Pearl Harbor: A Captivating Guide to the Surprise Military Strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service that Caused the United States of America's Formal Entry into World War II by History Captivating

Author:History, Captivating [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen – D-Day

American forces joined in the war effort quickly, effectively stabilizing the Atlantic Ocean for safe transportation of Allied troops and supplies. Apart from one, each of the seven US Navy battleships damaged or sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack were raised, repaired, and returned to service in the war. It was General Eisenhower’s belief that a detailed, overarching plan was needed to rout the German forces in western Europe effectively; he got to work on the details and named it Operation Overlord. The campaign was to take place in Normandy, an ancient coastal region of France located just across the English Channel from Great Britain.

Preparation was key to Operation Overlord. Not only must the Atlantic be clear of enemy ships and aircraft to facilitate the movement of 800,000 Allied troops eastward, but Normandy itself must be kept as clear as possible. [89] The British Royal Air Force, which had already proven its superiority over the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, set to work destroying rail lines and bridges connecting inland France with Normandy. Ideally, they wanted to make it impossible for German troops to travel to the coastline, as that was where an immense Allied force would be dropped to kick off the French invasion.

On D-Day, the Allies planned for there to be five divisions set down on the beach at Normandy with the support of three airborne divisions. Each division consisted of about 28,000 soldiers. [90] Since the protection of those divisions was key to a successful French liberation, the plan included a second invasion along the Mediterranean coast. Unfortunately, given the effort needed to land such a huge number of soldiers and equipment at Normandy, the Mediterranean leg of the attack plan had to be delayed by several months. This meant that the Allies risked engagement with Nazis moving in from the south of France.

As for German defense along Normandy beaches, there was only one division stationed there regularly. Knowing it was a weak spot, German commanders buried mines along the beach and filled the coastal water with large debris that made disembarking at high tide almost impossible. The debris would force Allied landing boats to land during low tide, giving the land divisions a longer sprint while vulnerable to German snipers.

German spies in British employ had a great deal to contribute to Operation Overlord as well since they were charged with spreading rumors about the Allied campaign. The goal was to convince Germany that the Normandy invasion was meant as a diversion from a larger attack elsewhere—thereby prompting fewer Germans to be stationed along the beach. Instead of waging a mainland attack, however, Allies planned to set their divisions down along five different sections of the beach: Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Omaha. Omaha beach, the largest of the targets, was subdivided into several more sections.

General Eisenhower was impatient to begin Operation Overlord as soon as all the soldiers and equipment were ready. However, the campaign had to be put off for two weeks due to unfavorable weather.

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