombardment had missed the German defenses. In spite of these difficulties, the Canadians quickly cleared the beach and created two exits to the villages above. Delays in taking [[Bény-sur-Mer]] led to congestion on the beach, but by nightfall the contiguous Juno and Gold beachheads covered an area {{convert|12|mi}} wide and {{convert|7|mi|sigfig=1}} deep<ref>Wilmot, 270, 275–276,</ref> Casualties at Juno were 961 men.<ref>Beevor 2009, 131.</ref>
  
On [[Sword Beach|Sword]], 21 of 25 DD tanks succeeded in getting safely ashore to provide cover for the infantry, who began disembarking at 07:30. They quickly cleared the beach and created several exits for the tanks. In the windy conditions, the tide came in more quickly than expected, making maneuvering the armor difficult.<ref>Wilmot, 277–278.</ref> The 2nd Battalion, [[King's Shropshire Light Infantry]] advanced on foot to within a few kilometers of Caen, but had to withdraw due to lack of armor support.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 143, 148.</ref> At 16:00, the [[21st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|German 21st Panzer Division]] mounted a counterattack between Sword and Juno and nearly succeeded in reaching the coast. They met stiff resistance from the [[3rd Division (United Kingdom)|British 3rd Infantry Division]] and were soon recalled to assist in the area between Caen and Bayeux.<ref>Wilmot, 283.</ref>
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On [[Sword Beach|Sword]], 21 of 25 DD tanks succeeded in getting safely ashore to provide cover for the infantry, who began disembarking at 07:30. They quickly cleared the beach and created several exits for the tanks. In the windy conditions, the tide came in more quickly than expected, making maneuvering the armor difficult.<ref>Wilmot, 277–278.</ref> The 2nd Battalion, [[King's Shropshire Light Infantry]] advanced on foot to within a few kilometers of Caen, but had to withdraw due to lack of armor support.<ref>Beevor 2009, 143, 148.</ref> At 16:00, the [[21st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|German 21st Panzer Division]] mounted a counterattack between Sword and Juno and nearly succeeded in reaching the coast. They met stiff resistance from the [[3rd Division (United Kingdom)|British 3rd Infantry Division]] and were soon recalled to assist in the area between Caen and Bayeux.<ref>Wilmot, 283.</ref>
  
[[File:2nd Infantry Division, E-1 draw, Easy Red sector, Omaha Beach, D+1, June 7, 1944.jpg|thumb|The build-up at Omaha Beach: [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 2nd Infantry Division]] troops and equipment moving inland toward [[Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer]] on D+1, 7 June 1944.]]
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[[File:2nd Infantry Division, E-1 draw, Easy Red sector, Omaha Beach, D+1, June 7, 1944.jpg|thumb|400px|The build-up at Omaha Beach: [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 2nd Infantry Division]] troops and equipment moving inland toward [[Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer]] on D+1, 7 June 1944.]]
  
The first components of the Mulberry harbors were brought across on D+1 and the structures were in use for unloading by mid-June.<ref>Wilmot, 321.</ref> One was constructed at Arromanches by the British, the other at Omaha by the Americans. Severe storms on June 19 interrupted the landing of supplies and destroyed the Omaha harbor.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 215–216.</ref> The repaired Arromanches harbor was able to receive around 6,000 tons of [[materiel]] daily and was in continuous use for the next ten months, but most shipments were brought in over the beaches until the port of Cherbourg was cleared of mines and obstructions on 16 July.<ref>Wilmot, 387.</ref>
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The first components of the Mulberry harbors were brought across on D+1 and the structures were in use for unloading by mid-June.<ref>Wilmot, 321.</ref> One was constructed at Arromanches by the British, the other at Omaha by the Americans. Severe storms on June 19 interrupted the landing of supplies and destroyed the Omaha harbor.<ref>Beevor 2009, 215–216.</ref> The repaired Arromanches harbor was able to receive around 6,000 tons of [[materiel]] daily and was in continuous use for the next ten months, but most shipments were brought in over the beaches until the port of Cherbourg was cleared of mines and obstructions on 16 July.<ref>Wilmot, 387.</ref>
  
Allied casualties on the first day were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.<ref>Whitmarsh, 87.</ref> The Germans lost 1,000 men.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 335.</ref> The Allied invasion plans had called for the capture of Carentan, [[St. Lô]], Caen, and Bayeux on the first day, with all the beaches (other than Utah), linked with a front line {{convert|10|to|16|km|mi|sigfig=1}} from the beaches; none of these objectives were achieved.<ref>Beevor, 2009, loc=Map, inside front cover.</ref> The five bridgeheads were not connected until June 12, by which time the Allies held a front around {{convert|97|km}} long and {{convert|24|km}} deep.<ref>Bernd Horn, ''Men of Steel: Canadian Paratroopers in Normandy, 1944'' (Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1554887088), 13.</ref> Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands at the end of D-Day and would not be completely captured until July 21.<ref>Wilmot, 360.</ref> Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on June 6, and more than two&nbsp;million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.<ref>Dear and Foot, 627–630.</ref>
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Allied casualties on the first day were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.<ref>Whitmarsh, 87.</ref> The Germans lost 1,000 men.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 335.</ref> The Allied invasion plans had called for the capture of Carentan, [[St. Lô]], Caen, and Bayeux on the first day, with all the beaches (other than Utah), linked with a front line {{convert|10|to|16|km|mi|sigfig=1}} from the beaches; none of these objectives were achieved.<ref>Beevor 2009, loc=Map, inside front cover.</ref> The five bridgeheads were not connected until June 12, by which time the Allies held a front around {{convert|97|km}} long and {{convert|24|km}} deep.<ref>Bernd Horn, ''Men of Steel: Canadian Paratroopers in Normandy, 1944'' (Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1554887088), 13.</ref> Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands at the end of D-Day and would not be completely captured until July 21.<ref>Wilmot, 360.</ref> Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on June 6, and more than two&nbsp;million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.<ref>Dear and Foot, 627–630.</ref>
  
 
=== Cherbourg ===
 
=== Cherbourg ===
Line 198: Line 195:
 
=== Caen ===
 
=== Caen ===
 
{{Main|Battle for Caen}}
 
{{Main|Battle for Caen}}
[[File:Battleforceanmapenglish.PNG|thumb|left|Operations in the [[Battle for Caen]].]]
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[[File:Battleforceanmapenglish.PNG|thumb|right|400px|Operations in the [[Battle for Caen]].]]
Fighting in the Caen area versus the 21st Panzer, the 12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'' and other units soon reached a stalemate.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 186.</ref> During [[Operation Perch]], XXX Corps attempted to advance south towards [[Mont Pinçon]] but soon abandoned the direct approach in favor of a [[pincer attack]] to encircle Caen. XXX Corps made a flanking move from [[Tilly-sur-Seulles]] towards [[Villers-Bocage, Calvados|Villers-Bocage]] with part of the 7th Armoured Division, while I Corps tried to pass Caen to the east. The attack by I Corps was quickly halted and XXX Corps briefly captured Villers-Bocage. Advanced elements of the British force were ambushed, initiating a day-long [[Battle of Villers-Bocage]] and then the Battle of the Box. The British were forced to withdraw to Tilly-sur-Seulles.<ref>Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 247–254.</ref><ref>George Forty, ''Villers Bocage'', Battle Zone Normandy. (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0750930128), 36, 97.</ref> After a delay because of storms from June 17 to 23, [[Operation Epsom]] began on June 26, an attempt by [[VIII Corps (United Kingdom)|VIII Corps]] to swing around and attack Caen from the south-west and establish a bridgehead south of the [[Odon (river)|Odon]]. Although the operation failed to take Caen, the Germans suffered many tank losses after committing every available Panzer unit to the operation.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 232–237.</ref> Rundstedt was dismissed on July 1 and replaced as OB West by Field Marshal [[Günther von Kluge]] after remarking that the war was now lost.<ref>Wilmot, 342, 347.</ref> The northern suburbs of Caen were bombed on the evening of July 7 and then occupied north of the River Orne in [[Operation Charnwood]] on July 8-9.<ref>J. Terry Copp, ''Montgomery's Scientists: Operational Research in Northwest Europe: The Work of No. 2 Operational Research Section with 21 Army Group, June 1944 to July 1945'' (Waterloo, Ontario: Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University , 2000, ISBN 978-0969795599), 273.</ref> [[Operation Atlantic]] and [[Operation Goodwood]] captured the rest of Caen and the high ground to the south from July 18 to 21, by when the city was nearly destroyed.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 340–341</ref> Hitler survived an [[20 July plot|assassination attempt]] on July 20.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 332–333.</ref>
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Fighting in the Caen area versus the 21st Panzer, the 12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'' and other units soon reached a stalemate.<ref>Beevor 2009, 186.</ref> During [[Operation Perch]], XXX Corps attempted to advance south towards [[Mont Pinçon]] but soon abandoned the direct approach in favor of a [[pincer attack]] to encircle Caen. XXX Corps made a flanking move from [[Tilly-sur-Seulles]] towards [[Villers-Bocage, Calvados|Villers-Bocage]] with part of the 7th Armoured Division, while I Corps tried to pass Caen to the east. The attack by I Corps was quickly halted and XXX Corps briefly captured Villers-Bocage. Advanced elements of the British force were ambushed, initiating a day-long [[Battle of Villers-Bocage]] and then the Battle of the Box. The British were forced to withdraw to Tilly-sur-Seulles.<ref>Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 247–254.</ref><ref>George Forty, ''Villers Bocage'', Battle Zone Normandy (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0750930128), 36, 97.</ref> After a delay because of storms from June 17 to 23, [[Operation Epsom]] began on June 26, an attempt by [[VIII Corps (United Kingdom)|VIII Corps]] to swing around and attack Caen from the south-west and establish a bridgehead south of the [[Odon (river)|Odon]]. Although the operation failed to take Caen, the Germans suffered many tank losses after committing every available Panzer unit to the operation.<ref>Beevor 2009, 232–237.</ref> Rundstedt was dismissed on July 1 and replaced as OB West by Field Marshal [[Günther von Kluge]] after remarking that the war was now lost.<ref>Wilmot, 342, 347.</ref> The northern suburbs of Caen were bombed on the evening of July 7 and then occupied north of the River Orne in [[Operation Charnwood]] on July 8-9.<ref>J. Terry Copp, ''Montgomery's Scientists: Operational Research in Northwest Europe: The Work of No. 2 Operational Research Section with 21 Army Group, June 1944 to July 1945'' (Waterloo, Ontario: Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2000, ISBN 978-0969795599), 273.</ref> [[Operation Atlantic]] and [[Operation Goodwood]] captured the rest of Caen and the high ground to the south from July 18 to 21, by when the city was nearly destroyed.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 340–341.</ref> Hitler survived an [[20 July plot|assassination attempt]] on July 20.<ref>Beevor 2009, 332–333.</ref>
  
 
=== Breakout from the beachhead ===
 
=== Breakout from the beachhead ===
 
After securing territory in the Cotentin Peninsula south as far as [[Saint-Lô]], the U.S. First Army launched [[Operation Cobra]] on July 25 and advanced further south to Avranches by August 1. The British launched [[Operation Bluecoat]] on July 30 to secure [[Vire]] and the high ground of Mont Pinçon.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 344, 366–367.</ref> Lieutenant General [[George S. Patton]]'s [[United States Army Central|U.S. Third Army]], activated on August 1, quickly took most of Brittany and territory as far south as the [[Loire]], while the First Army maintained pressure eastward toward [[Le Mans]] to protect their flank. By August 3, Patton and the Third Army were able to leave a small force in Brittany and drive eastward towards the main concentration of German forces south of Caen. Over Kluge's objections, on 4 August Hitler ordered a counter-offensive ([[Operation Lüttich]]) from Vire towards Avranches.<ref>Wilmot, 398–400.</ref>
 
After securing territory in the Cotentin Peninsula south as far as [[Saint-Lô]], the U.S. First Army launched [[Operation Cobra]] on July 25 and advanced further south to Avranches by August 1. The British launched [[Operation Bluecoat]] on July 30 to secure [[Vire]] and the high ground of Mont Pinçon.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 344, 366–367.</ref> Lieutenant General [[George S. Patton]]'s [[United States Army Central|U.S. Third Army]], activated on August 1, quickly took most of Brittany and territory as far south as the [[Loire]], while the First Army maintained pressure eastward toward [[Le Mans]] to protect their flank. By August 3, Patton and the Third Army were able to leave a small force in Brittany and drive eastward towards the main concentration of German forces south of Caen. Over Kluge's objections, on 4 August Hitler ordered a counter-offensive ([[Operation Lüttich]]) from Vire towards Avranches.<ref>Wilmot, 398–400.</ref>
  
[[File:Normandybreakout.jpg|thumb|right|Map showing the break-out from the Normandy beachhead and the formation of the [[Falaise Pocket]], August 1944.]]
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[[File:Normandybreakout.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Map showing the break-out from the Normandy beachhead and the formation of the [[Falaise Pocket]], August 1944.]]
  
While [[II Canadian Corps]] pushed south from Caen toward Falaise in [[Operation Totalize]] on August 8,<ref>Wilmot, 410.</ref> Bradley and Montgomery realized that there was an opportunity for the bulk of the German forces to be [[Falaise pocket|trapped at Falaise]]. The Third Army continued the encirclement from the south, reaching [[Alençon]] on August 11. Although Hitler continued to insist until August 14 that his forces should counter-attack, Kluge and his officers began planning a retreat eastward.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 434–435.</ref> The German forces were severely hampered by Hitler's insistence on making all major decisions himself, which left his forces without orders for periods as long as 24 hours while information was sent back and forth to the Führer's residence at [[Obersalzberg]] in Bavaria. On the evening of August 12, Patton asked Bradley if his forces should continue northward to close the gap and encircle the German forces. Bradley refused, because Montgomery had already assigned the First Canadian Army to take the territory from the north.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 440.</ref> The Canadians met heavy resistance and captured Falaise on August 16. The gap was closed on August 21, trapping 50,000 German troops but more than a third of the [[7th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 7th Army]] and the remnants of nine of the eleven Panzer divisions had escaped to the east. Montgomery's decision-making regarding the Falaise Gap was criticized at the time by American commanders, especially Patton, although Bradley was more sympathetic and believed Patton would not have been able to close the gap.<ref>Omar N. Bradley, ''A Soldier's Story'' (Modern Library, 1999, ISBN 0375754210), 377.</ref> The issue has been the subject of much discussion among historians, criticism being levelled at American, British and Canadian forces.<ref>Max Hastings, ''Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy'' (New York, NY: Vintage, 2006 (original 1985), ISBN 030727571X), 369.</ref> Hitler relieved Kluge of his command of OB West on August 15 and replaced him with Field Marshal [[Walter Model]]. Kluge committed suicide on August 19 after Hitler became aware of his involvement in the July 20 plot.<ref>Wilmot, 416-424, 444.</ref><ref>Evans, 642.</ref> An invasion in southern France ([[Operation Dragoon]]) was launched on 15 August.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 445, 447.</ref>
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While [[II Canadian Corps]] pushed south from Caen toward Falaise in [[Operation Totalize]] on August 8,<ref>Wilmot, 410.</ref> Bradley and Montgomery realized that there was an opportunity for the bulk of the German forces to be [[Falaise pocket|trapped at Falaise]]. The Third Army continued the encirclement from the south, reaching [[Alençon]] on August 11. Although Hitler continued to insist until August 14 that his forces should counter-attack, Kluge and his officers began planning a retreat eastward.<ref>Beevor 2009, 434–435.</ref> The German forces were severely hampered by Hitler's insistence on making all major decisions himself, which left his forces without orders for periods as long as 24 hours while information was sent back and forth to the Führer's residence at [[Obersalzberg]] in Bavaria. On the evening of August 12, Patton asked Bradley if his forces should continue northward to close the gap and encircle the German forces. Bradley refused, because Montgomery had already assigned the First Canadian Army to take the territory from the north.<ref>Beevor 2009, 440.</ref> The Canadians met heavy resistance and captured Falaise on August 16. The gap was closed on August 21, trapping 50,000 German troops but more than a third of the [[7th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 7th Army]] and the remnants of nine of the eleven Panzer divisions had escaped to the east. Montgomery's decision-making regarding the Falaise Gap was criticized at the time by American commanders, especially Patton, although Bradley was more sympathetic and believed Patton would not have been able to close the gap.<ref>Omar N. Bradley, ''A Soldier's Story'' (Modern Library, 1999, ISBN 0375754210), 377.</ref> The issue has been the subject of much discussion among historians, criticism being levelled at American, British and Canadian forces.<ref>Max Hastings, ''Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy'' (New York, NY: Vintage, 2006 (original 1985), ISBN 030727571X), 369.</ref> Hitler relieved Kluge of his command of OB West on August 15 and replaced him with Field Marshal [[Walter Model]]. Kluge committed suicide on August 19 after Hitler became aware of his involvement in the July 20 plot.<ref>Wilmot, 416-424, 444.</ref><ref>Evans, 642.</ref> An invasion in southern France ([[Operation Dragoon]]) was launched on 15 August.<ref>Beevor 2009, 445, 447.</ref>
  
[[File:The British Army in Normandy 1944 B9528.jpg|thumb|left|British infantry aboard Sherman tanks wait for the order to advance, near [[Argentan]], 21 August 1944.]]
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[[File:The British Army in Normandy 1944 B9528.jpg|thumb|right|350px|British infantry aboard Sherman tanks wait for the order to advance, near [[Argentan]], 21 August 1944.]]
The French Resistance in Paris rose against the Germans on August 19. Eisenhower initially wanted to bypass the city to pursue other targets, but amid reports that the citizens were going hungry and Hitler's stated intention to destroy it, de Gaulle insisted that it should be taken immediately.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 481, 483, 494.</ref> French forces of the [[2nd Armored Division (France)|2nd Armored Division]] under General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|Philippe Leclerc]] arrived from the west on August 24, while the U.S. 4th Infantry Division pressed up from the south. Scattered fighting continued throughout the night, and by the morning of August 25 [[Liberation of Paris|Paris was liberated]].<ref>Wilmot, 429-430.</ref>
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The French Resistance in Paris rose against the Germans on August 19. Eisenhower initially wanted to bypass the city to pursue other targets, but amid reports that the citizens were going hungry and Hitler's stated intention to destroy it, de Gaulle insisted that it should be taken immediately.<ref>Beevor 2009, 481, 483, 494.</ref> French forces of the [[2nd Armored Division (France)|2nd Armored Division]] under General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|Philippe Leclerc]] arrived from the west on August 24, while the U.S. 4th Infantry Division pressed up from the south. Scattered fighting continued throughout the night, and by the morning of August 25 [[Liberation of Paris|Paris was liberated]].<ref>Wilmot, 429-430.</ref>
  
Operations continued in the British and Canadian sectors until the end of the month. On August 25, the U.S. [[2nd Armored Division (United States)|2nd Armored Division]] fought its way into [[Elbeuf]], making contact with British and Canadian armored divisions.<ref>Charles Perry Stacey, ''The Victory Campaign, The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945''. [[Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War]], Vol. III (Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1960), 286.</ref> The [[2nd Canadian Division|2nd Canadian Infantry Division]] advanced into the [[Forêt de Rouvray|Forêt de la Londe]] on the morning of 27 August. The area was strongly held; the 4th and 6th Canadian brigades suffered many casualties over the course of three days as the Germans fought a delaying action in terrain well suited to defense. The Germans pulled back on August 29, withdrawing over the Seine the next day.<ref>Stacey, 1960, 286.</ref> On the afternoon of August 30, the [[3rd Canadian Division|3rd Canadian Infantry Division]] crossed the Seine near Elbeuf and entered [[Rouen]] to a jubilant welcome.<ref>Charles Perry Stacey, ''The Canadian Army 1939–45: A Historical Summary'' (Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1948), 219.</ref>
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Operations continued in the British and Canadian sectors until the end of the month. On August 25, the U.S. [[2nd Armored Division (United States)|2nd Armored Division]] fought its way into [[Elbeuf]], making contact with British and Canadian armored divisions.<ref>Charles Perry Stacey, ''The Victory Campaign, The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945'' (Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1960), 286.</ref> The [[2nd Canadian Division|2nd Canadian Infantry Division]] advanced into the [[Forêt de Rouvray|Forêt de la Londe]] on the morning of 27 August. The area was strongly held; the 4th and 6th Canadian brigades suffered many casualties over the course of three days as the Germans fought a delaying action in terrain well suited to defense. The Germans pulled back on August 29, withdrawing over the Seine the next day.<ref>Stacey 1960, 286.</ref> On the afternoon of August 30, the [[3rd Canadian Division|3rd Canadian Infantry Division]] crossed the Seine near Elbeuf and entered [[Rouen]] to a jubilant welcome.<ref>Charles Perry Stacey, ''The Canadian Army 1939–45: A Historical Summary'' (Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1948), 219.</ref>
  
 
== Campaign close ==
 
== Campaign close ==
 
Eisenhower took direct command of all Allied ground forces on September 1. Concerned about German counter-attacks and the limited materiel arriving in France, he decided to continue operations on a broad front rather than attempting narrow thrusts. The linkup of the Normandy forces with the Allied forces in southern France occurred on September 12 as part of the [[drive to the Siegfried Line]].<ref>Wilmot, 485.</ref> On September 17, Montgomery launched [[Operation Market Garden]], an unsuccessful attempt by Anglo-American airborne troops to capture bridges in the Netherlands to allow ground forces to cross the [[Rhine]] into Germany.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 341–342.</ref> The Allied advance slowed due to German resistance and the lack of supplies (especially fuel). On December 16 the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive, also known as the [[Battle of the Bulge]], their last major offensive of the war on the Western Front. A series of successful Soviet actions began with the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]] on January 12. [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler committed suicide]] on 30 April as Soviet troops neared his ''[[Führerbunker]]'' in Berlin, and Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.<ref>Whitmarsh, 109.</ref>
 
Eisenhower took direct command of all Allied ground forces on September 1. Concerned about German counter-attacks and the limited materiel arriving in France, he decided to continue operations on a broad front rather than attempting narrow thrusts. The linkup of the Normandy forces with the Allied forces in southern France occurred on September 12 as part of the [[drive to the Siegfried Line]].<ref>Wilmot, 485.</ref> On September 17, Montgomery launched [[Operation Market Garden]], an unsuccessful attempt by Anglo-American airborne troops to capture bridges in the Netherlands to allow ground forces to cross the [[Rhine]] into Germany.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 341–342.</ref> The Allied advance slowed due to German resistance and the lack of supplies (especially fuel). On December 16 the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive, also known as the [[Battle of the Bulge]], their last major offensive of the war on the Western Front. A series of successful Soviet actions began with the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]] on January 12. [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler committed suicide]] on 30 April as Soviet troops neared his ''[[Führerbunker]]'' in Berlin, and Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.<ref>Whitmarsh, 109.</ref>
  
[[File:Canadiannaziflag1944.jpg|thumb|upright|Canadian soldiers with a captured [[Flag of Germany#Nazi Germany|Nazi flag]] ]]
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[[File:Canadiannaziflag1944.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian soldiers with a captured [[Flag of Germany#Nazi Germany|Nazi flag]] ]]
  
The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with nearly 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 74.</ref> They hastened the end of the war in Europe, drawing large forces away from the Eastern Front that might otherwise have slowed the Soviet advance. The opening of another front in western Europe was a tremendous psychological blow for Germany's military, who feared a repetition of the two-front war of [[World War I]]. The Normandy landings also heralded the start of the "race for Europe" between the Soviet forces and the Western powers, which some historians consider to be the [[Origins of the Cold War|start of the Cold War]].<ref>John Lewis Gaddis, ''Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States: An Interpretive History'' (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1990 (original 1972), ISBN 978-0075572589), 149.</ref>
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The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with nearly 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers.<ref>Beevor 2009, 74.</ref> They hastened the end of the war in Europe, drawing large forces away from the Eastern Front that might otherwise have slowed the Soviet advance. The opening of another front in western Europe was a tremendous psychological blow for Germany's military, who feared a repetition of the two-front war of [[World War I]]. The Normandy landings also heralded the start of the "race for Europe" between the Soviet forces and the Western powers, which some historians consider to be the [[Origins of the Cold War|start of the Cold War]].<ref>John Lewis Gaddis, ''Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States: An Interpretive History'' (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1990 (original 1972), ISBN 978-0075572589), 149.</ref>
  
 
Victory in Normandy stemmed from several factors. German preparations along the Atlantic Wall were only partially finished; shortly before D-Day Rommel reported that construction was only 18 per cent complete in some areas as resources were diverted elsewhere. The deceptions undertaken in Operation Fortitude were successful, leaving the Germans obliged to defend a huge stretch of coastline.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 343.</ref> The Allies achieved and maintained air superiority, which meant that the Germans were unable to make observations of the preparations underway in Britain and were unable to interfere via bomber attacks. Transport infrastructure in France was severely disrupted by Allied bombers and the French Resistance, making it difficult for the Germans to bring up reinforcements and supplies.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 36.</ref> Much of the opening artillery barrage was off-target or not concentrated enough to have any impact,<ref>J. Terry Copp, ''Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy'' (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 0802037305), 259.</ref> but the specialized armor worked well except on Omaha, providing close artillery support for the troops as they disembarked onto the beaches. The indecisiveness and overly complicated command structure of the German high command was also a factor in the Allied success.<ref>Wilmot, 289-292.</ref>
 
Victory in Normandy stemmed from several factors. German preparations along the Atlantic Wall were only partially finished; shortly before D-Day Rommel reported that construction was only 18 per cent complete in some areas as resources were diverted elsewhere. The deceptions undertaken in Operation Fortitude were successful, leaving the Germans obliged to defend a huge stretch of coastline.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 343.</ref> The Allies achieved and maintained air superiority, which meant that the Germans were unable to make observations of the preparations underway in Britain and were unable to interfere via bomber attacks. Transport infrastructure in France was severely disrupted by Allied bombers and the French Resistance, making it difficult for the Germans to bring up reinforcements and supplies.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 36.</ref> Much of the opening artillery barrage was off-target or not concentrated enough to have any impact,<ref>J. Terry Copp, ''Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy'' (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 0802037305), 259.</ref> but the specialized armor worked well except on Omaha, providing close artillery support for the troops as they disembarked onto the beaches. The indecisiveness and overly complicated command structure of the German high command was also a factor in the Allied success.<ref>Wilmot, 289-292.</ref>
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=== Allies ===
 
=== Allies ===
[[File:Omaha Beach wounded soldiers, 1944-06-06 P012901.jpg|thumb|American assault troops injured while storming Omaha]]
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[[File:Omaha Beach wounded soldiers, 1944-06-06 P012901.jpg|thumb|400px|American assault troops injured while storming Omaha]]
From D-Day to August 21, the Allies landed 2,052,299 men in northern France. The cost of the Normandy campaign was high for both sides.<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 341.</ref> Between June 6 and the end of August, the American armies suffered 124,394 casualties, of whom 20,668 were killed.<ref>American casualties are sourced from the G-3 War Room Summary 91, dated September 5, 1944, covering the campaign. In 1953, the US Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General issued a final report on US casualties (excluding Air Force losses) for the period from 6 June to 14 September 1944. This source shows the number killed in action during the Battle of Normandy (June 6 – July 24, 1944) as 13,959 and Northern France (July 25 to September 14, 1944) as 15,239 for a total of 29,198. Total deaths among battle casualties (including accidental deaths, disease, etc) for Normandy (June  6 – July 24, 1944) were 16,293 and in Northern France (July 25 – September 14, 1944) were 17,844, for a total of 34,137. </ref> Casualties within the First Canadian and Second British Armies are placed at 83,045: 15,995 killed, 57,996 wounded, and 9,054 missing.<ref>British casualties are sourced from "War Diary, 21st Army Group, 'A' Section, SITEP" dated August 29, 1944.</ref> Of these, Canadian losses amounted to 18,444, with 5,021 killed in action.<ref>Stacey, 1960, 271.</ref> The Allied air forces, having flown 480,317 sorties in support of the invasion, lost 4,101 aircraft and 16,714 airmen (8,536 members of the USAAF, and 8,178 flying under the command of the RAF). The Free French SAS paratroopers suffered 77 killed, with 197 wounded and missing.<ref>Corta, 1997, 288–289.</ref> Allied tank losses have been estimated at around 4,000, with losses split evenly between the American and British/Canadian armies. Historians slightly differ on overall casualties during the campaign, with the lowest losses totaling 225,606<ref>Carlo D'Este, ''Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign'' (London, England: Penguin, 2004 (original 1983) ISBN 0141017619), 517.</ref> and the highest at 226,386.<ref>Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 487-488, 493.</ref><ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 341–342.</ref>
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From D-Day to August 21, the Allies landed 2,052,299 men in northern France. The cost of the Normandy campaign was high for both sides.<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 341.</ref> Between June 6 and the end of August, the American armies suffered 124,394 casualties, of whom 20,668 were killed.<ref>American casualties are sourced from the G-3 War Room Summary 91, dated September 5, 1944, covering the campaign. In 1953, the US Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General issued a final report on US casualties (excluding Air Force losses) for the period from 6 June to 14 September 1944. This source shows the number killed in action during the Battle of Normandy (June 6 – July 24, 1944) as 13,959 and Northern France (July 25 to September 14, 1944) as 15,239 for a total of 29,198. Total deaths among battle casualties (including accidental deaths, disease, etc) for Normandy (June  6 – July 24, 1944) were 16,293 and in Northern France (July 25 – September 14, 1944) were 17,844, for a total of 34,137. </ref> Casualties within the First Canadian and Second British Armies are placed at 83,045: 15,995 killed, 57,996 wounded, and 9,054 missing.<ref>British casualties are sourced from "War Diary, 21st Army Group, 'A' Section, SITEP" dated August 29, 1944.</ref> Of these, Canadian losses amounted to 18,444, with 5,021 killed in action.<ref>Stacey 1960, 271.</ref> The Allied air forces, having flown 480,317 sorties in support of the invasion, lost 4,101 aircraft and 16,714 airmen (8,536 members of the USAAF, and 8,178 flying under the command of the RAF). The Free French SAS paratroopers suffered 77 killed, with 197 wounded and missing.<ref>Corta, 288–289.</ref> Allied tank losses have been estimated at around 4,000, with losses split evenly between the American and British/Canadian armies. Historians slightly differ on overall casualties during the campaign, with the lowest losses totaling 225,606<ref>Carlo D'Este, ''Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign'' (London, England: Penguin, 2004 (original 1983) ISBN 0141017619), 517.</ref> and the highest at 226,386.<ref>Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 487-488, 493.</ref><ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 341–342.</ref>
  
 
=== Germany ===
 
=== Germany ===
[[File:St.-Lambert-surrender.3.jpg|thumb|German forces surrender in [[Saint-Lambert-sur-Dive]], 21 August 1944 ]]
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[[File:St.-Lambert-surrender.3.jpg|thumb|400px|German forces surrender in [[Saint-Lambert-sur-Dive]], 21 August 1944 ]]
[[File:26-G-2577 (17718385110).jpg|thumb|German prisoners board a Coast Guard transport after being captured in Normandy]]
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[[File:26-G-2577 (17718385110).jpg|thumb|400px|German prisoners board a Coast Guard transport after being captured in Normandy]]
 
German forces in France reported losses of 158,930 men between D-Day and August 14, just before the start of Operation Dragoon in Southern France. In action at the Falaise pocket, 50,000 men were lost, of whom 10,000 were killed and 40,000 captured.<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342-343.</ref> Sources vary on the total German casualties. Niklas Zetterling, on examining German records, places the total German casualties suffered in Normandy and facing the Dragoon landings to be 288,695.<ref>Zetterling, 77.</ref> Other sources arrive at higher estimates: 400,000 (200,000 killed or wounded and a further 200,000 captured),<ref>Whitmarsh, 109.</ref> 500,000 (290,000 killed or wounded, 210,000 captured),<ref>Wilmot, 434.</ref> to 530,000 in total.<ref>Giangreco, Moore and Polmar, 252.</ref>
 
German forces in France reported losses of 158,930 men between D-Day and August 14, just before the start of Operation Dragoon in Southern France. In action at the Falaise pocket, 50,000 men were lost, of whom 10,000 were killed and 40,000 captured.<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342-343.</ref> Sources vary on the total German casualties. Niklas Zetterling, on examining German records, places the total German casualties suffered in Normandy and facing the Dragoon landings to be 288,695.<ref>Zetterling, 77.</ref> Other sources arrive at higher estimates: 400,000 (200,000 killed or wounded and a further 200,000 captured),<ref>Whitmarsh, 109.</ref> 500,000 (290,000 killed or wounded, 210,000 captured),<ref>Wilmot, 434.</ref> to 530,000 in total.<ref>Giangreco, Moore and Polmar, 252.</ref>
  
There are no exact figures regarding German tank losses in Normandy. Approximately 2,300 tanks and assault guns were committed to the battle,<ref>The most common tank/assault gun deployed at Normandy by the Germans was by far the Panzer IV, followed by the Panther (650) and Stug III (550). Also present were 120–130 Tiger Is, 20 Tiger 2s, and smaller numbers of other types, including Marders and Jagdpanthers.</ref> of which only 100 to 120 crossed the Seine at the end of the campaign. While German forces reported only 481 tanks destroyed between D-day and July 31, research conducted by [[Operations research|No. 2 Operational Research Section]] of 21st Army Group indicates that the Allies destroyed around 550 tanks in June and July<ref>Shulman, 166.</ref> and another 500 in August,<ref>Copp, 2000, 399–400.</ref> for a total of 1,050 tanks destroyed, including 100 destroyed by aircraft.<ref>Zetterling, 408.</ref> Luftwaffe losses amounted to 2,127 aircraft.<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342–343.</ref> By the end of the Normandy campaign, 55 German divisions (42 infantry and 13 panzer) had been rendered combat ineffective; seven of these were disbanded. By September, OB West had only 13 infantry divisions, 3 panzer divisions, and 2 panzer brigades rated as combat effective.<ref>Stephen J. Zaloga, ''Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II'' (Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 2015, ISBN 978-0811761130), 470.</ref>
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There are no exact figures regarding German tank losses in Normandy. Approximately 2,300 tanks and assault guns were committed to the battle,<ref>The most common tank/assault gun deployed at Normandy by the Germans was by far the Panzer IV, followed by the Panther (650) and Stug III (550). Also present were 120–130 Tiger Is, 20 Tiger 2s, and smaller numbers of other types, including Marders and Jagdpanthers.</ref> of which only 100 to 120 crossed the Seine at the end of the campaign. While German forces reported only 481 tanks destroyed between D-day and July 31, research conducted by [[Operations research|No. 2 Operational Research Section]] of 21st Army Group indicates that the Allies destroyed around 550 tanks in June and July<ref>Shulman, 166.</ref> and another 500 in August,<ref>Copp 2000, 399–400.</ref> for a total of 1,050 tanks destroyed, including 100 destroyed by aircraft.<ref>Zetterling, 408.</ref> Luftwaffe losses amounted to 2,127 aircraft.<ref>Tamelander and Zetterling, 342–343.</ref> By the end of the Normandy campaign, 55 German divisions (42 infantry and 13 panzer) had been rendered combat ineffective; seven of these were disbanded. By September, OB West had only 13 infantry divisions, 3 panzer divisions, and 2 panzer brigades rated as combat effective.<ref>Stephen J. Zaloga, ''Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II'' (Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 2015, ISBN 978-0811761130), 470.</ref>
  
 
=== Civilians and French heritage buildings ===
 
=== Civilians and French heritage buildings ===
During the liberation of Normandy, between 13,632 and 19,890 French civilians were killed,<ref>Flint, 336–337.</ref> and more were seriously wounded. In addition to those who died during the campaign, 11,000 to 19,000 Normans are estimated to have been killed during pre-invasion bombing. A total of 70,000 French civilians were killed throughout the course of the war.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 519.</ref> [[Land mine]]s and [[unexploded ordnance]] continued to inflict casualties upon the Norman population following the end of the campaign.<ref>Flint, 305.</ref>
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During the liberation of Normandy, between 13,632 and 19,890 French civilians were killed,<ref>Flint, 336–337.</ref> and more were seriously wounded. In addition to those who died during the campaign, 11,000 to 19,000 Normans are estimated to have been killed during pre-invasion bombing. A total of 70,000 French civilians were killed throughout the course of the war.<ref>Beevor 2009, 519.</ref> [[Land mine]]s and [[unexploded ordnance]] continued to inflict casualties upon the Norman population following the end of the campaign.<ref>Flint, 305.</ref>
  
[[File:The Allied Campaign in North-west Europe, 6 June 1944 - 7 May 1945 B6794.jpg|thumb|left|A British soldier escorts an elderly lady in [[Caen]], July 1944]]
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[[File:The Allied Campaign in North-west Europe, 6 June 1944 - 7 May 1945 B6794.jpg|thumb|right|400px|A British soldier escorts an elderly lady in [[Caen]], July 1944]]
  
Prior to the invasion, SHAEF issued instructions (later the basis for the [[Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict|1954 Hague Convention Protocol I]]) emphasizing the need to limit the destruction to French heritage sites. These sites, named in the Official Civil Affairs Lists of Monuments, were not to be used by troops unless permission was received from the upper echelons of the chain of command.<ref>Flint, 350.</ref> Nevertheless, church spires and other stone buildings throughout the area were damaged or destroyed to prevent them being used by the Germans.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 520.</ref> Efforts were made to prevent reconstruction workers from using rubble from important ruins to repair roads, and to search for artefacts. The [[Bayeux tapestry]] and other important cultural treasures had been stored at the Château de Sourches near Le Mans from the start of the war, and survived intact. The occupying German forces also kept a list of protected buildings, but their intent was to keep the facilities in good condition for use as accommodation by German troops.<ref>Flint, 352-354.</ref>
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Prior to the invasion, SHAEF issued instructions (later the basis for the [[Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict|1954 Hague Convention Protocol I]]) emphasizing the need to limit the destruction to French heritage sites. These sites, named in the Official Civil Affairs Lists of Monuments, were not to be used by troops unless permission was received from the upper echelons of the chain of command.<ref>Flint, 350.</ref> Nevertheless, church spires and other stone buildings throughout the area were damaged or destroyed to prevent them being used by the Germans.<ref>Beevor 2009, 520.</ref> Efforts were made to prevent reconstruction workers from using rubble from important ruins to repair roads, and to search for artefacts. The [[Bayeux tapestry]] and other important cultural treasures had been stored at the Château de Sourches near Le Mans from the start of the war, and survived intact. The occupying German forces also kept a list of protected buildings, but their intent was to keep the facilities in good condition for use as accommodation by German troops.<ref>Flint, 352-354.</ref>
  
 
Many cities and towns in Normandy were totally devastated by the fighting and bombings. By the end of the [[Battle of Caen]] there remained only 8,000 livable quarters for a population of over 60,000.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 520.</ref> Of the 18 listed churches in Caen, four were seriously damaged and five were destroyed, along with 66 other listed monuments. In the [[Calvados (department)|Calvados]] department (location of the Normandy beachhead), 76,000 citizens were rendered homeless. Of Caen's 210 pre-war Jewish population, only one survived the war.<ref>Flint, 337.</ref>
 
Many cities and towns in Normandy were totally devastated by the fighting and bombings. By the end of the [[Battle of Caen]] there remained only 8,000 livable quarters for a population of over 60,000.<ref>Beevor, 2009, 520.</ref> Of the 18 listed churches in Caen, four were seriously damaged and five were destroyed, along with 66 other listed monuments. In the [[Calvados (department)|Calvados]] department (location of the Normandy beachhead), 76,000 citizens were rendered homeless. Of Caen's 210 pre-war Jewish population, only one survived the war.<ref>Flint, 337.</ref>
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== War memorials and tourism ==
 
== War memorials and tourism ==
[[File:Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery -7.JPG|thumb|The [[Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery]] ]]
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[[File:Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery -7.JPG|thumb|400px|The [[Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery]] ]]
 
The beaches of Normandy are still known by their invasion code names. Significant places have plaques, memorials, or small museums, and guide books and maps are available. Some of the German strong points remain preserved; Pointe du Hoc in particular is little changed from 1944. The remains of Mulberry harbor B still sits in the sea at Arromanches. Several [[List of military cemeteries in Normandy|large cemeteries in the area]] serve as the final resting place for many of the Allied and German soldiers killed in the Normandy campaign.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 345–354.</ref>
 
The beaches of Normandy are still known by their invasion code names. Significant places have plaques, memorials, or small museums, and guide books and maps are available. Some of the German strong points remain preserved; Pointe du Hoc in particular is little changed from 1944. The remains of Mulberry harbor B still sits in the sea at Arromanches. Several [[List of military cemeteries in Normandy|large cemeteries in the area]] serve as the final resting place for many of the Allied and German soldiers killed in the Normandy campaign.<ref>Ford and Zaloga, 345–354.</ref>
[[File:Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, June 2012.jpg|thumb|Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial]]
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[[File:Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, June 2012.jpg|thumb|400px|Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial]]
 
Above the English channel on a bluff at Omaha Beach, the [[Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial]] has hosted numerous visitors each year. The site covers 172.5 [[acres]], and contains the remains of 9,388 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942 and four American women.<ref>[https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/38/Normandy-American-Cemetery-and-Memorial.htm "Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial,"] ''tracesofwar.com''. Retrieved January 27, 2021.</ref>
 
Above the English channel on a bluff at Omaha Beach, the [[Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial]] has hosted numerous visitors each year. The site covers 172.5 [[acres]], and contains the remains of 9,388 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942 and four American women.<ref>[https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/38/Normandy-American-Cemetery-and-Memorial.htm "Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial,"] ''tracesofwar.com''. Retrieved January 27, 2021.</ref>
  
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* Buckingham, William F. ''D-Day: The First 72 Hours''. Stroad, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus, 2004. ISBN 978-0752428420
 
* Buckingham, William F. ''D-Day: The First 72 Hours''. Stroad, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus, 2004. ISBN 978-0752428420
 
* Buckley, John. ''British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944''. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England: Taylor & Francis, 2006 (original 2004). ISBN 0415407737
 
* Buckley, John. ''British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944''. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England: Taylor & Francis, 2006 (original 2004). ISBN 0415407737
* Churchill, Winston. ''Their Finest Hour'', The Second World War, volume II. Mariner Books, 1986. ISBN 978-0395410561
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* Churchill, Winston. ''Their Finest Hour'', The Second World War, volume II. Mariner Books, 1986 (0riginal 1951). ISBN 978-0395410561
* Churchill, Winston. ''Closing the Ring'', The Second World War, volume V. Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985. ISBN 978-0140086157
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* Churchill, Winston. ''Closing the Ring'', The Second World War, volume V. Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985 (original 1949). ISBN 978-0140086157
* Copp, J. Terry, ''Montgomery's Scientists: Operational Research in Northwest Europe: The Work of No. 2 Operational Research Section with 21 Army Group, June 1944 to July 1945''. Waterloo, Ontario: Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2000, ISBN 978-0969795599
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* Copp, J. Terry. ''Montgomery's Scientists: Operational Research in Northwest Europe: The Work of No. 2 Operational Research Section with 21 Army Group, June 1944 to July 1945''. Waterloo, Ontario: Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2000, ISBN 978-0969795599
* Copp, J. Terry, ''Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy''. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 0802037305
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* Copp, J. Terry. ''Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy''. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 0802037305
* Corta, Henry, ''Les bérets rouges (The Red Berets)''. Paris, France: Amicale des anciens parachutistes SAS, 1952, OCLC 8226637
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* Corta, Henry. ''Qui ose gagne (Who dares, wins)''. Vincennes, France: Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, 1997. ISBN 2863231030
* Corta, Henry, ''Qui ose gagne (Who dares, wins)''. Vincennes, France: Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, 1997, ISBN 2863231030
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* Dear, I.C.B., and M.R.D. Foot. ''The Oxford Companion to World War II''. Oxford, England, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005 (original 1995). ISBN 978-0192806666
* Dear, I.C.B., M.R.D. Foot, ''The Oxford Companion to World War II''. Oxford, England, New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 (original 1995), ISBN 978-0192806666
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* D'Este, Carlo. ''Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign''. London, England: Penguin, 2004 (original 1983). ISBN 0141017619
* D'Este, Carlo, ''Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign''. London, England: Penguin, 2004 (original 1983) ISBN 0141017619
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* Ellis, L.F., Allen, G.R.G., Warhurst, A.E., and James Ramsay Montagu Butler (eds.). ''Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy''. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series London, England: Naval & Military Press, 2004 (orginal 1962). ISBN 1845740580
* Ellis, L.F., Allen, G.R.G., Warhurst,  A.E.,  James Ramsay Montagu Butler ed., ''Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy''. 2004 (orginal 1962), History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series London, England: Naval & Military Press, ISBN 1845740580
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* Evans, Richard J. ''The Third Reich at War''. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008. ISBN 978-0143116714
* Evans, Richard J., ''The Third Reich at War''. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008, ISBN 978-0143116714
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* Flint, Edward R. ''The development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British Sector of Allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944''. Cranfield, Bedford, England: Cranfield University; Cranfield Defence and Security School, Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Security and Resilience Group, 2009. {{OCLC|757064836}}
* Fenton, Ben, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1460267/The-disaster-that-could-have-scuppered-Overlord.html "The disaster that could have scuppered Overlord,"] ''The Telegraph'' (26 April 2004). Retrieved January 13, 2021.
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* Ford, Ken, and Steven J. Zaloga. ''Overlord: The D-Day Landings''. Oxford, England; New York, NY: Osprey, 2009. ISBN 978-1846034244
* Flint, Edward R., ''The development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British Sector of Allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944''. Cranfield, Bedford, England: Cranfield University; Cranfield Defence and Security School, Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Security and Resilience Group, 2009, OCLC 757064836
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* Forty, George. ''Villers Bocage'', Battle Zone Normandy. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0750930128
* Ford, Ken, Zaloga Steven J, ''Overlord: The D-Day Landings''. Oxford, England; New York, NY: Osprey, 2009, ISBN 978-1846034244
+
* Gaddis, John Lewis. ''Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States: An Interpretive History''. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1990 (original 1972). ISBN 978-0075572589
* Forty, George, ''Villers Bocage'', Battle Zone Normandy. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0750930128
+
* Giangreco, Dennis, Kathryn Moore, and Norman Polmar. ''Eyewitness D-Day: Firsthand Accounts from the Landing at Normandy to the Liberation of Paris''. New York, NY: Sterling, 2004. ISBN 978-0760750452
* Gaddis, John Lewis, ''Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States: An Interpretive History''. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1990 (original 1972), ISBN 978-0075572589
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* Gilbert, Martin. ''The Second World War: A Complete History''. New York, NY: H. Holt, 1989. ISBN 978-0805017885
* Giangreco, Dennis, Moore, Kathryn, Polmar, Norman, ''Eyewitness D-Day: Firsthand Accounts from the Landing at Normandy to the Liberation of Paris''. New York, NY: Sterling, 2004, ISBN 978-0760750452
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* Goldstein, Donald M., Katherine V. Dillon, nnd J. Michael Wenger. ''D-Day: The Story and Photographs''. McLean, VA: Brassey's, 1994. ISBN 0028810570
* Gilbert, Martin, ''The Second World War: A Complete History''. New York, NY: H. Holt, 1989, ISBN 978-0805017885
+
* Hastings, Max. ''Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy''. New York, NY: Vintage, 2006 (original 1985). ISBN 030727571X
* Goldstein, Donald M., Dillon, Katherine V., Wenger, J. Michael, ''D-Day: The Story and Photographs''. McLean, Virginia: Brassey's, 1994, ISBN 0028810570
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* Horn, Bernd. ''Men of Steel: Canadian Paratroopers in Normandy, 1944''. Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1554887088
* Hastings, Max, ''Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy''. New York, NY: Vintage, 2006 (original 1985), ISBN 030727571X
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* Hughes, Thomas Alexander. ''Overload: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World II''. Free Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0743247832
* Horn, Bernd, ''Men of Steel: Canadian Paratroopers in Normandy, 1944''. Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1554887088
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* Liedtke, Gregory, "Lost in the Mud: The (Nearly) Forgotten Collapse of the German Army in the Western Ukraine, March and April 1944," ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies'' 28(1) January 2, 2015, 215–238.
* Hughes, Thomas Alexander, ''Overlord: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical A''. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2010, ISBN 978-1439118535
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* Pogue, Forrest C. ''United States Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations: The Supreme Command'' Chapter XIV: The Pursuit Stops Short of the Rhine, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1954.
* Liedtke, Gregory, "Lost in the Mud: The (Nearly) Forgotten Collapse of the German Army in the Western Ukraine, March and April 1944," ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies'' 28 (1) January 2, 2015, 215–238
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* Shulman, Milton. ''Defeat in the West''. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger, 2007 (original 1947). ISBN 978-0548439487
* [https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/38/Normandy-American-Cemetery-and-Memorial.htm "Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial,"] ''tracesofwar.com''. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
+
* Stacey, Charles Perry. ''The Canadian Army 1939–45: A Historical Summary''. Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1948.
* Pogue, Forrest C., ''United States Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations: The Supreme Command'' Chapter XIV: The Pursuit Stops Short of the Rhine, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1954.
+
* Stacey, Charles Perry. ''The Victory Campaign, The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945''. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Vol. III. Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1960.
* Shulman, Milton, ''Defeat in the West''. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger, 2007 (original 1947), ISBN 978-0548439487
+
* Tamelander, Michael, and Niklas Zetterling. ''Avgörandets Ögonblick: Invasionen i Normandie'' (Determining the Decisive Moments: The Invasion of Normandy). Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 2003 (original 1995).
* Stacey, Charles Perry, ''The Canadian Army 1939–45: A Historical Summary''. Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1948.
+
* Viganò, Marino. ''Il Ministero degli affari esteri e le relazioni internazionali della Repubblica Sociale Italiana (1943–1945)''. Milano, Italy: Jaca Book, 1991. ISBN 978-8816950818
* Stacey, Charles Perry, ''The Victory Campaign, The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945''. [[Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War]], Vol. III. Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1960.
+
* Weinberg, Gerhard..''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (original 1993), ISBN 978-0521558792
* Tamelander, Michael, Zetterling, Niklas, ''Avgörandets Ögonblick: Invasionen i Normandie'' (Determining the Decisive Moments: The Invasion of Normandy). Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 2003 (original 1995) ISBN 978-9113012049
+
* Whitmarsh, Andrew. ''D-Day in Photographs''. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: History Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0752450957
* Viganò, Marino, ''Il Ministero degli affari esteri e le relazioni internazionali della Repubblica Sociale Italiana (1943–1945)''. Milano, Italy: Jaca Book, 1991, ISBN 978-8816950818
+
* Williams, Jeffery. ''The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945''. Toronto, Canada: Stoddart, 1988, ISBN 0773721940
* Weinberg, Gerhard, ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (original 1993), ISBN 978-0521558792
+
* Williams, Paul. ''Hitler's Atlantic Wall: Pas De Calais''. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2013. ISBN 978-1848848177
* Whitmarsh, Andrew, ''D-Day in Photographs''. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752450957
+
* Wilmot, Chester. ''The Struggle For Europe''. Ware, Hertfordshire, England: Wordsworth Editions, 1997 (original 1952). ISBN 978-1568525259
* Williams, Jeffery, ''The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945''. Toronto, Canada: Stoddart, 1988, ISBN 0773721940
+
* Zaloga, Steven J..''The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day''. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0811712286
* Williams, Paul, ''Hitler's Atlantic Wall: Pas De Calais''. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2013,  978-1848848177
+
* Zaloga, Steven J. ''Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II''. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2015. ISBN 978-0811761130
* Wilmot, Chester, ''The Struggle For Europe''. Ware, Hertfordshire, England: Wordsworth Editions, 1997 (original 1952), ISBN 853266779
+
* Zetterling, Niklas. ''Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness''. Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0921991568
* Zaloga, Steven J., ''The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day''. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0811712286
+
* Zuehlke, Mark. ''Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944''. Vancouver, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004. ISBN 1553650506
* Zaloga, Steven J., ''Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II''. Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 2015, ISBN 978-0811761130
 
* Zetterling, Niklas, ''Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness''.  Winnipeg, Canada: [[J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing|J.J. Fedorowicz]], 2000, ISBN 0921991568
 
* Zuehlke, Mark, ''Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944''. Vancouver, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004, ISBN 1553650506
 
{{refend}}
 
  
 
== Further reading ==
 
== Further reading ==

Latest revision as of 21:54, 26 January 2022


Operation Overlord
Part of the Western Front of World War II
NormandySupply edit.jpg
LCT with barrage balloons afloat, unloading supplies on Omaha for the break-out from Normandy
Date June 6 – August 30, 1944
(2 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days)
Location Northern France
Result Allied victory
Combatants
Axis
Flag of Nazi Germany Germany
Flag of Italy Italian Social Republic[9]
Commanders
  • Flag of United States Dwight D. Eisenhower
    (Supreme Allied Commander)
  • Flag of United Kingdom Arthur Tedder
    (Deputy Supreme Allied Commander)
  • Flag of United Kingdom Bernard Montgomery
    (Ground Forces Commander in Chief)
  • Flag of United Kingdom Trafford Leigh-Mallory
    (Air Commander in Chief)
  • Flag of United Kingdom Bertram Ramsay
    (Naval Commander in Chief)
Strength
  • 1,452,000 troops (by 25 July)[10]
  • 2,052,299 (by the end of August)[11]
  • 380,000 troops (by 23 July)[12]
  • ~640,000 troops total[13]
  • 2,200[14] – 2,500 tanks and assault guns[15]
Casualties
  • 288,695[20] to 530,000[21] casualties
  • 2,127 aircraft[22]
  • 1,500[23] to 2,400 tanks and assault guns lost[24]
Civilian deaths:
  • 11,000–19,000 killed in pre-invasion bombing[25]
  • 13,632–19,890 killed during invasion[26]
  • Total: 25,000–39,000 killed

Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on June 6, 1944 with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on June 6, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.

The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and General Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasion. The coast of Normandy of northwestern France was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed Utah and Omaha, the British at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno. To meet the conditions expected on the Normandy beachhead, special technology was developed, including two artificial ports called Mulberry harbors and an array of specialized tanks nicknamed Hobart's Funnies. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted Operation Bodyguard, a substantial military deception that used electronic and visual misinformation to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. Führer Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along Hitler's proclaimed Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion.

The Allies failed to accomplish their objectives for the first day, but gained a tenuous foothold that they gradually expanded when they captured the port at Cherbourg on June 26 and the city of Caen on July 21. A failed counterattack by German forces on August 8 left 50,000 soldiers of the 7th Army trapped in the Falaise pocket. The Allies launched a second invasion from the Mediterranean Sea of southern France (code-named Operation Dragoon) on August 15, and the Liberation of Paris followed on August 25. German forces retreated east across the Seine on August 30, 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord.

Preparations for D-Day

In June 1940, Germany's leader Adolf Hitler had triumphed in what he called "the most famous victory in history"—the fall of France.[27] British craft evacuated to England over 338,000 Allied troops trapped along the northern coast of France (including much of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF)) in the Dunkirk evacuation (May 27 to June 4).[28] British planners reported to Prime Minister Winston Churchill on October 4 that even with the help of other Commonwealth countries and the United States, it would not be possible to regain a foothold in continental Europe in the near future.[29] After the Axis invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing for a second front in Western Europe. Churchill declined because he felt that even with American help the British did not have adequate forces for such a strike,[30] and he wished to avoid costly frontal assaults such as those that had occurred at the Somme and Passchendaele in World War I.[31] Two tentative plans code-named Operation Roundup and Operation Sledgehammer were put forward for 1942–43, but neither was deemed by the British to be practical or likely to succeed.[32] Instead, the Allies expanded their activity in the Mediterranean, launching the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and invading Italy in September.[33] These campaigns provided the troops with valuable experience in amphibious warfare.[34]

Attendees at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943 took the decision to launch a cross-Channel invasion within the next year. Churchill favored making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the Mediterranean theater, but the Americans, who were providing the bulk of the men and equipment, over-ruled him. British Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), to begin detailed planning.[35] The initial plans were constrained by the number of available landing-craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific.[36] In part because of lessons learned in the Dieppe Raid of August 19, 1942, the Allies decided not to directly assault a heavily defended French seaport in their first landing.[37] The failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly close air support, and specialized ships able to travel extremely close to shore.[38] The short operating-range of British aircraft such as the Spitfire and Typhoon greatly limited the number of potential landing-sites, as comprehensive air-support depended upon having planes overhead for as long as possible.[39] Morgan considered four sites for the landings: Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, and the Pas de Calais. As Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, the Germans could have cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected.[40]

US Army M4 Sherman tanks loaded in a landing craft tank (LCT), ready for the invasion of France, c. late May or early June 1944

Pas de Calais, the closest point in continental Europe to Britain, was the location of launch sites for V-1 and V-2 rockets, then still under development.[41] The Germans regarded it as the most likely initial landing zone, and accordingly made it the most heavily fortified region.[42] It offered the Allies few opportunities for expansion, however, as the area is bounded by numerous rivers and canals,[43] whereas landings on a broad front in Normandy would permit simultaneous threats against the port of Cherbourg, coastal ports further west in Brittany, and an overland attack towards Paris and eventually into Germany. Normandy was therefore chosen as the landing site.[44] The most serious drawback of the Normandy coast—the lack of port facilities—would be overcome through the development of artificial harbors.[45]

The COSSAC staff planned to begin the invasion on May 1, 1944.[46] The initial draft of the plan was accepted at the Quebec Conference in August 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).[47] General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all of the land forces involved in the invasion. On December 31, 1943, Eisenhower and Montgomery first saw the COSSAC plan, which proposed amphibious landings by three divisions, with two more divisions in support. The two generals immediately insisted on expanding the scale of the initial invasion to five divisions, with airborne descents by three additional divisions, to allow operations on a wider front and to speed up the capture of the port at Cherbourg. The need to acquire or produce extra landing craft for the expanded operation meant delaying the invasion until June 1944.[48] Eventually the Allies committed 39 divisions to the Battle of Normandy: 22 American, 12 British, three Canadian, one Polish, and one French, totaling over a million troops[49] all under overall British command.[50][51]

Allied invasion plan

D-day assault routes into Normandy

"Overlord" was the name assigned to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement on the Continent.[52] The first phase, the amphibious invasion and establishment of a secure foothold, was code-named Operation Neptune. To gain the required air superiority needed to ensure a successful invasion, the Allies launched a bombing campaign (codenamed Operation Pointblank) to target German aircraft-production, fuel supplies, and airfields. Under the Transport Plan, communications infrastructure and road and rail links were bombed to cut off the north of France and to make it more difficult to bring up reinforcements. These attacks were widespread so as to avoid revealing the exact location of the invasion,[53] and elaborate deceptions were planned to prevent the Germans from determining the timing as well.[54]

The coastline of Normandy was divided into seventeen sectors, with codenames using a spelling alphabet—from Able, west of Omaha, to Roger on the east flank of Sword. Eight further sectors were added when the invasion was extended to include Utah on the Cotentin Peninsula. Sectors were further subdivided into beaches identified by the colors Green, Red, and White.[55]

Allied planners envisaged preceding the sea-borne landings with airborne drops: near Caen on the eastern flank to secure the Orne River bridges, and north of Carentan on the western flank. The initial goal was to capture Carentan, Isigny, Bayeux, and Caen. The Americans, assigned to land at Utah and Omaha, were to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture the port facilities at Cherbourg. The British at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno, were to capture Caen and form a front line from Caumont-l'Éventé to the south-east of Caen in order to protect the American flank, while establishing airfields near Caen. Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give the Anglo-Canadian forces a suitable staging area for a push south to capture the town of Falaise. A secure lodgement would be established and an attempt made to hold all territory captured north of the Avranches-Falaise line during the first three weeks. The Allied armies would then swing left to advance towards the River Seine.[56][57]

The invasion fleet, led by Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, was split into the Western Naval Task Force (under Admiral Alan G Kirk) supporting the American sectors and the Eastern Naval Task Force (under Admiral Sir Philip Vian) in the British and Canadian sectors.[58][59] The American forces of the First Army, led by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, were comprised of VII Corps (Utah) and V Corps (Omaha). On the British side, Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey commanded the Second Army, under which XXX Corps was assigned to Gold and I Corps to Juno and Sword.[60] Land forces were under the overall command of Montgomery, and air command was assigned to Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.[61] The First Canadian Army included personnel and units from Poland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.[62] Other Allied nations also participated.[63]

Reconnaissance

Air plan for the Allied landing in Normandy

The Allied Expeditionary Air Force undertook over 3,200 photo-reconnaissance sorties from April 1944 until the start of the invasion. Photos of the coastline were taken at extremely low altitude to show the invaders the terrain, obstacles on the beach, and defensive structures such as bunkers and gun emplacements. To avoid alerting the Germans as to the location of the invasion, this work had to be undertaken over the entire European coastline. Inland terrain, bridges, troop emplacements, and buildings were also photographed, in many cases from several angles, to give the Allies as much information as possible.[64] Members of Combined Operations Pilotage Parties clandestinely prepared detailed harbor maps, including depth soundings.[65]

An appeal for holiday pictures and postcards of Europe announced on the BBC produced over ten million items, some of which proved useful. Information collected by the French resistance helped provide details on Axis troop movements and on construction techniques used by the Germans for bunkers and other defensive installations.[66]

Many German radio messages were encoded using the Enigma machine and other enciphering techniques and the codes were changed frequently. A team of code breakers stationed at Bletchley Park worked to break codes as quickly as possible to provide advance information on German plans and troop movements. British military intelligence code-named this information Ultra intelligence as it could only be provided to the top level of commanders. The Enigma code used by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, Oberbefehlshaber West (Supreme Commander West; OB West), commander of the Western Front, was broken by the end of March. German intelligence changed the Enigma codes right after the Allied landings of June 6 but by June 17 the Allies were again consistently able to read them.[67]

Technology

Remains of Mulberry harbour B at Arromanches-les-Bains (Gold) as seen in 1990

In response to the lessons learned at the disastrous Dieppe Raid, the Allies developed new technologies to help ensure the success of Overlord. To supplement the preliminary offshore bombardment and aerial assaults, some of the landing craft were equipped with artillery and anti-tank guns to provide close supporting fire. The Allies had decided not to immediately attack any of the heavily protected French ports and two artificial ports, called Mulberry harbors, were designed by COSSAC planners. Each assembly consisted of a floating outer breakwater, inner concrete caissons (called Phoenix breakwaters) and several floating piers.[68] The Mulberry harbors were supplemented by blockship shelters (codenamed "Gooseberries").[69] With the expectation that fuel would be difficult or impossible to obtain on the continent, the Allies built a "Pipe-Line Under The Ocean" (PLUTO). Specially developed pipes 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter were to be laid under the Channel from the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg by D-Day plus 18. Technical problems and the delay in capturing Cherbourg meant the pipeline was not operational until 22 September. A second line was laid from Dungeness to Boulogne in late October.[70]

The British military built a series of specialized tanks, nicknamed Hobart's Funnies, to deal with conditions expected during the Normandy campaign. Developed under the supervision of Major-General Percy Hobart, these were specially modified M4 Sherman and Churchill tanks. Examples include the Sherman Crab tank (equipped with a mine flail), the Churchill Crocodile (a flame-throwing tank), and the Armored Ramp Carrier, which other tanks could use as a bridge to scale sea-walls or to overcome other obstacles.[71] In some areas, the beaches consisted of a soft clay that could not support the weight of tanks. The "bobbin" tank would overcome this problem by deploying a roll of matting over the soft surface and leaving the material in place as a route for more conventional tanks.[72] The Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVREs) were modified for many tasks, including laying bridges and firing large charges into pillboxes.[73] The Duplex-Drive tank (DD tank), another design developed by Hobart's group, was a self-propelled amphibious tank kept afloat using a waterproof canvas screen inflated with compressed air.[74] These tanks were easily swamped, and on D-Day many sank before reaching the shore, especially at Omaha.[75]

Deception

In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted Operation Bodyguard, the overall strategy designed to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings.[76] Operation Fortitude included Fortitude North, a misinformation campaign using fake radio-traffic to lead the Germans into expecting an attack on Norway,[77] and Fortitude South, a major deception designed to fool the Germans into believing that the landings would take place at Pas de Calais in July. A fictitious First U.S. Army Group was invented, supposedly located in Kent and Sussex under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton. The Allies constructed dummy tanks, trucks, and landing craft, and positioned them near the coast. Several military units, including II Canadian Corps and 2nd Canadian Division, moved into the area to bolster the illusion that a large force was gathering there.[78] As well as the broadcast of fake radio-traffic, genuine radio messages from 21st Army Group were first routed to Kent via landline and then broadcast, to give the Germans the impression that most of the Allied troops were stationed there.[79] Patton remained stationed in England until July 6, thus continuing to deceive the Germans into believing a second attack would take place at Calais.[80] Military and civilian personnel alike were aware of the need for secrecy, and the invasion troops were as much as possible kept isolated, especially in the period immediately before the invasion. One American general was sent back to the United States in disgrace after revealing the invasion date at a party.[81]

The Germans thought they had an extensive network of spies operating in the UK, but in fact all their agents had been captured, and some had become double agents working for the Allies as part of the Double-Cross System. The double agent Juan Pujol García, a Spanish opponent of the Nazis known by the code name "Garbo," developed over the two years leading up to D-Day a fake network of informants that the Germans believed were collecting intelligence on their behalf. In the months preceding D-Day, Pujol sent hundreds of messages to his superiors in Madrid, messages specially prepared by the British intelligence service to convince the Germans that the attack would come in July at Calais.[82]

Many of the German radar stations on the French coast were destroyed by the RAF in preparation for the landings.[83] On the night before the invasion, in Operation Taxable, 617 Squadron (the famous "Dambusters", along dropped strips of "window," metal foil that caused a radar return mistakenly interpreted by German radar operators as a naval convoy approaching Cap d'Antifer (about 80 km from the actual D-Day landings). The illusion was bolstered by a group of small vessels towing barrage balloons. No. 218 Squadron RAF also dropped "window" near Boulogne-sur-Mer in Operation Glimmer. On the same night, a small group of Special Air Service (SAS) operators deployed dummy paratroopers over Le Havre and Isigny. These dummies led the Germans to believe an additional airborne assault had occurred.[84]

Rehearsals and security

Training exercise with live ammunition

Training exercises for the Overlord landings took place as early as July 1943.[85] As the nearby beach resembled the planned Normandy landing-site, the town of Slapton in Devon, was evacuated in December 1943, and taken over by the armed forces as a site for training exercises that included the use of landing craft and the management of beach obstacles.[86] A friendly fire incident there on April 27, 1944 resulted in as many as 450 deaths.[87] The following day, an additional estimated 749 American soldiers and sailors died when German torpedo-boats surprised members of Assault Force "U" conducting Exercise Tiger.[88][89] Exercises with landing craft and live ammunition also took place at the Combined Training Centre in Inveraray in Scotland.[90] Naval exercises took place in Northern Ireland, and medical teams in London and elsewhere rehearsed how they would handle the expected waves of casualties. Paratroopers conducted exercises, including a huge demonstration drop on March 23, 1944 observed by Churchill, Eisenhower, and other top officials.[91]

Allied planners considered tactical surprise to be a necessary element of the plan for the landings.[92] Information on the exact date and location of the landings was provided only to the topmost levels of the armed forces. Men were sealed into their marshalling areas at the end of May, with no further communication with the outside world. Troops were briefed using maps that were correct in every detail except for the place names, and most were not told their actual destination until they were already at sea.[93] A news blackout in Britain increased the effectiveness of the deception operations.[94] Travel to and from the Republic of Ireland was banned, and movement within several kilometers of the coast of England restricted.[95]

Weather forecasting

Men of the British 22nd Independent Parachute Company, 6th Airborne Division being briefed for the invasion, 4–5 June 1944

The invasion planners specified a set of conditions regarding the timing of the invasion, deeming only a few days in each month suitable. A full moon was desirable, as it would provide illumination for aircraft pilots and have the highest tides. The Allies wanted to schedule the landings for shortly before dawn, midway between low and high tide, with the tide coming in. This would improve the visibility of obstacles the enemy had placed on the beach while minimising the amount of time the men had to spend exposed in the open. Specific criteria were also set for wind speed, visibility, and cloud cover.[96] Eisenhower had tentatively selected June 5 as the date for the assault. However, on June 4, conditions were clearly unsuitable for a landing; high winds and heavy seas made it impossible to launch landing craft, and low clouds would prevent aircraft from finding their targets.[97]

By the evening of June 4, the Allied meteorological team, headed by Group Captain James Stagg of the Royal Air Force, predicted that the weather would improve sufficiently so that the invasion could go ahead on 6 June. He met Eisenhower and other senior commanders at their headquarters at Southwick House in Hampshire to discuss the situation.[98] General Montgomery and Major General Walter Bedell Smith, Eisenhower's chief of staff, were eager to launch the invasion. Admiral Bertram Ramsay was prepared to commit his ships, while Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory expressed concern that the conditions would be unfavorable for Allied aircraft. After much discussion, Eisenhower decided that the invasion should go ahead.[99] Allied control of the Atlantic meant that German meteorologists did not have access to as much information as the Allies on incoming weather patterns.[100] As the Luftwaffe meteorological center in Paris predicted two weeks of stormy weather, many Wehrmacht commanders left their posts to attend war games in Rennes, and men in many units were given leave.[101] Marshal Erwin Rommel returned to Germany for his wife's birthday and to meet Hitler to try to get more Panzers.[102]

Had Eisenhower postponed the invasion, the next available period with the right combination of tides (but without the desirable full moon) was two weeks later, from June 18 to 20. As it happened, during this period the invaders would have encountered a major storm lasting four days, between June 19 and 22, that would have made the initial landings impossible.[103]

German preparations and defenses

German troops of the Indian Legion on the Atlantic Wall in France, 21 March 1944

Nazi Germany had at its disposal 50 divisions in France and the Low Countries, with another 18 stationed in Denmark and Norway.[104] Fifteen divisions were in the process of formation in Germany, but there was no strategic reserve.[105] The Calais region was defended by the 15th Army under Generaloberst (Colonel General) Hans von Salmuth, and Normandy by the 7th Army commanded by Generaloberst Friedrich Dollmann. Combat losses throughout the war, particularly on the Eastern Front, meant the Germans no longer had a pool of able young men from which to draw. German soldiers were now on average six years older than their Allied counterparts. Many in the Normandy area were Ostlegionen (eastern legions)—conscripts and "volunteers" from Turkestan,[106] Russia, Mongolia, and elsewhere. The Wehrmacht had provided them mainly with unreliable captured equipment; they lacked motorized transport.[107] Formations that arrived later, such as the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, were for the most part younger and far better equipped and trained than the static troops stationed along the coast.[108]

In early 1944, OB West was significantly weakened by personnel and materiel transfers to the Eastern Front. During the Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive (December 24, 1943 – April 17, 1944), the German High Command was forced to transfer the entire II SS Panzer Corps from France, consisting of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions, as well as the 349th Infantry Division, 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion and the 311th and 322nd StuG Assault Gun Brigades. All told, the German forces stationed in France were deprived of 45,827 troops and 363 tanks, assault guns, and self-propelled anti-tank guns.[109] It was the first major transfer of forces from France to the east since the creation of Führer Directive 51, which no longer allowed any transfers from the west to the east. There were also transfers to the Italian front: von Rundstedt complained that many of his best units had been sent on a "fool's errand" to Italy, saying it was "madness ... that frightful boot of a country should have been evacuated ... we should have held a decent front with a few divisions on the Alpine frontier."[110]

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 9th, 11th, 19th and 116th Panzer divisions, alongside the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich", had only arrived in March–May 1944 to France for extensive refit after being badly damaged during Dnieper-Carpathian operation. Seven of the eleven panzer or panzergrenadier divisions stationed in France were still not fully operational or only partially mobile in early June 1944.[111]

Atlantic Wall

 
Atlantic Wall

Alarmed by the raids on St Nazaire and Dieppe in 1942, Hitler ordered the construction of fortifications all along the Atlantic coast, from Spain to Norway, to protect against an expected Allied invasion. He envisioned 15,000 emplacements manned by 300,000 troops, but due to shortages, particularly of concrete and manpower, most of the strongpoints were never built. As the expected site of an Allied invasion, Pas de Calais was heavily defended.[112] In the Normandy area the best fortifications were concentrated at the port facilities at Cherbourg and Saint-Malo.

A report by Rundstedt to Hitler in October 1943 regarding the weak defenses in France led to the appointment of Rommel to oversee the construction of further fortifications along the expected invasion-front, which stretched from the Netherlands to Cherbourg.[113] Rommel was given command of the newly re-formed Army Group B, which included the 7th Army, the 15th Army, and the forces guarding the Netherlands.[114] Nazi Germany's tangled command structure made it difficult for Rommel to achieve his task. He was not allowed to give orders to the Organization Todt, which was commanded by armaments minister Albert Speer, so in some places he had to assign soldiers to do construction work.[115]

Beach obstacles at Pas de Calais, 18 April 1944

Rommel believed that the Normandy coast could be a possible landing point for the invasion, so he ordered the construction of extensive defensive works along that shore. In addition to concrete gun-emplacements at strategic points along the coast, he ordered wooden stakes, metal tripods, mines, and large anti-tank obstacles to be placed on the beach to delay the approach of landing craft and to impede the movement of tanks. Expecting the Allies to land at high tide so that the infantry would spend less time exposed on the beach, he ordered many of these obstacles to be placed at the high-tide mark. Tangles of barbed wire, booby traps, and the removal of ground cover made the approach hazardous for infantry.[116] On Rommel's order, the number of mines along the coast was tripled. Given the Allied air supremacy (4,029 Allied aircraft assigned to operations in Normandy plus 5,514 aircraft assigned to bombing and defense, versus 570 Luftwaffe planes stationed in France and the Low Countries<, booby-trapped stakes known as Rommelspargel (Rommel's asparagus) were set up in meadows and fields to deter airborne landings.[117]

Mobile reserves

Rommel, believing that the Germans' best chance was to stop the invasion at the shore, requested that mobile reserves—especially tanks—be stationed as close to the coast as possible. Rundstedt, General Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg (commander of Panzer Group West), and other senior commanders believed that the invasion could not be stopped on the beaches. Geyr argued for a conventional doctrine: keeping the Panzer formations concentrated in a central position around Paris and Rouen and deploying them only when the main Allied beachhead had been identified. Geyr also noted that in the Italian Campaign the armor stationed near the coast had been damaged by naval bombardment. Rommel's opinion was that because of the overwhelming Allied air superiority, large-scale movement of tanks would not be possible once the invasion was underway. Hitler made the final decision: he left three divisions under Geyr's command and gave Rommel operational control of three tank-divisions as reserves. Hitler took personal control of four divisions as strategic reserves, not to be used without his direct orders.[118]

Invasion

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world (Eisenhower, Letter to Allied Forces).[119]

British Pathfinders synchronise their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle.

By May 1944, 1.5 million American troops had arrived in the United Kingdom.[120] Most were housed in temporary camps in the south-west of England, ready to move across the Channel to the western section of the landing zone. British and Canadian troops were billeted in accommodation further east, spread from Southampton to Newhaven, and even on the east coast for men who would be coming across in later waves. A complex system called Movement Control assured that the men and vehicles left on schedule from twenty departure points. Some men had to board their craft nearly a week before departure.[121] The ships met at a rendezvous point (nicknamed "Piccadilly Circus") south-east of the Isle of Wight to assemble into convoys to cross the Channel. Minesweepers began clearing lanes on the evening of June 5,[122] and a thousand bombers left before dawn to attack the coastal defenses.[123] Some 1,200 aircraft departed England just before midnight to transport three airborne divisions to their drop zones behind enemy lines several hours before the beach landings. The American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were assigned objectives on the Cotentin Peninsula west of Utah. The British 6th Airborne Division was assigned to capture intact the bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne.[124] The Free French 4th SAS battalion of 538 men was assigned objectives in Brittany (Operation Dingson, Operation Samwest).[125] Some 132,000 men were transported by sea on D-Day, and a further 24,000 came by air. Preliminary naval bombardment commenced at 05:45 and continued until 06:25 from five battleships, twenty cruisers, sixty-five destroyers, and two monitors.[126] Infantry began arriving on the beaches at around 06:30.[127]

Beaches

U.S. soldiers of the 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division advance over the sea-wall at Utah.

The craft bearing the U.S. 4th Infantry Division assaulting Utah were pushed by the current to a spot about 1,800 meters (2,000 yd) south of their intended landing zone. The troops met light resistance, suffering fewer than 200 casualties.[128] Their efforts to push inland fell far short of their targets for the first day, but they were able to advance about 4 miles (6.4 km), making contact with the 101st Airborne Division.[129] The airborne landings west of Utah were not very successful, as only ten per cent of the paratroopers landed in their drop zones. Gathering the men together into fighting units was made difficult by a shortage of radios and by the terrain, with its hedgerows, stone walls and marshes. The 82nd Airborne Division captured its primary objective at Sainte-Mère-Église and worked to protect the western flank. Its failure to capture the river crossings at the River Merderet resulted in a delay in sealing off the Cotentin Peninsula. The 101st Airborne Division helped protect the southern flank and captured the lock on the River Douve at La Barquette,[130] but did not capture the assigned nearby bridges on the first day.[131]

At Pointe du Hoc, the task for the two hundred men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder, was to scale the 30 meters (98 ft) cliffs with ropes and ladders to destroy the gun battery located there. While under fire from above, the men scaled the cliff, only to discover that the guns had already been withdrawn. The Rangers located the weapons, unguarded but ready to use, in an orchard some 550 meters (600 yd) south of the point, and disabled them. Under attack, the men at the point became isolated, and some were captured. By dawn on D+1, Rudder had only 90 men able to fight. Relief did not come until D+2, when members of the 743rd Tank Battalion arrived.[132]

The photograph Into the Jaws of Death shows American troops, part of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, leaving a Higgins Boat on Omaha.

Omaha, the most heavily defended sector, was assigned to the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, supplemented by troops from the U.S. 29th Infantry Division.[128] They faced the 352nd Infantry Division, rather than the expected single regiment.[133] Strong currents forced many landing craft east of their intended position or delayed them. Casualties were heavier than all the other landings combined, as the men were subjected to fire from the cliffs above.[134] Problems clearing the beach of obstructions led to the beachmaster calling a halt to further landings of vehicles at 08:30. A group of destroyers arrived around this time to offer supporting artillery fire.<red>Ford and Zaloga, 90–91.</ref> Exit from Omaha was possible only via five gullies, and by late morning barely six hundred men had reached the higher ground. By noon, as the artillery fire took its toll and the Germans started to run out of ammunition, the Americans were able to clear some lanes on the beaches. They also started clearing the draws of enemy defenses so that vehicles could move off the beach.[135] The tenuous beachhead was expanded over the following days, and the D-Day objectives were accomplished by D+3.[136]

Gold on 7 June 1944.

At Gold, high winds made conditions difficult for the landing craft, and the amphibious DD tanks were landed close to shore or directly on the beach instead of further out as planned.[137] Aerial attacks had failed to hit the Le Hamel strong point, and its 75 mm gun continued to do damage until 16:00. On the western flank, the 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment captured Arromanches (future site of Mulberry "B"), and contact was made on the eastern flank with the Canadian forces at Juno.

Landings of infantry at Juno were delayed because of rough seas, and the men arrived ahead of their supporting armor, suffering many casualties while disembarking. Most of the offshore bombardment had missed the German defenses. In spite of these difficulties, the Canadians quickly cleared the beach and created two exits to the villages above. Delays in taking Bény-sur-Mer led to congestion on the beach, but by nightfall the contiguous Juno and Gold beachheads covered an area 12 miles (19 km) wide and 7 miles (10 km) deep[138] Casualties at Juno were 961 men.[139]

On Sword, 21 of 25 DD tanks succeeded in getting safely ashore to provide cover for the infantry, who began disembarking at 07:30. They quickly cleared the beach and created several exits for the tanks. In the windy conditions, the tide came in more quickly than expected, making maneuvering the armor difficult.[140] The 2nd Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry advanced on foot to within a few kilometers of Caen, but had to withdraw due to lack of armor support.[141] At 16:00, the German 21st Panzer Division mounted a counterattack between Sword and Juno and nearly succeeded in reaching the coast. They met stiff resistance from the British 3rd Infantry Division and were soon recalled to assist in the area between Caen and Bayeux.[142]

The build-up at Omaha Beach: U.S. 2nd Infantry Division troops and equipment moving inland toward Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer on D+1, 7 June 1944.

The first components of the Mulberry harbors were brought across on D+1 and the structures were in use for unloading by mid-June.[143] One was constructed at Arromanches by the British, the other at Omaha by the Americans. Severe storms on June 19 interrupted the landing of supplies and destroyed the Omaha harbor.[144] The repaired Arromanches harbor was able to receive around 6,000 tons of materiel daily and was in continuous use for the next ten months, but most shipments were brought in over the beaches until the port of Cherbourg was cleared of mines and obstructions on 16 July.[145]

Allied casualties on the first day were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.[146] The Germans lost 1,000 men.[147] The Allied invasion plans had called for the capture of Carentan, St. Lô, Caen, and Bayeux on the first day, with all the beaches (other than Utah), linked with a front line 10 to 16 kilometers (Template:Convert/Dual/srnd) from the beaches; none of these objectives were achieved.[148] The five bridgeheads were not connected until June 12, by which time the Allies held a front around 97 kilometers (60 mi) long and 24 kilometers (15 mi) deep.[149] Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands at the end of D-Day and would not be completely captured until July 21.[150] Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on June 6, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.[151]

Cherbourg

In the western part of the lodgment, US troops were to occupy the Cotentin Peninsula, especially Cherbourg, which would provide the Allies with a deep water harbor. The terrain behind Utah and Omaha was characterized by bocage, with thorny hedgerows on embankments 3 to 4 feet (Template:Convert/Dual/srnd) high with a ditch on either side. Many areas were additionally protected by rifle pits and machine-gun emplacements.[152] Most of the roads were too narrow for tanks.[153] The Germans had flooded the fields behind Utah with sea water for up to 2 miles (3.2 km) from the coast.[154] German forces on the peninsula included the 91st Infantry Division and the 243rd and 709th Static Infantry Divisions.[155] By D+3 the Allied commanders realized that Cherbourg would not quickly be taken, and decided to cut off the peninsula to prevent the German army from bringing in any further reinforcements. After failed attempts by the inexperienced 90th Infantry Division, Major General J. Lawton Collins, the VII Corps commander, assigned the veteran 9th Infantry Division to the task. They reached the west coast of the Cotentin on June 17, cutting off Cherbourg. The 9th Division, joined by the 4th and 79th Infantry Divisions, took control of the peninsula in fierce fighting from June 19; Cherbourg was captured on June 26. By this time, the Germans had destroyed the port facilities, which were not brought back into full operation until September.[156]

Caen

Operations in the Battle for Caen.

Fighting in the Caen area versus the 21st Panzer, the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and other units soon reached a stalemate.[157] During Operation Perch, XXX Corps attempted to advance south towards Mont Pinçon but soon abandoned the direct approach in favor of a pincer attack to encircle Caen. XXX Corps made a flanking move from Tilly-sur-Seulles towards Villers-Bocage with part of the 7th Armoured Division, while I Corps tried to pass Caen to the east. The attack by I Corps was quickly halted and XXX Corps briefly captured Villers-Bocage. Advanced elements of the British force were ambushed, initiating a day-long Battle of Villers-Bocage and then the Battle of the Box. The British were forced to withdraw to Tilly-sur-Seulles.[158][159] After a delay because of storms from June 17 to 23, Operation Epsom began on June 26, an attempt by VIII Corps to swing around and attack Caen from the south-west and establish a bridgehead south of the Odon. Although the operation failed to take Caen, the Germans suffered many tank losses after committing every available Panzer unit to the operation.[160] Rundstedt was dismissed on July 1 and replaced as OB West by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge after remarking that the war was now lost.[161] The northern suburbs of Caen were bombed on the evening of July 7 and then occupied north of the River Orne in Operation Charnwood on July 8-9.[162] Operation Atlantic and Operation Goodwood captured the rest of Caen and the high ground to the south from July 18 to 21, by when the city was nearly destroyed.[163] Hitler survived an assassination attempt on July 20.[164]

Breakout from the beachhead

After securing territory in the Cotentin Peninsula south as far as Saint-Lô, the U.S. First Army launched Operation Cobra on July 25 and advanced further south to Avranches by August 1. The British launched Operation Bluecoat on July 30 to secure Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon.[165] Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army, activated on August 1, quickly took most of Brittany and territory as far south as the Loire, while the First Army maintained pressure eastward toward Le Mans to protect their flank. By August 3, Patton and the Third Army were able to leave a small force in Brittany and drive eastward towards the main concentration of German forces south of Caen. Over Kluge's objections, on 4 August Hitler ordered a counter-offensive (Operation Lüttich) from Vire towards Avranches.[166]

Map showing the break-out from the Normandy beachhead and the formation of the Falaise Pocket, August 1944.

While II Canadian Corps pushed south from Caen toward Falaise in Operation Totalize on August 8,[167] Bradley and Montgomery realized that there was an opportunity for the bulk of the German forces to be trapped at Falaise. The Third Army continued the encirclement from the south, reaching Alençon on August 11. Although Hitler continued to insist until August 14 that his forces should counter-attack, Kluge and his officers began planning a retreat eastward.[168] The German forces were severely hampered by Hitler's insistence on making all major decisions himself, which left his forces without orders for periods as long as 24 hours while information was sent back and forth to the Führer's residence at Obersalzberg in Bavaria. On the evening of August 12, Patton asked Bradley if his forces should continue northward to close the gap and encircle the German forces. Bradley refused, because Montgomery had already assigned the First Canadian Army to take the territory from the north.[169] The Canadians met heavy resistance and captured Falaise on August 16. The gap was closed on August 21, trapping 50,000 German troops but more than a third of the German 7th Army and the remnants of nine of the eleven Panzer divisions had escaped to the east. Montgomery's decision-making regarding the Falaise Gap was criticized at the time by American commanders, especially Patton, although Bradley was more sympathetic and believed Patton would not have been able to close the gap.[170] The issue has been the subject of much discussion among historians, criticism being levelled at American, British and Canadian forces.[171] Hitler relieved Kluge of his command of OB West on August 15 and replaced him with Field Marshal Walter Model. Kluge committed suicide on August 19 after Hitler became aware of his involvement in the July 20 plot.[172][173] An invasion in southern France (Operation Dragoon) was launched on 15 August.[174]

British infantry aboard Sherman tanks wait for the order to advance, near Argentan, 21 August 1944.

The French Resistance in Paris rose against the Germans on August 19. Eisenhower initially wanted to bypass the city to pursue other targets, but amid reports that the citizens were going hungry and Hitler's stated intention to destroy it, de Gaulle insisted that it should be taken immediately.[175] French forces of the 2nd Armored Division under General Philippe Leclerc arrived from the west on August 24, while the U.S. 4th Infantry Division pressed up from the south. Scattered fighting continued throughout the night, and by the morning of August 25 Paris was liberated.[176]

Operations continued in the British and Canadian sectors until the end of the month. On August 25, the U.S. 2nd Armored Division fought its way into Elbeuf, making contact with British and Canadian armored divisions.[177] The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division advanced into the Forêt de la Londe on the morning of 27 August. The area was strongly held; the 4th and 6th Canadian brigades suffered many casualties over the course of three days as the Germans fought a delaying action in terrain well suited to defense. The Germans pulled back on August 29, withdrawing over the Seine the next day.[178] On the afternoon of August 30, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division crossed the Seine near Elbeuf and entered Rouen to a jubilant welcome.[179]

Campaign close

Eisenhower took direct command of all Allied ground forces on September 1. Concerned about German counter-attacks and the limited materiel arriving in France, he decided to continue operations on a broad front rather than attempting narrow thrusts. The linkup of the Normandy forces with the Allied forces in southern France occurred on September 12 as part of the drive to the Siegfried Line.[180] On September 17, Montgomery launched Operation Market Garden, an unsuccessful attempt by Anglo-American airborne troops to capture bridges in the Netherlands to allow ground forces to cross the Rhine into Germany.[181] The Allied advance slowed due to German resistance and the lack of supplies (especially fuel). On December 16 the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive, also known as the Battle of the Bulge, their last major offensive of the war on the Western Front. A series of successful Soviet actions began with the Vistula–Oder Offensive on January 12. Hitler committed suicide on 30 April as Soviet troops neared his Führerbunker in Berlin, and Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.[182]

Canadian soldiers with a captured Nazi flag

The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history, with nearly 5,000 landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers.[183] They hastened the end of the war in Europe, drawing large forces away from the Eastern Front that might otherwise have slowed the Soviet advance. The opening of another front in western Europe was a tremendous psychological blow for Germany's military, who feared a repetition of the two-front war of World War I. The Normandy landings also heralded the start of the "race for Europe" between the Soviet forces and the Western powers, which some historians consider to be the start of the Cold War.[184]

Victory in Normandy stemmed from several factors. German preparations along the Atlantic Wall were only partially finished; shortly before D-Day Rommel reported that construction was only 18 per cent complete in some areas as resources were diverted elsewhere. The deceptions undertaken in Operation Fortitude were successful, leaving the Germans obliged to defend a huge stretch of coastline.[185] The Allies achieved and maintained air superiority, which meant that the Germans were unable to make observations of the preparations underway in Britain and were unable to interfere via bomber attacks. Transport infrastructure in France was severely disrupted by Allied bombers and the French Resistance, making it difficult for the Germans to bring up reinforcements and supplies.[186] Much of the opening artillery barrage was off-target or not concentrated enough to have any impact,[187] but the specialized armor worked well except on Omaha, providing close artillery support for the troops as they disembarked onto the beaches. The indecisiveness and overly complicated command structure of the German high command was also a factor in the Allied success.[188]

Casualties

Allies

American assault troops injured while storming Omaha

From D-Day to August 21, the Allies landed 2,052,299 men in northern France. The cost of the Normandy campaign was high for both sides.[189] Between June 6 and the end of August, the American armies suffered 124,394 casualties, of whom 20,668 were killed.[190] Casualties within the First Canadian and Second British Armies are placed at 83,045: 15,995 killed, 57,996 wounded, and 9,054 missing.[191] Of these, Canadian losses amounted to 18,444, with 5,021 killed in action.[192] The Allied air forces, having flown 480,317 sorties in support of the invasion, lost 4,101 aircraft and 16,714 airmen (8,536 members of the USAAF, and 8,178 flying under the command of the RAF). The Free French SAS paratroopers suffered 77 killed, with 197 wounded and missing.[193] Allied tank losses have been estimated at around 4,000, with losses split evenly between the American and British/Canadian armies. Historians slightly differ on overall casualties during the campaign, with the lowest losses totaling 225,606[194] and the highest at 226,386.[195][196]

Germany

German forces surrender in Saint-Lambert-sur-Dive, 21 August 1944
German prisoners board a Coast Guard transport after being captured in Normandy

German forces in France reported losses of 158,930 men between D-Day and August 14, just before the start of Operation Dragoon in Southern France. In action at the Falaise pocket, 50,000 men were lost, of whom 10,000 were killed and 40,000 captured.[197] Sources vary on the total German casualties. Niklas Zetterling, on examining German records, places the total German casualties suffered in Normandy and facing the Dragoon landings to be 288,695.[198] Other sources arrive at higher estimates: 400,000 (200,000 killed or wounded and a further 200,000 captured),[199] 500,000 (290,000 killed or wounded, 210,000 captured),[200] to 530,000 in total.[201]

There are no exact figures regarding German tank losses in Normandy. Approximately 2,300 tanks and assault guns were committed to the battle,[202] of which only 100 to 120 crossed the Seine at the end of the campaign. While German forces reported only 481 tanks destroyed between D-day and July 31, research conducted by No. 2 Operational Research Section of 21st Army Group indicates that the Allies destroyed around 550 tanks in June and July[203] and another 500 in August,[204] for a total of 1,050 tanks destroyed, including 100 destroyed by aircraft.[205] Luftwaffe losses amounted to 2,127 aircraft.[206] By the end of the Normandy campaign, 55 German divisions (42 infantry and 13 panzer) had been rendered combat ineffective; seven of these were disbanded. By September, OB West had only 13 infantry divisions, 3 panzer divisions, and 2 panzer brigades rated as combat effective.[207]

Civilians and French heritage buildings

During the liberation of Normandy, between 13,632 and 19,890 French civilians were killed,[208] and more were seriously wounded. In addition to those who died during the campaign, 11,000 to 19,000 Normans are estimated to have been killed during pre-invasion bombing. A total of 70,000 French civilians were killed throughout the course of the war.[209] Land mines and unexploded ordnance continued to inflict casualties upon the Norman population following the end of the campaign.[210]

A British soldier escorts an elderly lady in Caen, July 1944

Prior to the invasion, SHAEF issued instructions (later the basis for the 1954 Hague Convention Protocol I) emphasizing the need to limit the destruction to French heritage sites. These sites, named in the Official Civil Affairs Lists of Monuments, were not to be used by troops unless permission was received from the upper echelons of the chain of command.[211] Nevertheless, church spires and other stone buildings throughout the area were damaged or destroyed to prevent them being used by the Germans.[212] Efforts were made to prevent reconstruction workers from using rubble from important ruins to repair roads, and to search for artefacts. The Bayeux tapestry and other important cultural treasures had been stored at the Château de Sourches near Le Mans from the start of the war, and survived intact. The occupying German forces also kept a list of protected buildings, but their intent was to keep the facilities in good condition for use as accommodation by German troops.[213]

Many cities and towns in Normandy were totally devastated by the fighting and bombings. By the end of the Battle of Caen there remained only 8,000 livable quarters for a population of over 60,000.[214] Of the 18 listed churches in Caen, four were seriously damaged and five were destroyed, along with 66 other listed monuments. In the Calvados department (location of the Normandy beachhead), 76,000 citizens were rendered homeless. Of Caen's 210 pre-war Jewish population, only one survived the war.[215]

Looting was a concern, with all sides taking part—the retreating Germans, the invading Allies, and the local French population taking advantage of the chaos. Looting was never condoned by Allied forces, and any perpetrators who were found to be looting were punished.[216]

War memorials and tourism

The Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

The beaches of Normandy are still known by their invasion code names. Significant places have plaques, memorials, or small museums, and guide books and maps are available. Some of the German strong points remain preserved; Pointe du Hoc in particular is little changed from 1944. The remains of Mulberry harbor B still sits in the sea at Arromanches. Several large cemeteries in the area serve as the final resting place for many of the Allied and German soldiers killed in the Normandy campaign.[217]

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Above the English channel on a bluff at Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial has hosted numerous visitors each year. The site covers 172.5 acres, and contains the remains of 9,388 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942 and four American women.[218]

See also

Notes

  1. Antony Beevor, D-Day: The Battle for Normandy (New York, NY; Toronto, Canada: Viking, 2009, ISBN 978-0670021192), 82.
  2. Beevor 2009, 76.
  3. Jeffrey Williams, The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945 (Toronto, Canada: Stoddart, 1988, ISBN 0773721940), x.
  4. Beevor, 2009, 492.
  5. US Navy website.
  6. Luxembourg Army website.
  7. Jeffrey Williams, x.
  8. Beevor 2009, 82.
  9. The Italian Social Republic forces during Operation Overlord were composed by the 4,000 men of the 1ª Divisione Atlantica Fucilieri di Marina. Circa 100 of them were stationed on the island of Cézembre. Other forces include former prisoners-of-war put in labor and anti-air units.
  10. Around 812,000 were American and 640,000 were British and Canadian. Niklas Zetterling, Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness (Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz, 2000, ISBN 0921991568), 408.
  11. Stephen Badsey, Normandy 1944: Allied Landings and Breakout Osprey Campaign Series (Botley, Oxfordshire, England: Osprey Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0850459214), 85.
  12. Niklas Zetterling, Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness (Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, 2000, ISBN 0921991568), 32.
  13. Zetterling, 34.
  14. Milton Shulman, Defeat in the West (Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger, 2007 (1947), ISBN 978-0548439487), 192.
  15. Chester Wilmot, The Struggle For Europe (Ware, Hertfordshire, England: Wordsworth Editions, 1997 (1952), ISBN 853266779), 434.
  16. Michael Tamelander and Niklas Zetterling, Avgörandets Ögonblick: Invasionen i Normandie (Determining the Decisive Moments: The Invasion of Normandy) (Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 2003), 341.
  17. In addition, the Allied air forces made 480,317 sorties directly connected to the operation, with the loss of 4,101 planes and 16,714 lives.
  18. Tamelander and Zetterling, 341.
  19. Tamelander and Zetterling, 342.
  20. Zetterling, 77.
  21. Dennis Giangreco, Kathryn Moore and Norman Polmar, Eyewitness D-Day: Firsthand Accounts from the Landing at Normandy to the Liberation of Paris (New York, NY: Sterling, 2004, ISBN 978-0760750452), 252.
  22. Tamelander and Zetterling, 342–343.
  23. Zetterling, 83.
  24. Wilmot, 434.
  25. Beevor 2009, 519.
  26. Edward R. Flint, The development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British Sector of Allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944 (Cranfield, Bedford, England: Cranfield University; Cranfield Defence and Security School, Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Security and Resilience Group, 2009), 336–337.
  27. I.C.B. Dear, M.R.D. Foot, The Oxford Companion to World War II (Oxford, England, New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 (original 1995), ISBN 978-0192806666), 322.
  28. Winston Churchill, Their Finest Hour, The Second World War, volume II (Mariner Books, 1986, ISBN 978-0395410561), 115.
  29. Mark Zuehlke, Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944 (Vancouver, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004, ISBN 1553650506), 20.
  30. Ken Ford and Steven J. Zaloga, Overlord: The D-Day Landings (Oxford, England; New York, NY: Osprey, 2009, ISBN 978-1846034244), 8–10.
  31. Winston Churchill, Closing the Ring, The Second World War, volume V, (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985, ISBN 978-0140086157), 582.
  32. Zuehlke, 21–22.
  33. Ford and Zaloga, 10–11.
  34. Beevor 2012, 319.
  35. Ford and Zaloga, 10-11.
  36. Wilmot, 177–178, chart, 180.
  37. Andrew Whitmarsh, D-Day in Photographs (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0752450957), 9.
  38. Zuehlke, 23.
  39. Martin Gilbert, The Second World War: A Complete History (New York, NY: H. Holt, 1989, ISBN 978-0805017885), 397, 478.
  40. Ford and Zaloga, 13–14.
  41. V-weapons were first launched against the UK on June 12.
  42. Beevor 2009, 33–34.
  43. Wilmot, 170.
  44. Stephen Ambrose, D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994 (1993), ISBN 978-0671673345), 73–74.
  45. Ford and Zaloga, 14.
  46. Wilmot, 170.
  47. Gilbert, 491.
  48. Whitmarsh, 12–13.
  49. Gerhard Weinberg, A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (original 1993), ISBN 978-0521558792), 684.
  50. L. F. Ellis, G. R. G. Allen, and A. E. Warhurst, Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy (London, England: Naval & Military Press, 2004 (original 1962), ISBN 1845740580), 521–533.
  51. The British 79th Armoured Division never operated as a single formation, and thus has been excluded from the total. In addition, a combined total of 16 (three from the 79th Armoured Division) British, Belgian, Canadian, and Dutch independent brigades were committed to the operation, along with four battalions of the Special Air Service.
  52. Churchill 1985, 642.
  53. Ford and Zaloga, 14.
  54. Beevor 2009, 3.
  55. William F. Buckingham, D-Day: The First 72 Hours (Stroad, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus, 2004, ISBN 978-0752428420), 88.
  56. Churchill 1985, 592–593.
  57. Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 78, 81.
  58. Churchill 1985, 594.
  59. Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, J. Michael Wenger, D-Day: The Story and Photographs (McLean, VA: Brassey's, 1994, ISBN 0028810570), 6.
  60. Whitmarsh, Map, 12.
  61. Ford and Zaloga, 25.
  62. Jeffrey Williams, x.
  63. Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich at War (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008, ISBN 978-0143116714), 623.
  64. Zuehlke, 81.
  65. Whitmarsh, 21.
  66. Whitmarsh, 11.
  67. Whitmarsh, 27–28.
  68. Wilmot, 181-183.
  69. Wilmot, 321.
  70. Whitmarsh, 89–90.
  71. Wilmot, 182.
  72. Wilmot, 195.
  73. Ford and Zaloga, 208.
  74. Zuehlke, 42–43.
  75. Ford and Zaloga, 73.
  76. Weinberg, 680.
  77. Anthony Cave Brown, Bodyguard of Lies: The Extraordinary True Story Behind D-Day (Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2007 (1975), ISBN 978-1599213835), 465.
  78. Zuehlke, 71–72.
  79. Whitmarsh, 27.
  80. Beevor 2009, 282.
  81. Beevor 2009, 3.
  82. Whitmarsh, 27.
  83. Whitmarsh, 34.
  84. Richard Townsend Bickers, Air War Normandy (London, England: Leo Cooper, 1994, ISBN 0850524121), 19–21.
  85. Zuehlke, 35.
  86. Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 50–51, 54–57.
  87. Nigel Lewis, Exercise Tiger: The Dramatic True Story of a Hidden Tragedy of World War II (New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, 1990, ISBN 0131277960), 254.
  88. Ben Fenton, "The disaster that could have scuppered Overlord," The Telegraph (26 April 2004). Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  89. Lewis, 227.
  90. Zuehlke, 36.
  91. Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 59–62.
  92. Ford and Zaloga, 46.
  93. Whitmarsh, 30, 36.
  94. Beevor 2009, 3.
  95. Dear andFoot, 667.
  96. Whitmarsh, 31.
  97. Whitmarsh, 33.
  98. Beevor 2009, 21.
  99. Wilmot, 224–226.
  100. Whitmarsh, 34.
  101. Ford and Zaloga, 131.
  102. Beevor 2009, 42–43.
  103. Whitmarsh, 33.
  104. As of November 1943. They also had 206 divisions on the Eastern Front, 24 in the Balkans, and 22 in Italy.
  105. Wilmot, 144.
  106. Stephen J. Zaloga, The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0811712286), 58–59.
  107. Goldstein, Dillon, and Wenger, 13, 16–19.
  108. Ford and Zaloga, 37.
  109. Gregory Liedtke, "Lost in the Mud: The (Nearly) Forgotten Collapse of the German Army in the Western Ukraine, March and April 1944," The Journal of Slavic Military Studies 28 (1) (January 2, 2015), 227–228, 235.
  110. Paul Williams, Hitler's Atlantic Wall: Pas De Calais (Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2013, ISBN 978-1848848177), 182.
  111. Liedtke, 224–225.
  112. Ford and Zaloga, 30.
  113. Beevor 2009, 33.
  114. Goldstein, Dillon and Wenger, 11.
  115. Whitmarsh, 12-13.
  116. Ford and Zaloga, 54–56.
  117. Whitmarsh, 13, 31.
  118. Whitmarsh, 15.
  119. Whitmarsh, 42.
  120. Whitmarsh, 11.
  121. Beevor, 2009, 1–2.
  122. Whitmarsh, 33.
  123. Beevor 2009, 74, 79.
  124. Beevor 2009, 51–52.
  125. Henry Corta, Qui ose gagne (Who dares, wins) (Vincennes, France: Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, 1997, ISBN ISBN 2863231030), 64–79.
  126. Whitmarsh, 30.
  127. Ford and Zaloga, 70.
  128. 128.0 128.1 Thomas Alexander Hughes, Overload: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World II (Free Press, 2002< ISBN 978-0743247832), 5.
  129. Whitmarsh, 51.
  130. Beevor 2009, 115-116.
  131. Ford and Zaloga, 166-172.
  132. Ford and Zaloga, 95–104.
  133. Ford and Zaloga, 45.
  134. Ford and Zaloga, 76–77, 334.
  135. Ford and Zaloga, 56, 83.
  136. Ford and Zaloga, 337.
  137. Ford and Zaloga, 281–282.
  138. Wilmot, 270, 275–276,
  139. Beevor 2009, 131.
  140. Wilmot, 277–278.
  141. Beevor 2009, 143, 148.
  142. Wilmot, 283.
  143. Wilmot, 321.
  144. Beevor 2009, 215–216.
  145. Wilmot, 387.
  146. Whitmarsh, 87.
  147. Ford and Zaloga, 335.
  148. Beevor 2009, loc=Map, inside front cover.
  149. Bernd Horn, Men of Steel: Canadian Paratroopers in Normandy, 1944 (Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1554887088), 13.
  150. Wilmot, 360.
  151. Dear and Foot, 627–630.
  152. Ford and Zaloga, 175.
  153. Wilmot, 301.
  154. Whitmarsh, 49.
  155. Ford and Zaloga, 118–120.
  156. Ford and Zaloga, 179–193.
  157. Beevor 2009, 186.
  158. Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 247–254.
  159. George Forty, Villers Bocage, Battle Zone Normandy (Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0750930128), 36, 97.
  160. Beevor 2009, 232–237.
  161. Wilmot, 342, 347.
  162. J. Terry Copp, Montgomery's Scientists: Operational Research in Northwest Europe: The Work of No. 2 Operational Research Section with 21 Army Group, June 1944 to July 1945 (Waterloo, Ontario: Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2000, ISBN 978-0969795599), 273.
  163. Ford and Zaloga, 340–341.
  164. Beevor 2009, 332–333.
  165. Beevor, 2009, 344, 366–367.
  166. Wilmot, 398–400.
  167. Wilmot, 410.
  168. Beevor 2009, 434–435.
  169. Beevor 2009, 440.
  170. Omar N. Bradley, A Soldier's Story (Modern Library, 1999, ISBN 0375754210), 377.
  171. Max Hastings, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy (New York, NY: Vintage, 2006 (original 1985), ISBN 030727571X), 369.
  172. Wilmot, 416-424, 444.
  173. Evans, 642.
  174. Beevor 2009, 445, 447.
  175. Beevor 2009, 481, 483, 494.
  176. Wilmot, 429-430.
  177. Charles Perry Stacey, The Victory Campaign, The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945 (Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1960), 286.
  178. Stacey 1960, 286.
  179. Charles Perry Stacey, The Canadian Army 1939–45: A Historical Summary (Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1948), 219.
  180. Wilmot, 485.
  181. Ford and Zaloga, 341–342.
  182. Whitmarsh, 109.
  183. Beevor 2009, 74.
  184. John Lewis Gaddis, Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States: An Interpretive History (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1990 (original 1972), ISBN 978-0075572589), 149.
  185. Ford and Zaloga, 343.
  186. Ford and Zaloga, 36.
  187. J. Terry Copp, Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 0802037305), 259.
  188. Wilmot, 289-292.
  189. Tamelander and Zetterling, 341.
  190. American casualties are sourced from the G-3 War Room Summary 91, dated September 5, 1944, covering the campaign. In 1953, the US Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General issued a final report on US casualties (excluding Air Force losses) for the period from 6 June to 14 September 1944. This source shows the number killed in action during the Battle of Normandy (June 6 – July 24, 1944) as 13,959 and Northern France (July 25 to September 14, 1944) as 15,239 for a total of 29,198. Total deaths among battle casualties (including accidental deaths, disease, etc) for Normandy (June 6 – July 24, 1944) were 16,293 and in Northern France (July 25 – September 14, 1944) were 17,844, for a total of 34,137.
  191. British casualties are sourced from "War Diary, 21st Army Group, 'A' Section, SITEP" dated August 29, 1944.
  192. Stacey 1960, 271.
  193. Corta, 288–289.
  194. Carlo D'Este, Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign (London, England: Penguin, 2004 (original 1983) ISBN 0141017619), 517.
  195. Ellis, Allen, Warhurst, 487-488, 493.
  196. Tamelander and Zetterling, 341–342.
  197. Tamelander and Zetterling, 342-343.
  198. Zetterling, 77.
  199. Whitmarsh, 109.
  200. Wilmot, 434.
  201. Giangreco, Moore and Polmar, 252.
  202. The most common tank/assault gun deployed at Normandy by the Germans was by far the Panzer IV, followed by the Panther (650) and Stug III (550). Also present were 120–130 Tiger Is, 20 Tiger 2s, and smaller numbers of other types, including Marders and Jagdpanthers.
  203. Shulman, 166.
  204. Copp 2000, 399–400.
  205. Zetterling, 408.
  206. Tamelander and Zetterling, 342–343.
  207. Stephen J. Zaloga, Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II (Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 2015, ISBN 978-0811761130), 470.
  208. Flint, 336–337.
  209. Beevor 2009, 519.
  210. Flint, 305.
  211. Flint, 350.
  212. Beevor 2009, 520.
  213. Flint, 352-354.
  214. Beevor, 2009, 520.
  215. Flint, 337.
  216. Flint, 292, 354.
  217. Ford and Zaloga, 345–354.
  218. "Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial," tracesofwar.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

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  • Army Battle Casualties and Non-Battle Deaths in World War II,: Final Report, 7 December 1941 to 31 December 1946. Washington, DC: Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, Department of the Army, (June 1, 1953). Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  • Badsey, Stephen. Normandy 1944: Allied Landings and Breakout Osprey Campaign Series. Botley, Oxfordshire, England: Osprey Publishing, 1990. ISBN 0850459214
  • Beevor, Antony. D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. New York, NY; Toronto, Canada: Viking, 2009. ISBN 978-0670021192
  • Beevor, Antony. The Second World War. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2012. ISBN 978-0316023740
  • Bickers, Richard Townshend, Air War Normandy. London, England: Leo Cooper, 1994. ISBN 0850524121
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  • Brown, Anthony Cave. Bodyguard of Lies: The Extraordinary True Story Behind D-Day. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2007 (original 1975). ISBN 978-1599213835
  • Buckingham, William F. D-Day: The First 72 Hours. Stroad, Gloucestershire, England: Tempus, 2004. ISBN 978-0752428420
  • Buckley, John. British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England: Taylor & Francis, 2006 (original 2004). ISBN 0415407737
  • Churchill, Winston. Their Finest Hour, The Second World War, volume II. Mariner Books, 1986 (0riginal 1951). ISBN 978-0395410561
  • Churchill, Winston. Closing the Ring, The Second World War, volume V. Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985 (original 1949). ISBN 978-0140086157
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  • Copp, J. Terry. Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2003, ISBN 0802037305
  • Corta, Henry. Qui ose gagne (Who dares, wins). Vincennes, France: Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, 1997. ISBN 2863231030
  • Dear, I.C.B., and M.R.D. Foot. The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford, England, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005 (original 1995). ISBN 978-0192806666
  • D'Este, Carlo. Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign. London, England: Penguin, 2004 (original 1983). ISBN 0141017619
  • Ellis, L.F., Allen, G.R.G., Warhurst, A.E., and James Ramsay Montagu Butler (eds.). Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series London, England: Naval & Military Press, 2004 (orginal 1962). ISBN 1845740580
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  • Horn, Bernd. Men of Steel: Canadian Paratroopers in Normandy, 1944. Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1554887088
  • Hughes, Thomas Alexander. Overload: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World II. Free Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0743247832
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  • Stacey, Charles Perry. The Victory Campaign, The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Vol. III. Ottawa, Canada: Authority of the Minister of National Defence, 1960.
  • Tamelander, Michael, and Niklas Zetterling. Avgörandets Ögonblick: Invasionen i Normandie (Determining the Decisive Moments: The Invasion of Normandy). Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 2003 (original 1995).
  • Viganò, Marino. Il Ministero degli affari esteri e le relazioni internazionali della Repubblica Sociale Italiana (1943–1945). Milano, Italy: Jaca Book, 1991. ISBN 978-8816950818
  • Weinberg, Gerhard..A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (original 1993), ISBN 978-0521558792
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  • Williams, Jeffery. The Long Left Flank: The Hard Fought Way to the Reich, 1944–1945. Toronto, Canada: Stoddart, 1988, ISBN 0773721940
  • Williams, Paul. Hitler's Atlantic Wall: Pas De Calais. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2013. ISBN 978-1848848177
  • Wilmot, Chester. The Struggle For Europe. Ware, Hertfordshire, England: Wordsworth Editions, 1997 (original 1952). ISBN 978-1568525259
  • Zaloga, Steven J..The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0811712286
  • Zaloga, Steven J. Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2015. ISBN 978-0811761130
  • Zetterling, Niklas. Normandy 1944: German Military Organisation, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness. Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0921991568
  • Zuehlke, Mark. Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944. Vancouver, Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004. ISBN 1553650506

Further reading

  • Ambrose, Stephen E., The Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970. ISBN 978-0385017527
  • Foot, M. R. D., SOE: An Outline History of the Special Operations Executive 1940–1946. London, England: BBC Publications, 1984. ISBN 978-0563201939
  • Keegan, John, Six Armies in Normandy. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1982. ISBN 978-0140052930
  • Lewis, Nigel, Exercise Tiger: The Dramatic True Story of a Hidden Tragedy of World War II. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, 1990. ISBN 0131277960
  • Neillands, Robin, The Battle of Normandy, 1944. London, England: Cassell, 2002. ISBN 978-0304358373
  • Whitlock, Flint, The Fighting First: The Untold Story of The Big Red One on D-Day. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2004. ISBN 978-0813342184
  • Zaloga, Steven, Operation Cobra 1944: Breakout from Normandy, Osprey Campaign Series #88, Oxford, England: Osprey, 2001. ISBN 978-1841762968


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