Normandy Invasion Research Paper

In the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the commander of operation D-day, “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” This inspired people to not give up fighting for the world. Eisenhower was the commander of operation D-day where the troops would attack five beaches in France. The events of D-day were a major turning point in World War II. First, the state of conflict in Europe had significant effects on D-day. Second, most of D-day’s goals were accomplished during the attacks. Third, the events of D-day were very crucial for winning the war.

In 1944, the United States war effort in Europe was just starting to pick up. Even though the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred just three years prior, the growing power of the Third Reich could not be ignored. During this time, France was already occupied by Nazi Germany and Hitler's war machine was on the path of conquering all of Eurasia. In an attempt to combat this immense threat, the U.S. formulated a plan to engage the German forces through an invasion of Normandy. This bloody offensive would be remembered in infamy as D-Day. Shortly before this violent clash of U.S. and German forces, the inexperienced men of the United States Third Army was given an encouraging and inspiring speech by the four star general George S. Patton.

The invasion of D-Day is the largest joint sea born invasion in the history of the world. Although very well planned, the amphibious landings were a gamble made by the Allied forces to gain foothold in Europe. Every American has heard about the Allied invasion of German-occupied Western Europe on D-Day. However, how many Americans stop and think about how much planning, preparation and luck that went into making it the success that it is remembered for? I will attempt to depict what it took to conquer the Normandy beaches using historical and military facts that make it such an iconic event in the world’s history still today.

One of the most complex military maneuvers of all time was the Allied invasion of Europe by way of the Normandy beaches of northern France. The carefully orchestrated invasion essential to the defeat of Hitler. The Supreme Allied Commander, who was General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Later to become president of the United States. The invasion took place on June 6, 1944. The weather so terrible that the invasion was delayed for a full day. American troops landing on Utah Beach. Encountered only mild resistance at first. In contrast, the landing at Omaha Beach much more treacherous. The coast itself was extremely dangerous, the landing took place too far off shore, and the Germans had double the forces at this site. Other Allied forces the British

Each soldier had objectives to complete that would make the invasion from the sea go a bit easier. One way the paratroopers led to the success of Normandy was how they captured French towns and cities. This aided the Allies because a lot of said towns and cities could have been communication centers. With these towns taken, it would be easier to send and receive messages. Also, the towns could connect major roadways to one another. When supplies such as trucks with ammo and other useful equipment came through, they could easily get to where they were needed. Another way that the paratroopers led to the success of the invasion was how they took or destroyed gun batteries and cannons that would be able to fire down onto the beaches or the ships that supported the landings. With the weapons still intact, the Germans could cause a lot more casualties to the invading force than what really happened Finally, the paratroopers led to success at Normandy by taking important roadways and bridges. After the initial invasion happened, tanks and supplies would need a way to get inland quickly and easily if the Germans managed to blow up the bridges, these important supplies wouldn’t be able to go over the rivers and canals without waiting for a new, unreliable one to be built. In conclusion, the paratroopers were a major factor to the invasion and was one of the biggest

Other than causing the liberation of France and the establishment of a new battlefront, the invasion also relieved the Soviet Union’s pressure. Before the Invasion, Germany had over two million troops fighting against the Red Army in the Eastern Front, and many of Soviet’s cities were captured. The Russians fought desperately to protect their cities. However, after the invasion, with the launch of a new major battlefront in the West, Hitler had to transport many of his forces to the West in order to defend his own country. Without as many troops to fight against, the Soviet army was able to push through Czechoslovakia, Poland and eventually penetrate into Germany; the Soviet Union’s progress greatly sped up the endof the war. (Naval History and Heritage- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, 6 - 25 June 1944)

Britain and France desperately awaited the moment when the US would fully join in the fighting in Europe during World War II, and D-Day brought that full fledged involvement. If not for the efforts of the United States of America, its cooperation and planning with its allies, the invasion would not have been successful. It was successful, however, due to previous planning, the level of supplies and men from the US combined with the European allies, as well as the divided German forces. D-Day was the beginning of liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control. Hitler had known that in order for the Allies to be successful, there would have to be an invasion of mainland Europe - which his forces controlled most of - and that it would come from northwestern Europe, with Great Britain being the jumping off point. But if he was expecting the attack, why was he not better prepared? The planning that had gone into the invasion at the beaches of Normandy on the coast of France had been thorough and extensive, with a large part of that planning being the intentional disinformation about the location of the invasion, thus fooling the Nazi leader. These factors explain why Operation Overlord was successful, and thus became the turning point in the world war.

June 6th 1944 will be the most important invasion of world war two. The invasion of Normandy, France was the turning point of world war two. In the invasion of D-Day over 425,000 Allied and German troops were either killed or wounded. An examination of primary and secondary sources will reveal the historical importance of this event.

On June 6th, 1944, the main Allied forces of World War 2 conducted Operation Overlord, now known as D-Day: the greatest invasion in military history. This was a major turning point in the war, however the win was surprising. Germanic and Nazi soldiers should have won the battles on and around the Normandy beaches that day for a multitude of reasons: firstly, they had the rest of France, meaning that Nazis could bring in materials safely, easily, and quickly, and as the Germans were there first, they had time to fortify the area with better defense such as anti-tank guns and minefields; secondly, they had better ground on many beaches, such as the cliffs on Omaha and the dunes on Juno; and finally, they had better equipment such as clothing designed to survive harsher weather conditions, and more rations to survive on. For these reasons, Nazi soldiers should have won the infamous 1944 invasion.

According to Sun Tzu’s book, The Art of War, he states, “All war is based on deception” (“D-Day as a Parable”). The Allied Invasion of Normandy, code named Operation Overlord, on June 6, 1944, was considered the most decisive and deceptive battle in Western Europe between the Allied and the Axis powers. The Allies were led by Britain, France, and the United States in the Western front and the Soviet Union in the Eastern front. The Axis powers were led by Germany, Italy, and Japan, but the Normandy Invasion was only against the Nazi regime in the German controlled parts of Western Europe. In order to prevent Germany from obtaining more land in Russia and Western Europe it was necessary for the Allied forces to open a second front at

Although he helped American troops in North Africa, Eisenhower’s biggest feat was the invasion of Nazi-occupied Western Europe, better known as D-Day. As the Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II at the time, Eisenhower gave permission for a massive invasion called Operation Overlord. He only had a window of four days to launch the attack, but jumped at the opportunity (Koves). The 40 mile stretch of the beaches of Normandy, France was divided into five sections: Juno, Sword, Omaha, Gold, and Utah (Operation Overlord Animated Map). Late at night on June 6th, 1944, aerial troops secured both the eastern and western parts of the beach. In the morning, seaborne soldiers began to attack the coast (Operation Overlord Animated Map). By June 27th, the Germans had wrecked their ports, assuming this would slow down the Allies. Their attempt failed, and finally, on August 25th, the French army successfully liberated Paris (BBC News).

D-Day, formally known as Operation Overlord, was one of the many monumental battles of World War 2 (The Reader’s Digest 298). It was led by American general Dwight Eisenhower, who was appointed the commander of the American Allied forces in 1944 (“D-Day”), In order to trick the Germans, the Allies had to put many plans into place before Operation Overlord could actually happen. Before the initial attack on the beaches of Normandy took place, the Allies had many plans to fool the Germans. They took war ships, tied balloons to the back of the ship, and sailed up the coast to another side of France. Trailing the

Nazi’s had occupied France at the time and had taken control. France was part of the allied forces and was under attack by the Nazi’s. As part of the Allied Powers America, Canada, and Great Britain came to the rescue. Dwight Eisenhower was the leader behind this invasion. In December 1943, Eisenhower was put in charge of Operation Overlord – the long waited for attack on mainland Europe. Such an attack would require detailed and meticulous planning which is why Eisenhower was picked to lead this plan by the combined chief of staffs. In excerpts from General Eisenhower’s document the Order of The Day which he gave to the soldiers on D-Day he states 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. / But this is the year 1944!/The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!(Eisenhower 1944). General Eisenhower explains that the allies should come together, and they will bring forth destruction upon the Germans. He also states that in the document they will force the Nazi’s out of Europe and France will be freed. Eisenhower

The Germans had deployed the 352nd infantry division in a defensive doctrine on Omaha beach , Normandy. In hopes of

One of the most significant encounters of World War II was the Battle of Normandy (the first day of which is commonly referred to as D-Day). Nearly three million soldiers were deployed for the invasion. Those deployed consisted mainly of American and British soldiers, however Canadian, French, Polish, Belgian, and Czech forces were represented as well (Jensen). The battle was fought in an effort to gain European ground and to reduce the German potential for overrunning Russia (Lucas). The Battle of Normandy was significant in that it was the turning point of World War II, incurred heavy casualties on each side, and was the greatest amphibious landing in history (Cohen).