operation overlord Essay

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.

The reason why these Countries fought was to give France their independence and fight off the Nazis.

June 6, 1944. The world has been at war for almost 5 years. The Axis Powers have occupied France and a lot of Europe. The USSR is pushing the Germans out of Russia and back towards Germany. The Allies are preparing to invade and take back Europe and defeat the Axis. The invasion starts with a mix of British and American paratroopers being dropped behind enemy lines to take important and over 100,00 soldiers are preparing to launch one of the largest sea invasions of all time. The soldiers are a mix of British, Canadian, and United States origin. The 5 beaches being attacked are codenamed Utah, Gold, Sword, Juno, and Omaha. In the end, the invasion as a whole turned out to be a success on every beach. There were many reasons for this success,

The American forces plan consisted of a “divide and conquer” methodology. The U.S. focused on landing its assault force expediently and quickly and securing Mt. Suribachi and dominant high ground of the island. The Americans expected victory in less than a week. Their forces consisted of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. The 4th and 5th Marine Divisions were to land on the eastern beaches the 4th on the right and the 5th on the left. The 3rd Marines would either land on the eastern beaches or assume a defensive role, which ever was called (Planning for the Battle of Iwo Jima, n.d.).

Since America’s military was stronger, than they would be able to defeat Japan and stop the war that the Japanese started.

In fact when President Lincoln announced he was raising a federal army of 75,000 men he quickly outnumbered it due to patriotic responses to the attack on Fort Sumter. When he asked Indiana for six regiments the governor promised Lincoln twelve, and the governor of Ohio, tasked to raise 13 regiments, stopped at 20 upsetting those who didn’t get to join. With the surge of volunteers on both sides of the war came shortages of many things, such as weapons and officers. This is because there were no European type “military families” where offspring are bound to join the army as officers and also because WestPoint the only military academy in the country had such a low amount of people in its graduating classes. These were some examples of how the

As the day progressed, this prospect seemed more and more likely until the naval commander released the destroyers to provide support to the troops on the beaches and on top of the bluffs. This support This support helped to both establish and maintain the American beach head at Omaha Beach.

Reports from intelligence indicated that 150 to 250 enemy fighters would be in the objective area.8

Hitler, at first, didn’t surrender to the Allied forces which caused Operation Overload to occur. D-day led to freedom in France along with freedom for Jewish men, women, and children. The was also a mini battle called Battle of the Bulge, because the Europeans literally bulged the Allied forces. Bulged means to surround an area. So when the Europeans surrounded the Ardennes forest in going through the American defensive line, it was the largest war/invasion that was fought on the Western

PEARL HARBOUR INTRODUCTION: As World War 1 came to an end and the war was nearly over, Germany suffered greatly and lost major industries and land. This humiliation gave rise to a great rising power led by it's dictators. The invasion of European lands by Hitler who was opposing the treaty invaded Poland in 1939. The Allies issued an ultimatum that Hitler remove his troops under the threat of war.

After the war had begun 16% died on the first day most of it was from the guys jumping out of the planes and still dropping with their parachutes. Their where boats exploding and catching on fire from hitting mines buried in the sand. Most boats had to let down their ramps in head-high waters. Many soldiers drowned from heavy loads on their backs. If any soldier got stuck in the 50 mile stretch of barb wire they had along the beach they would be easily seen and big targets. The allies wanted to attack on high tide so they could get closer and avoid any mines buried in the sand and any hedgehogs{ big wood posts sticking out of the sand to stop any vehicles from getting on to the beach. The allies split up the Americans took Utah and Omaha, British at Gold and Sword, and the Canadians at Juno {

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

The Normandy Invasion may have been the single most important battle on the Western Front of World War II. Much planning went into the siege of these beaches that ensured a tough, but inevitable victory, as well as other factors, such as the exploitation of the Germans’ ignorance of the attack.

The next phase in the Battle of Normandy was the storming of the beaches. A fleet of 4,000 ships carrying 176,000 men set sail. The chosen landing area was east of the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy along the beaches.

B.  They faced heavy gun fire, mortar attacks, and heavy casualties as they ran up the beach to