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D-Day: a Turning Point in World History

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On June 6, 1944, in the midst of the Second World War, the Allied forces brought in "the largest amphibious assault in the history of war."(World History Chronology) from various countries including Great Britain, the United States, and Canada stormed the beaches of Normandy hoping to overthrow the German forces occupying France. Years of meticulous planning and seemingly endless training had finally come together to form the operation known as D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. Many different operations and brilliant leaders helped to contribute to the victory at Normandy. D-Day was not only a turning point in the War, but it forever changed the course of history. For years, the entire world passively watched Adolf Hitler's rise to …show more content…

This strategy acted as a divide and conquer method of warfare, splitting up the German defenses. Stalin realized from years of experience that a unified German army would be unbeatable. International cooperation seemed essential for survival against Nazi Germany. (AJP Taylor) A combination of environmental and tactical factors explained the time and place of the invasion. Crossing the English Channel for an attack was an extremely dangerous operation. Besides the actual assault on the Nazi dominated Europe, the many miles of treacherous sea was all in all pretty dangerous itself. After the crossing, the assault craft carrying the troops were to seize the beachhead. The amphibious 'swimming' tanks had to come in on a tide 40 minutes after first light. A tide provided the minimum amount of light required by the attendant warships and warplanes to blow up Hitler's Atlantic coast defenses. They also needed moonlight before full tide so that the airborne troops could identify their targets. According to Henry Maule"A combination of such conditions only occurred for three days in each lunar month. In June, 1944, were the fifth to the seventh" (372). The Allies had to launch a successful invasion before winter because Germany might have taken captive Great Britain by then. They also had to prevent the immense bombardment of London and the invasion ports by the secret weapons that Hitler was having built:

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