THE D-DAY INVASION OF FRANCE
June 6, 1944
Let us once again review history. Prior to D-Day, there was an attempt on August 19, 1942 to test German defenses, destroy German military installations, and to capture the archives of the German HQ by invading and attacking the Port of Dieppe. The raid by 4963 Canadians, 1075 British and 50 American Rangers was a disaster with 1050 Canadians killed and 2000 Canadian and British soldiers taken prisoner. In spite of the losses, the operation yielded a large amount of information for intelligence services, in particular the importance of prior air strikes, of dropping paratroopers, and the need to send in special tanks and support artillery with the first wave of landings, and finally the choice of sandy beaches rather than those of shingle (stones).
Jeff and I traveled from Calais to Bayeux, Normandy and hired a guide who spoke good English and was a “walking encyclopedia” concerning D-Day. Here is what we learned…
The D-Day invasion was called operation “Overlord” and commenced on June 6, 1944. The attack was planned for crucial conditions consisting of a dawn assault in the middle of a rising tide, following a night with a full moon for parachutists. Five beaches were chosen in the French region called Normandy. Utah and Omaha beaches were assigned to Americans, Gold and Sword to British, and Juno-Canadians.
In spite of the planning, a lot of things turned out poorly. The paratroopers (13,000) were dropped during the night, but many missed the drop area because of winds. Many of the gliders bringing in vehicles crashed. We shot down our own observer aircraft thinking they were Germans. As a result, the naval bombardment fired 20,000 rounds at German defenses and not a one was hit because there were no observer aircraft to report and adjust the shell trajectory. Landing craft dropped men too far from shore and men drowned and equipment was lost. The landings were supposed to be simultaneous, but were fragmented allowing German defenses to concentrate deadly fire on arriving troops. Utah beach was largely successful. Omaha beach suffered high casualties. Approximately 1/3 of the American force was killed or wounded on D-Day. In spite of the mistakes and losses, the allies prevailed and were able to sustain the beachhead and advance.
The highlights for our Normandy visit included Utah and Omaha Beaches, the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach, a church at Angoville-au-Plain where American medics and a German surgeon worked side-by-side, a ride in a C-47 simulator doing parachute drops, German gun emplacements along the Atlantic, the artificial port at Arromanches, and a local winery used as an allied headquarters. Pictures of the highlights are on the next page.