The Battle Of Kasserine Pass

On June 6th 1944, the U.S. and allied forces executed an amphibious assault named Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day, along the north-western coastline region of France. The operation covered in this paper will discuss a key battle during the Invasion of Normandy. The Invasion of Normandy was a successful operation focused towards German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. This paper will also cover a brief history and key points of The Battle of Omaha Beach. Critical reasoning and battle analysis will be expressed through what intelligence assets were applied, utilized and available during the time era. The analysis outcome will lead to an expressed alternative ending on The Battle of Omaha Beach. A detailed explanation of how intelligence assets could have been used to change the course of the battle will defend the explained alternative ending discussed. The main points of discussion will include Adolf Hitler’s decision to move most of his tank divisions and infantry units 150 miles north to Calais, the significance of the highly effective group known as the French Resistance and a famous illusionist Jasper Maskelyne.

This paper will examine the British and American Southern Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Kings Mountain and discuss the assumptions the British made including loyalist support, logistic support, and terrain advantage.

When Rommel had realised he could not win at El Alamein, he sought Hitler’s permission to withdraw his troops. Hitler had refused. Rommel disobeyed and withdrew his troops anyway. By early 1943, Axis forces had retreated to Tunisia and there, outnumbered and short on resources, and caught between the British and the Americans on all sides, they surrendered and North Africa was now in control of the allies.

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

The Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was a war between the Allies and Germany from July 31 1917 to November 6 1917. The Allied powers in this battle included France, Great Britain and Canada. The purpose of this battle was to get Germany’s attention off of France, to avoid a collapse of the western front in Belgium, undertaken by Britain. At the same time of helping France, this battle would gain the ridges South and East of Ypres for the allies. This battle was fought at Passchendaele, a town along the Western Front, 5 miles from Ypres. The location of this battle, chosen by Sir Douglas Haig, a British field marshall. This was a horrible location because of the fact that it was marshy and low lying, surrounded by hills with trees, which made a battlefield with poor drainage and hills where German artillery could watch the battlefield

With a strong backup, the Allied troops were able to advance through the enemy-occupied countries with lightening speed. Therefore, the attack not only led to the French people’s freedom, but also to the quick downfall of Nazi Germany. (Naval History and Heritage- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, 6 - 25 June 1944)

Believing the North African campaign would be over quickly, American and British leaders began discussing their next move. While the British favored pushing north through Sicily and Italy, the Americans wanted a direct, cross-Channel attack. Since this required detailed discussions, a conference between Roosevelt, Churchill, and their senior leadership was scheduled. The two leaders chose Casablanca for the meeting.

After months of incongruity between British and American war planners regarding the viability of a cross-channel invasion in 1940, the Americans accepted the British strategy and approved the North African Campaign. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts, where one of the lesser known battles of World War II was fought by a small yet valiant force of Australians in the North African port city of Tobruk. Not only did Tobruk facilitate access to one of the greatest ports on the North African shoreline, it helped

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).

During WWII, there were numerous meetings between U.S. and British strategists. Of these meetings, two held significant importance: Quebec Conference and the Tehran Conference. These two meetings contained major military strategic decisions and they made significant impacts on the conduct of the war. It is important to note that throughout all meetings conducted in preparation for and during WWII, military strategy differences existed between the Allied

Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall to work as a planning officer in Washington, D.C. In November of 1942, he led Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. This was an attack across the English Channel, the principal allied offensive effort. The Allies commenced as a combined operation under the command of Eisenhower. The objective of this maneuver was to seize the main ports between Casablanca and Algiers (USHMM 2). Many troops faced resistance from Casablanca and Algiers. Eisenhower motivation was to push quick east along the Mediterranean and take the important ports of Bizerte and Tunis. The invasion was a success along with hardships along the way and it resulted in the end of the empire in

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

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, General George C. Marshall called him to Washington for a war plans assignment. Eisenhower impressed both the general as well as The President (Theodore Roosevelt) with his well thought out plan to focus on weakening Germany before assaulting the Japanese. Because of this, he was placed in command of the Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942. On D-Day, 1944, he was Supreme Commander of the troops invading France. After heading many decisive victories for the U.S., Eisenhower accepted Germany’s surrender on May 7, 1945. He returned home a national hero.

The British and American decision to invade Sicily in 1943 was an uneasy compromise made by these two Allies having greatly different strategies concerning the prosecution of the War against Nazi Germany. The strategic goals settled upon were freedom of shipping in the Mediterranean, the opening of a new campaign to help relieve the Russian front, and pressuring Italy to exit the Axis. The operations to support these strategic objectives were endangered by Generals Eisenhower and Alexander’s pre-occupation with operations in North Africa and the British distrust of American combat capability. This led the Allied Strategic military leadership to violate important concepts in mission command by poorly communicating commander’s intent, displaying

The whole war had led up to this day, especially since the plans for the invasion were being made even as early as 1942 or 1943, after the Soviet Union requested help to relieve pressure on their military in Eastern Europe following the Battle of Stalingrad, where they and Romania lost over 250,000 men combined. The thoughts of a soldier who had been fighting all throughout World War II would have probably consisted of, one, wanted to go home already, but two, thinking that nothing could be worse than what they had already experienced. They knew in their minds that they were ready for this mission, and had the plans of the military backing up their claims of definite victory. A soldier would, of course, hold their personal doubts and fright, but when counted among many fellow troops willing to fight for the same cause as their own, they can’t help but feel the collective morale of their comrades and themselves. This personal morale was only boosted by the genius work of WWII’s commanders’ skills in speech. The day before the actual attack, General Eisenhower gave his men a motivational speech they’d never forget. An excerpt from the speech: “Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the greatest crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.” Though General George Patton also gave his own speech that day, I won’t bore you with another quote (though Patton was far from a boring individual). Instead, you should now be able to reflect on how important morale was for the forces getting ready to siege Normandy. The Allied troops were physically and mentally prepared, while the Germans in Normandy, if anything, had lost morale as they believed there was nothing to do when stationed in that