Essay on Operation Overlord

The Germans were losing aircraft and pilots fast; Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion. Germany had lost. The fighter pilots of the battle of Britain had saved Britain from invasion, but many of its major cities were severely bombed. German U boats and surface vessels also began a new campaign.

1.1: Before an actual invasion, the issue of the German U-boats had to be resolved. In the Atlantic ocean, allied ships that were carrying

After Germany conquered France’s 800,000 man army, they could go after the British. The germans had and issue going after Great Britain, Great Britain’s Army had a great defense system. When Adolf Hitler planned to send a fleet of fighter planes to Britain, the British found out and had a plan to stop them. Great Britain’s plan was to be prepared to fight in the sky. So when the German Luftwaffe came to attack the British Royal Air Force was already there to fight them. It was a struggle for both sides for many months and was the first major battle fought completely in the air. Adolf Hitler’s plan was to win air superiority over Southern Britain by destroying the British Air Force and aircraft industry. (The

After the outbreak of World War II, it became apparent that the United States would be a decisive factor in the outcome of the war. On December 7th, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor sparked U.S. military intervention in both Europe and the Pacific. Looking for a man to lead, the senior officers selected Eisenhower for the job. All of Eisenhowers training and education was about to be tested. He was named Supreme Commander of the allied forces in the European Theater. He immediately had to face important decisions regarding the allied plans. Eisenhower was a strong supporter of an allied invasion of France, but Great Britain had other objectives. Eisenhower reluctantly organized an invasion of Africa, before heading to Sicily and Italy. While fairly new to the political scene, Eisenhower soon became an expert at navigating it's challenges. After the invasion of North Africa, known as Operation Torch, Eisenhower prepared for what may have been his defining moment. The invasion of France, known as Operation Overlord, was arguably the climactic moment in both World War II and Eisenhower's career("Dwight David Eisenhower").

In World War, two great superpowers in Europe, Germany and Britain clashed through aerial warfare. Hitler planned to lead the invasion of Britain with the Luftwaffe through intensive attacks against the Royal Air Force in England. Britain was the only nation left standing against the Germans after France was forced to sign an armistice on June 22, 1940; Hitler knew that air power was the only way to reach the isolated island nation. The Battle of Britain lasted from mid-June, when Hitler launched Operation Sea Lion, codenamed as such for the invasion of England, to mid-September of 1940, when Operation Sea Lion was postponed indefinitely. The Second World War went from September 1st, 1939 to September 2nd, 1945. The German Luftwaffe had a substantial impact on the military, economic and social systems of Britain throughout the Second World War.

The main purpose of this battle was to conquer the Atlantic Ocean. This was especially in the Germans interest because supplies from the Americas to the Allied Powers came through the Atlantic. In order to cut off that aid the Germans needed to conquer the Atlantic. Germany started off strong in this battle. In 1941, Great Britain received 50 ships from the United States which gave them a tactical advantage. In 1942 Germans made another comeback. They were producing 20 submarines a month which hurt Great Britain because they weren 't receiving the aid needed to make a recovery. In 1943, the Allies made one last push to comeback. They were finally able to have enough aircraft to cover the “black pit”. This advantage ultimately won the Battle of the Atlantic for the Allies. In this battle 3500 merchant ships, 175 warships were sunk and 72000 allied soldiers died. For the Germans 783 U- Boats sank and 30000 sailors died which was 75 percent of their U-Boat force. If Germany conquered the Atlantic ocean, then World War two would have been completely different. Germany would have beat the best naval force in the world which would have symbolized the strength of the German army and it would have revved them up to take over the world.

Come 1918, Germany knew they needed a big push for the win. Their supplies were rapidly depleting as all efforts to thwart the continuation of Britain’s blockade via “unrestricted submarine warfare” were unsuccessful. American troops were being shipped in, albeit slowly, and Germany

Allied shipping from North America to Britain needed to supply at least a million tonnes of goods to allow Britain to survive and fight against the Axis . Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain for the duration of the Second World War, called the Battle of the Atlantic “the [most] dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome” . Therefore, whoever held the upper hand in the Battle of the Atlantic held the advantage in supplies for the war. Germany decided to employ their U-boats to try to delay and strike

According to Lt. Col Bishop “Doolittle’s success in achieving operational effectiveness demonstrates the utility of his aggressive, yet mature, command and demeanor.” Operation Overlord was the name given to the allied operation to invade France and take it back from the Germans. The operational objective for General Doolittle’s Eighth Army was to control the skies before the invasion occurred because if the allies had control of the skies the ground troops would not have to worry about air attacks. General Doolittle was able to accomplish this operational victory through his leadership and aggressiveness. Watson Jr. writes that Doolittle in preparation for the invasion of France he decided to target above 50 airfields, and over 10 bridges which led to the Luftwaffe moving to airfields much farther from the coast thus allowing for the successful invasion of

James Axtell’s “ The Invasion Within” and Jill Lepore’s “ The Name Of War” share the same realm as they both are excellent resources when it comes to the topic of Native American History. Though there subject matter is the same, there are stark differences between the two books that each give a unique perspective on the Native Americans and their involvement with the Europeans. Axtell uses “ The Invasion Within” to tell the sorrowful tale of the Indians. The trials and tribulations they went through are flushed out on each page as Axtell tells the story of the early beginning of colonial life, the naivety of the Indians as they met the Europeans, and the destructive path the Europeans eventually led the Indians on. Lepore tells a much different narrative in “ The Name Of War” where she examines the lives, actions, and thoughts of both the Indians and Europeans and eventually comes to a very educated conclusion. Life for both of them really sucked. The Indians were no better than the Europeans, and the Europeans were not mightier nor more pious than the Indians. In an essence, Lepore used her book not to show the contrasting differences between the Indians and Europeans (which is typically seen in most history books) but instead the similarities between the two that not many see. These authors approached the same topic but in such distinct ways which leads one to beg the question, how exactly are these books different?

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 Allies had access to the location of the German U-Boats and where they planned on attacking. This allowed the Allies to relocate their ships so that the U-Boats would not affect them. This also allowed the Allies to attack German supply ships from travelling across the Atlantic preventing supplies from being transported. This took a toll on the Germans and Admiral Karl Dönitz withdrew them from the North Atlantic by May 1943. Winston Churchill stated, “It was thanks to Ultra that we won the war.”

Submarine operations by Germany and its allies were meant to target armed ships and merchant ships that were suspected of carrying weapons and

immense bombardment of London and the invasion ports by the secret weapons that Hitler was

Germany did not have a numerically superior force on the western front, but bold strategy, careful planning and blitzkrieg tactics set the foundation for the French defeat. In June 1940 Hitler invaded Paris, eight days later the French surrendered. After the French surrender, Hitler attempted to end the war with Britain. Speaking to the Reichstag in June, he said, “I can see no reason why the war need go on.” But Hitler was already had his sights set on invading Russia. He now aimed to end the war in the west so he could concentrate on attacking communist Russia in the east. Hitler knew that invading Britain would be difficult, but still he informed his military to leaders to prepare for the operation, Operation Sea Lion, and proceeded in planning a landing operation against Britain.