The landing of the British US troops in Normandy was the largest amphibious operation in history, in which about 7,000 ships took part. It owes much of its success to careful preparation.

The decision to open a Second Front - a large-scale invasion of Western France - was taken by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In January 1943, at a conference in Casablanca, the leaders of the two countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition discussed current issues along with members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Great Britain. In pursuance decision The general staffs of both countries formed working group led by British General Frederick Morgan, who began to develop a plan for a future operation.

OPERATION OVERLORD

The preparation of the operation, called "Overlord" (Overlord), was carried out by the Anglo-American command carefully and on a large scale. The production of landing and anti-submarine weapons, special equipment and weapons necessary for the landing was sharply expanded, extremely expensive collapsible artificial harbors "Mulberry" were developed and built, which were then planned to be assembled on the French coast. In England, special access roads for equipment were brought to the places of intended loading. At the end of May 1944, the troops were concentrated in the assembly areas, after which emergency measures were taken to ensure secrecy. At first it was planned to start the operation in May, but then Bernard Montgomery insisted on landing also on the Cotentin Peninsula (the future Utah site), so D-Day, the landing date, had to be slightly shifted. Supreme Commander Allied troops in Europe, the American General Dwight Eisenhower, on May 8, 1944, set the final date - June 5. But on June 4, the weather suddenly deteriorated and the landing was canceled. The next day, the weather service reported to Eisenhower that the weather would improve slightly on June 6. The general ordered to prepare for the landing.

D-DAY

The operation in Normandy, called "Neptune" (Neptune), was an integral part of the larger-scale operation "Overlord", which included the clearance of German troops throughout northwestern France. During Operation Neptune, 156,000 British and American troops were to land on the Channel Coast. Previously, in the first hour of the night, 24,000 paratroopers were thrown behind enemy lines, who were supposed to cause panic in the ranks of the enemy and capture strategically important objects.

The main stage of the operation - the very landing of British and American troops from the ships - began at 6:30 in the morning. For landing, the Allied command, after much thought and discussion, chose the 80-kilometer section of the Normandy coast from the mouth of the Orne River to the commune of Ozville (Montbourg canton, Cherbourg-Octeville district, Manche department). In total, the landing was carried out at five sites: on three - "Gold" (Gold), "Juno" (Juno) and "Sword" (Sword) - the troops of the 2nd British Army landed, on two - "Utah" (Utah) and " Omaha "(Omaha) - 1st US Army.

LANDING OF THE BRITISH TROOPS

83,115 people landed on British sites (including 61,715 British, the rest Canadians). In the "Gold" sector, the British troops managed with relatively small losses to suppress the German units defending here and break through the line of their fortifications.

The fact that the British troops in this area managed to successfully break through into the depths of French territory was largely made possible thanks to the use of special equipment - Sherman tanks, equipped with Hobbart trawls for clearing minefields. In the Juno sector, the brunt of the fighting fell on the shoulders of the Canadians, who faced fierce resistance from the German 716th Infantry Division. Nevertheless, after a heavy battle, the Canadians still managed to gain a foothold in the coastal bridgehead, and then push the enemy back and establish contact with British troops landing in neighboring areas.

Despite the fact that the Canadians failed to fully fulfill the task, they managed to gain a foothold in their positions and further move operations were not jeopardized. At the Sword sector, the British troops quickly crushed the enemy's weak parts on the coast, but then went to the 2nd, stronger line of defense, where their advance stalled. Then they were counterattacked by motorized units of the 21st German Panzer Division. Although British casualties were generally light, main task- to take the French city of Caen - they could not fulfill it, not having reached it only six kilometers.

By the end of D-Day, despite some setbacks, it could be stated that the landing of the British troops had taken place, and the losses for such complex operation were quite low.

D-Day: American Sectors

The landing of American troops on June 6, 1944 took place in difficult conditions, and at some point the American command even considered canceling the operation and withdrawing the troops that had already landed.

In the American sector of the Channel Coast, units of the 1st US Army landed - a total of 73 thousand soldiers, including 15,600 paratroopers. During the first stage of Operation Neptune, an airborne assault was carried out, which made up parts of the 82nd and 101st American airborne divisions. Drop Zone - Behind the Utah site on the Cotentin Peninsula, north of the city Carentan.

UTAH PLOT

The task of the American paratroopers was to capture the dams through the meadows and bridges flooded by the Germans in the area of ​​​​the cities of Saint-Mer-Eglise and Carentan. They were successful: the Germans did not expect a landing here and did not prepare for a serious rebuff. As a result, the paratroopers reached their intended targets, pinning down the enemy at Sainte-Mer-Eglise. This town became the first French settlement liberated during the Normandy campaign.

disembarkation amphibious assault on the Utah site was carried out almost perfectly. First, shells from the main caliber of American warships hit the positions of the weak 709th German stationary division. They were followed by an armada of medium bombers, completely undermining the will to resist the already not very reliable enemy units. Exactly at 6:30, as planned, elements of the 4th American Infantry Division began to land. They approached a few kilometers south of the planned area, which played into their hands - the coastal fortifications here turned out to be much weaker. One after another, waves of landing troops landed on the shore, crushing the demoralized German units.

The losses of American troops in the Utah sector amounted to only 197 people killed; even the losses of the US fleet were greater - a destroyer, two infantry landing boats and three small tank landing ships were blown up and sunk by mines. At the same time, all the goals set for the troops were achieved: more than 21 thousand soldiers and officers, 1,700 pieces of equipment landed on the shore, a 10 x 10 km bridgehead was created and contacts were established with American paratroopers and troops in neighboring areas.

OMAHA PLOT

Whereas on the Utah section events unfolded according to plan, on the eight-kilometer section Omaha, stretching from Saint-Honorine-de-Perthe to Vierville-sur-Mer, the situation was completely different. Although here the German troops (352nd Infantry Division) consisted largely of those who did not have combat experience and bad trained soldiers, they occupied fairly well-prepared positions along the coast. The operation went wrong from the start.

Because of the fog, naval artillery and bomber aircraft, which were supposed to suppress the enemy's defenses, could not find targets and did not inflict any damage on the German positions. Following them, difficulties began for the crews of the landing ships, who also could not bring them to the planned targets. When the American soldiers began to get ashore, they came under heavy fire from the Germans who occupied convenient positions. Losses began to grow rapidly, and panic began to develop in the ranks of the landing troops. It was at this moment that the commander of the 1st American Army, General Omar Bradley, came to the conclusion that the operation had failed and was going to stop the landing, and evacuate the troops that had already landed on Omaha from the Normandy coast. It was only by a miracle that Operation Neptune did not fail. With great efforts, American sappers managed to break through several passages in the defenses and minefields of the enemy, but traffic jams immediately formed at these narrow passages. Pandemonium on the coastal line did not allow new troops to land.

Operation Overlord

Many years have passed since the famous Allied landing in Normandy. And disputes still do not subside - did the Soviet army need this help - after all, the turning point in the war has already come?

In 1944, when it was already clear that the war would soon come to a victorious end, a decision was made on the participation of allied forces in World War II. Preparations for the operation began as early as 1943, after the famous Tehran conference on which, finally, managed to find mutual language with and Roosevelt.

While the Soviet army fought fierce battles, the British and Americans carefully prepared for the upcoming invasion. As English military encyclopedias say on this subject: “The Allies had sufficient time to prepare the operation with the care and thoughtfulness that its complexity required, they had the initiative and the opportunity to freely choose the time and place of landing on their side.” Of course, it is strange for us to read about “sufficient time”, when thousands of soldiers died every day in our country ...

Operation Overlorod was to be carried out both on land and at sea (its marine part was codenamed Neptune). Her tasks were as follows: “To land on the coast of Normandy. Concentrate the forces and means necessary for a decisive battle in the region of Normandy, Brittany, and break through the enemy defenses there. Pursue the enemy on a broad front with two army groups, concentrating the main efforts on the left flank in order to capture the ports we need, reach the borders of Germany and create a threat to the Ruhr. On the right flank, our troops will link up with the forces that will invade France from the south.

Involuntarily amazed at the caution Western politicians who long chose the moment for landing and put it off day after day. The final decision was made in the summer of 1944. Churchill writes about this in his memoirs: “Thus, we approached an operation that the Western powers could rightfully consider the culmination of the war. Although the road ahead might be long and hard, we had every reason to be confident that we would win a decisive victory. The Russian armies expelled the German invaders from their country. Everything that Hitler had so quickly won from the Russians three years earlier was lost to them with enormous losses in men and equipment. Crimea was cleared. The Polish borders were reached. Romania and Bulgaria were desperate to avoid revenge from the eastern victors. From day to day, a new Russian offensive was to begin, timed to coincide with our landing on the continent.
That is, the moment was the most opportune, and Soviet troops all prepared for successful performance allies...

combat power

The landing was to be carried out in the north-east of France, on the coast of Normandy. Allied forces were to storm the coast, and then go to liberate land territories. The military headquarters hoped that the operation would be successful, since Hitler and his military leaders believed that landings from the sea were practically impossible in this area - the coastline was too complicated and the current was strong. Therefore, the Normandy coast area was weakly fortified by German troops, which increased the chances of victory.

But at the same time, Hitler did not think in vain that an enemy landing on this territory was impossible - the Allies had to rack their brains a lot, thinking about how to carry out a landing in such impossible conditions, how to overcome all difficulties and gain a foothold on an unequipped coast ...

By the summer of 1944, significant allied forces were concentrated in the British Isles - as many as four armies: the 1st and 3rd American, 2nd British and 1st Canadian, which included 39 divisions, 12 separate brigades and 10 detachments of the English and American marines. air force were represented by thousands of fighters and bombers. The fleet under the leadership of the English Admiral B. Ramsey consisted of thousands of warships and boats, landing and auxiliary ships.

According to a carefully worked out plan, the naval and airborne troops were to land in Normandy over a stretch of about 80 km. It was assumed that 5 infantry, 3 airborne divisions and several detachments of marines would land on the coast on the first day. The landing zone was divided into two areas - in one, American troops were to operate, and in the second, British troops, reinforced by allies from Canada.

The main burden in this operation fell on navy, which should have carried out the delivery of troops, provided cover for the landing and fire support for the crossing. Aviation should have covered the landing area from the air, disrupted enemy communications, and suppressed enemy defenses. But the infantry, led by the English General B. Montgomery, had to experience the most difficult ...

Judgment Day

The landing was scheduled for June 5, but due to bad weather I had to postpone it for a day. On the morning of June 6, 1944, the great battle began...

Here is how the British Military Encyclopedia describes it: “Never has any of the coasts suffered what the coast of France had to endure this morning. In parallel, shelling from ships and bombardment from the air were carried out. Along the entire front of the invasion, the ground was cluttered with debris from the explosions; shells from naval guns punched holes in the fortifications, and tons of bombs rained down on them from the sky... shore."

In the roar and explosions, the landing began landing on the shore, and by evening, significant allied forces appeared on the territory captured by the enemy. But at the same time they had to suffer considerable losses. During the landing, thousands of servicemen of the American, British, Canadian armies were killed ... Almost every second soldier was killed - such a heavy price had to be paid for the opening of a second front. Here is how the veterans remember it: “I was 18. And it was very hard for me to watch the guys die. I just prayed to God to let me come home. And many did not return.

“I tried to help at least someone: I quickly injected and wrote on the forehead of the wounded man that I had injected him. And then we collected the fallen comrades. You know, when you're 21, it's too hard, especially if there are hundreds of them. Some bodies surfaced after a few days, weeks. My fingers went through them…”

Thousands of young lives were cut short on this inhospitable French coast, but the task of command was completed. On June 11, 1944, Stalin sent a telegram to Churchill: “As you can see, the mass landing, undertaken on a grandiose scale, was a complete success. My colleagues and I cannot but admit that the history of warfare knows no other such enterprise in breadth of conception, grandeur of scale and mastery of execution.

The allied troops continued their victorious offensive, liberating one town after another. By July 25, Normandy was practically cleared of the enemy. The Allies lost 122,000 men between June 6 and July 23. The losses of the German troops amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, as well as 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft. But as a result of the operation, Germany found itself between two fires and was forced to wage war on two fronts.

Until now, disputes continue whether it was necessary for the participation of the allies in the war. Some are sure that our army itself would have successfully coped with all the difficulties. Many are annoyed by the fact that Western history textbooks very often talk about the fact that the Second World War was actually won by British and American troops, and the bloody sacrifices and battles of Soviet soldiers are not mentioned at all ...

Yes, most likely, our troops would independently cope with Hitler's army. Only it would have happened later, and many more of our soldiers would not have returned from the war ... Of course, the opening of the second front hastened the end of the war. It is only a pity that the Allies took part in hostilities only in 1944, although they could have done this much earlier. And then the terrible victims of the Second World War would be several times less ...

Both the flight from the European continent () and the landing in Normandy ("Overlod") are very different from their mythological interpretation ...

Original taken from jeteraconte in Allied landings in Normandy... Myths and reality.

I I think that every educated person knows that on June 6, 1944, there was an allied landing in Normandy, and finally, a full-fledged opening of a second front. T Only the assessment of this event has different interpretations.
Same beach now:

Why did the Allies last until 1944? What goals were pursued? Why was the operation carried out so incompetently and with such sensitive losses, with the overwhelming superiority of the allies?
This topic was raised by many and at different times, I will try to tell in the most understandable language about the events that took place.
When you look American movies type: "Saving Private Ryan", games " Call of Duty 2" or reading a Wikipedia article seems to describe greatest event of all times and peoples, and it was here that the whole Second World War was decided ...
Propaganda has always been the most powerful weapon. ..

By 1944, it was clear to all politicians that the war was lost by Germany and its allies, and in 1943, during the Tehran Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill roughly divided the world among themselves. A little more and Europe, and most importantly France, could become communist if they were liberated by Soviet troops, so the allies were forced to rush in order to catch the pie and fulfill their promises to contribute to the common victory.

(I recommend reading the "Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the United States and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" published in 1957 in response to the memoirs of Winston Churchill.)

Now let's try to figure out what really happened and how. First of all, I decided to go and see with my own eyes the terrain, and assess what kind of difficulties the troops landing under fire had to overcome. The landing zone occupies about 80 km, but this does not mean that paratroopers landed on every meter throughout these 80 km, in fact it was concentrated in several places: "Sord", "Juno", "Gold", "Omaha Beach" and Pointe d'oc.
I walked along the sea this territory on foot, studying the fortifications that have survived to this day, visited two local museums, shoveled a lot various literature about these events and talked with residents in Bayeux, Caen, Saumur, Fécamp, Rouen and others.
It is very difficult to imagine a more mediocre landing operation, with the complete connivance of the enemy. Yes, critics will say that the scale of the landing is unprecedented, but the mess is the same. Even according to official sources, non-combat losses! accounted for 35%!!! from total losses!
Reading "Wiki", wow, how many Germans opposed, how many German units, tanks, guns! By what miracle did the landing succeed?
German troops on Western front, were smeared with a thin layer over the territory of France and these parts performed mainly security functions, and many of them can be called combat only conditionally. What is the division nicknamed the "White Bread Division" worth. An eyewitness, the English author M. Shulman, says: “After the invasion of France, the Germans decided to replace Fr. Walcheren an ordinary infantry division, division, personnel, which suffered from stomach diseases. Bunkers on about. Walcheren was now occupied by soldiers with chronic ulcers, acute ulcers, wounded stomachs, nervous stomachs, sensitive stomachs, inflamed stomachs - in general, all known gastritises. The soldiers vowed to stand to the end. Here, in the richest part of Holland, where white bread, fresh vegetables, eggs and milk abounded, the soldiers of the 70th Division, nicknamed the "White Bread Division", expected the imminent Allied offensive and were nervous, for their attention was equally divided between the problematic threat with side of the enemy and real stomach upsets. The elderly, good-natured Lieutenant General Wilhelm Deiser led this division of invalids into battle ... Terrifying losses among the senior officers in Russia and North Africa, were the reason that he was returned from retirement in February 1944 and appointed commander of a stationary division in Holland. His active service ended in 1941 when he was discharged due to heart attacks. Now, being 60 years old, he did not burn with enthusiasm and did not have the ability to turn the defense about. Walcheren in the heroic epic of German weapons.
In the German "troops" on the Western Front there were invalids and cripples, to perform security functions in good old France, you do not need to have two eyes, two arms or legs. Yes, there were full-fledged parts. And there were also, collected from various rabble, like the Vlasovites and the like, who only dreamed of surrendering.
On the one hand, the allies gathered a monstrously powerful group, on the other hand, the Germans still had the opportunity to inflict unacceptable damage on their opponents, but ...
Personally, I got the impression that the command of the German troops simply did not prevent the Allies from landing. But at the same time, he could not order the troops to raise their hands or go home.
Why do I think so? Let me remind you that this is the time when a conspiracy of the generals against Hitler is being prepared, secret negotiations are underway, the German elite about separate world, behind the back of the USSR. Allegedly due to bad weather, aerial reconnaissance was stopped, torpedo boats curtailed reconnaissance operations,
(More recently before this, the Germans sank 2 landing ships, damaged one during exercises in preparation for the landing and another was killed by "friendly fire"),
command flies to Berlin. And this at a time when the same Rommel knows very well from intelligence about the impending invasion. Yes, he might not have known about the exact time and place, but it was impossible not to notice the gathering of thousands of ships!!!, preparations, mountains of equipment, training of paratroopers! What more than two people know, this pig also knows old saying, clearly captures the essence of the impossibility of hiding preparations for such a large-scale operation as the invasion across the English Channel.
I'll tell you a few interesting moments. Zone landings Pointe du Hoc. It is very famous, a new German coastal battery was supposed to be located here, but old French 155 mm guns, 1917, were installed. Bombs were dropped on this very small area, 250 pieces of 356 mm shells were fired from the American battleship Texas, as well as a lot of shells of smaller calibers. Two destroyers supported the landings with continuous fire. And then a group of rangers on landing barges approached the coast and climbed the sheer cliffs under the command of Colonel James E. Rudder, captured the battery and fortifications on the coast. True, the battery turned out to be made of wood, and the sounds of shots were imitated by explosives! The real one was moved when one of the guns was destroyed during a successful air raid a few days ago, and it is his photo that can be seen on the sites under the guise of a gun destroyed by the Rangers. There is a claim that the rangers still found this moved battery and ammunition depot, oddly not guarded! Then they blew it up.
If you ever find yourself on Pointe du Hoc , you will see what used to be a "lunar" landscape.
Roskill (Roskill S. Fleet and War. M .: Military Publishing House, 1974. Vol. 3. S. 348) wrote:
“More than 5,000 tons of bombs were dropped, and although there were few direct hits on the gun casemates, we managed to seriously disrupt the enemy’s communications and undermine him morale. With the onset of dawn, defensive positions were attacked by 1630 “liberators”, “flying fortresses” and medium bombers of the 8th and 9th air formations of the US Air Force ... Finally, in the last 20 minutes before the approach of the assault waves, fighter-bombers and medium bombardiers bombed directly on the defensive fortifications on the coast ...
Shortly after 05.30, naval artillery brought down a hail of shells on the coast of the entire 50-mile front; such a powerful artillery strike from the sea had never been delivered before. Then the light guns of the advanced landing ships entered into action, and, finally, just before the hour "H", tank landing ships armed with rocket launchers moved to the shore; conducting intense fire with 127-mm rockets into the depths of defense. The enemy practically did not respond to the approach of the assault waves. There was no aviation, and the coastal batteries did not cause any harm, although they fired several volleys at the transports.
A total of 10 kilotons of TNT, this is equivalent to the power atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima!
Yes, the guys who landed under fire, at night on wet rocks and pebbles, who climbed a steep cliff, are heroes, but ... big question how many Germans survived, who were able to resist them, after such air and art processing? Rangers advancing in the first wave 225 people ... Losses killed and wounded 135 people. Data on the losses of the Germans: more than 120 killed and 70 captured. Hmm... Great battle?
From 18 to 20 guns from the German side with a caliber of more than 120 mm fired against the landing allies ... In total!
With the absolute dominance of the allies in the air! With the support of 6 battleships, 23 cruisers, 135 destroyers and destroyers, 508 other warships. 4798 ships participated in the attack. In total, the Allied fleet included: 6,939 ships for various purposes (1213 - combat, 4126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - merchant ships (some were in reserve)). Can you imagine a volley of this armada along the coast in a section of 80 km?
Here's a quote for you:

In all sectors, the Allies suffered relatively small losses, except ...
Omaha Beach, American Landing Zone. Here the losses were catastrophic. Many drowned paratroopers. When 25-30 kg of equipment is hung on a person, and then they are forced to land into the water, where it is 2.5-3 meters to the bottom, fearing to come closer to the shore, then instead of a fighter, you get a corpse. AT best case a demoralized man without a weapon... The commanders of barges carrying amphibious tanks forced them to land at depth, afraid to come close to the coast. In total, out of 32 tanks, 2 floated ashore, plus 3, which, the only captain who was not afraid, landed directly on the shore. The rest drowned due to rough seas and the cowardice of individual commanders. On the shore and in the water there was complete chaos, the soldiers were confusedly rushing along the beach. The officers lost control of their subordinates. But still, there were those who were able to organize the survivors and begin to successfully resist the Nazis.
It was here that Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt, fell heroically., who, like the deceased Yakov, the son of Stalin, did not want to hide in headquarters in the capital ...
Losses killed in this area are estimated at 2,500 Americans. The German corporal machine gunner Heinrich Severlo, later nicknamed "The Omaha Monster", applied his talents to this. He is from his heavy machine gun, as well as two rifles, being in a strong pointWiderstantnest62 killed and wounded over 2,000 Americans! Such data make you think, if he hadn’t run out of ammunition, would he have shot everyone there ??? Despite huge losses, the Americans captured the empty casemates and continued the offensive. There is data that separate sections defenses were handed over to them without a fight, and the number of prisoners captured in all areas of the landing was surprisingly large. But why is it surprising? The war was coming to an end and only the most fanatical followers of Hitler did not want to admit it ...

Mini museum between drop zones :

View of Pont d'Oc from above, funnels, remains of fortifications, casemates.

View of the sea and rocks in the same place:

Omaha Beach sea view and landing area:

On June 6, 1944, the long-awaited landing of the anti-Hitler coalition troops on the northern coast of France began, which received common name"Suzeren" ("Overlord"). The operation was prepared for a long time and carefully, it was preceded by difficult negotiations in Tehran. Millions of tons of military cargoes were delivered to. On the secret front Abwehr was misinformed by the intelligence services of Britain and the United States regarding the landing area and many other activities that ensured a successful offensive. AT different times both here and abroad, the scale of this military operation, depending on the political situation, was sometimes exaggerated, sometimes underestimated. The time has come to give an objective assessment of both it and its consequences in the Western European theater of the Second World War.

Stew, condensed milk and egg powder

As is known from films, Soviet soldiers, participants in the war of 1941-1945, called the "second front" American stew, condensed milk, and other food products that came to the USSR from the USA under the Lend-Lease program. This phrase was pronounced with a somewhat ironic intonation, expressing little hidden contempt for the "allies". The meaning was invested in it: while we are shedding blood here, they are delaying the start of the war against Hitler. They sit out, in general, wait to enter the war at the moment when both the Russians and the Germans weaken and exhaust their resources. That's when the Americans and the British will come to share the laurels of the winners. The opening of the Second Front in Europe was being postponed, the main burden of hostilities continued to be borne by the Red Army.

In a way, that's exactly what happened. Moreover, it would be unfair to reproach F. D. Roosevelt for not hastening to send the American army into battle, but waiting for the most opportune moment for this. After all, as the President of the United States, he was obliged to think about the good of his country and act in its interests. As for Great Britain, without American help, they were technically unable to carry out a massive invasion of the mainland. From 1939 to 1941, this country alone waged war with Hitler, she managed to survive, but there was not even a talk of the onset. So there is nothing particularly to reproach Churchill with. In a sense, the Second Front existed throughout the war and until D-Day (day of landing), it fettered significant forces of the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. Most (about three-quarters) of the German maritime and air fleet was engaged in operations against Britain.

Nevertheless, without detracting from the merits of the Allies, our participants in the Great Patriotic War always rightly believed that it was they who made a decisive contribution to the common victory over the enemy.

Was it necessary

A condescending attitude towards allied assistance was cultivated Soviet leadership throughout the post-war decades. The main argument was the ratio of Soviet and German losses on the Eastern Front with similar figures. dead Americans, British, Canadians and the same Germans, but already in the West. Nine out of ten killed Wehrmacht soldiers laid down their lives in battles with the Red Army. Near Moscow, on the Volga, in the region of Kharkov, in the mountains of the Caucasus, on thousands of nameless skyscrapers, near obscure villages, the backbone of the army that easily defeated almost all European armies and conquered countries in a matter of weeks, and sometimes even days, was broken. Maybe the Second Front in Europe was not needed at all and could have been dispensed with? By the summer of 1944, the outcome of the war as a whole was a foregone conclusion. The Germans suffered monstrous losses, human and material resources were catastrophically lacking, while Soviet military production reached unprecedented speed in world history. The endless "leveling of the front" (as Goebbels' propaganda explained the constant retreat) was essentially a flight. Nevertheless, I. V. Stalin persistently reminded the allies of their promise to strike at Germany from the other side. In 1943, American troops landed in Italy, but this was clearly not enough.

Where and when

The names of military operations are chosen in such a way as to put into one or two words the entire strategic essence of the upcoming action. At the same time, the enemy, even recognizing him, should not guess about the main elements of the plan. The direction of the main attack, the technical means involved, the timing, and similar details for the enemy necessarily remain a secret. The upcoming landing on the northern European coast was called "Overlord". The operation was divided into several stages, which also have their own code designations. It began on D-Day with the Neptune, and ended with the Cobra, which involves moving deep into the mainland.

Germanic general staff there was no doubt that the opening of the Second Front would take place. 1944 is the last date when this event could take place, and, knowing the basic American technical methods, it was difficult to assume that the allies of the USSR would launch an offensive in the unfavorable autumn or winter months. In the spring, an invasion was also considered unlikely due to the instability weather conditions. So, summer. The intelligence provided by the Abwehr confirmed the massive transportation of technical equipment. B-17 and B-24 bombers disassembled were delivered to the islands by Liberty ships, like Sherman tanks, and in addition to these offensive weapons, other cargoes arrived from across the ocean: food, medicine, fuel and lubricants , ammunition, marine vehicles and much more. It is practically impossible to hide such a large-scale movement of military equipment and personnel. The German command had only two questions: "When?" and where?".

Not where they are waiting

English Channel - the narrowest place body of water between the British Mainland and Europe. Right here German generals they would start a landing if they decided on it. This is logical and corresponds to all the rules of military science. But that's why General Eisenhower ruled out the English Channel entirely when planning Overlord. The operation was supposed to come as a complete surprise to the German command, otherwise there was a considerable risk of a military fiasco. In any case, defending the coast is much easier than storming it. The fortifications of the "Atlantic Wall" were created in advance throughout all previous war years, work began immediately after the occupation of the northern part of France and was carried out with the involvement of the population of the occupied countries. They acquired particular intensity after Hitler realized that the opening of the Second Front was inevitable. 1944 was marked by the arrival of General Field Marshal Rommel at the proposed landing site of the Allied troops, whom the Fuhrer respectfully called either the “desert fox” or his “African lion”. This military specialist spent a lot of energy on improving the fortifications, which, as time has shown, were almost not useful. This is a great merit of the American and British intelligence services and other soldiers of the "invisible front" of the allied forces.

Deceive Hitler

Any success military operation in more depends on the factor of surprise and timely created military concentration than on the balance of forces of the opposing sides. The second front was to be opened on that part of the coast where the invasion was least expected. The possibilities of the Wehrmacht in France were limited. Most of the German armed forces fought against the Red Army, trying to hold back its advance. The war was transferred from the territory of the USSR to the space of Eastern Europe, the Romanian oil supply system was under threat, and without gasoline, all military equipment turned into a pile of useless metal. The situation was reminiscent of a chess zuntzwang, when almost any move led to irreparable consequences, and even more so wrong. It was impossible to make a mistake, but the German headquarters nevertheless drew the wrong conclusions. This was facilitated by many actions of allied intelligence, including the planned "leak" of disinformation, and various measures to mislead agents of the Abwehr and aerial reconnaissance. Models of transport ships were even made, located in ports far from places of real loading.

The ratio of military groupings

Not a single battle in the entire history of mankind has gone according to plan, there have always been unexpected circumstances that prevent this. "Overlord" - an operation that was planned for a long time and carefully, repeatedly postponed for various reasons, which was also no exception. However, the two main components that determined its overall success were still managed to be preserved: the landing site remained unknown to the enemy until D-Day itself, and the balance of forces developed in favor of the attackers. In the landing and subsequent hostilities on the continent, 1,600,000 soldiers of the Allied forces took part. Against 6 thousand 700 German guns, the Anglo-American units could use 15 thousand of their own. They had 6 thousand tanks, and the Germans only 2000. It was extremely difficult for one hundred and sixty Luftwaffe aircraft to intercept almost eleven thousand Allied aircraft, including, in fairness, it should be noted most were transport "Douglases" (but there were a lot of "Flying Fortresses", and "Liberators", and "Mustangs", and "Spitfires"). An armada of 112 ships could only resist five German cruisers and destroyers. Only German submarines had a quantitative advantage, but by that time the Americans' means of combating them had reached a high level.

The beaches of Normandy

The American military did not use French geographical concepts, they seemed difficult to pronounce. Like the names of military operations, sections of the coast called beaches were coded. Four of them were singled out: Gold, Omaha, Juno and Sword. Many soldiers of the allied forces died on their sand, although the command did everything to minimize losses. On July 6, eighteen thousand paratroopers (two divisions of the Airborne Forces) were landed from DC-3 aircraft and by means of gliders. Previous wars, like the entire Second World War, did not know such a scale. The opening of the Second Front was accompanied by powerful artillery preparation and air bombardment of defensive structures, infrastructure and locations of German troops. The actions of the paratroopers in some cases were not very successful, during the landing there was a dispersion of forces, but this did not matter much. Ships were coming to the shore, by the end of the day there were already 156,000 soldiers and 20,000 military vehicles on the shore different type. The captured bridgehead measured 70 by 15 kilometers (on average). As of June 10, more than 100,000 tons of military cargo had already been unloaded on this runway, and the concentration of troops had reached almost a third of a million people. Despite the huge losses (for the first day they amounted to about ten thousand), after three days the Second Front was opened. This has become an obvious and indisputable fact.

Development of success

In order to continue the liberation of the territories occupied by the Nazis, not only soldiers and equipment were required. War devours hundreds of tons of fuel, ammunition, food and medicine every day. It gives the warring countries hundreds and thousands of wounded who need to be treated. Expeditionary Corps, deprived of supplies, is doomed.

After the Second Front was opened, the advantage of a developed American economy became obvious. The allied forces had no problems with the timely supply of everything they needed, but this required ports. They were captured very quickly, the first was the French Cherbourg, it was occupied on June 27th.

Having recovered from the first sudden blow, the Germans, however, were in no hurry to admit defeat. Already in the middle of the month, they first used the V-1 - the prototype of cruise missiles. Despite the paucity of the Reich, Hitler found the resources to mass production ballistic V-2. London was shelled (1100 missile strikes), as well as the ports of Antwerp and Liege located on the mainland and used by the Allies to supply troops (almost 1700 FAAs of two types). Meanwhile, the Normandy bridgehead expanded (up to 100 km) and deepened (up to 40 km). It deployed 23 air bases capable of receiving all types of aircraft. The number of personnel increased to 875 thousand. Conditions were created for the development of the offensive already towards the German border, for which the Second Front was opened. The date of victory was approaching.

Allied failures

Anglo-American aviation carried out massive raids on the territory of fascist Germany, dropping tens of thousands of tons of bomb loads on cities, factories, railway junctions and other objects. The Luftwaffe pilots could no longer resist this avalanche in the second half of 1944. Over the entire period of the liberation of France, the Wehrmacht suffered half a million losses, and the Allied forces - only 40 thousand killed (plus more than 160 thousand wounded). Tank forces the Nazis numbered only a hundred combat-ready tanks (the Americans and the British had 2,000). For every German aircraft, there were 25 Allied aircraft. And there were no more reserves. The 200,000th group of Nazis was blocked in the west of France. In the conditions of the overwhelming superiority of the invading army, German units often hung out a white flag even before the start of artillery preparation. But there were frequent cases of stubborn resistance, as a result of which dozens, even hundreds of allied tanks were destroyed.

On July 18-25, the English (8th) and Canadian (2nd) corps ran into well-fortified German positions, their attack bogged down, prompting Marshal Montgomery to further argue that the blow was a false and distracting one.

An unfortunate incidental consequence of the high firepower of the American troops was the loss from the so-called "friendly fire", when the troops suffered from their own shells and bombs.

In December, the Wehrmacht launched a serious counter-offensive in the Ardennes salient, which was crowned with partial success, but strategically there was little to solve.

The result of the operation and the war

After the Second World War began, the participating countries changed from time to time. Some stopped armed actions, others started them. Some took their side former enemies(like Romania, for example), others simply capitulated. There were even states that formally supported Hitler, but never opposed the USSR (like Bulgaria or Turkey). Invariably remained opponents of the main participants in the war of 1941-1945, Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Britain (they fought even longer, from 1939). France was also among the winners, although Field Marshal Keitel, signing the surrender, could not resist making an ironic remark about this.

There is no doubt that the Normandy landing of the allied troops and the subsequent actions of the armies of the United States, Britain, France and other countries contributed to the defeat of Nazism and the destruction of the criminal political regime, which did not hide its inhuman nature. However, to compare these, of course, respectable efforts with battles Eastern Front very hard. It was against the USSR that Hitlerism waged a total war, the purpose of which was the complete destruction of the population, which was also declared by the official documents of the Third Reich. The more respect and blessed memory deserve our participants in the Great Patriotic War, who performed their duty in much more difficult conditions than their Anglo-American brothers in arms.