A TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO SERVED ON THE LONGEST DAY, JUNE 6, 1944
Wednesday, June 6th, 2014 marks 70th anniversary of D-Day, the single most important battle of World War II, and arguably the most important day of the entire 20th century. This was the day that marked the beginning of the end of the Nazi's occupation of France, as well as most of Europe, although the seeds of the German's downfall were planted after Hitler's misguided invasion of Russia, also known as Operation Barbarossa, which began in June of 1941. The brutal, drawn out Battle of Stalingrad, took a terrible toll on the Nazi war machine, and exposed holes that would be exploited during the coming allied advance towards Germany.
BACKGROUND AND PRELUDE
War had been raging in Europe for over two years before the United States entered the Second World War, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. France fell to the Nazis in 1940, and the British had been battling Germany with mostly bad results, since 1939. Hitler's "Blitzkreig Bombing" had taken a terrible toll on English infrastructure as well as the psyche of the British people. Winston Churchill pleaded with President Franklin Roosevelt to offer some type of support to the British in the in their struggle against the Nazis, either militarily, or otherwise, thus, on March 11, 1941, the Lend-Lease Act was born. Lend Lease essentially ended the position of neutrality that the United States had taken towards the struggle in Europe. The law committed the United States to $50.1 Billion in aid to Europe, especially Britain and Russia, to assist in their battles against Hitler. In addition to monetary aid, the United States government also sent supplies, and weapons to the people of Europe, through Lend/Lease. One detail that the law failed to take into account, was the fact that the supplies, and rations that were bound for Europe had to pass through waters that were patrolled by the Germans. Although most of the supplies reached their destination, some did not, and thus, those that rode aboard the merchant ships dealt with danger on a daily basis, and were among the early heroes for the United States and Canada, in World War II.
The fact that England was even able to fight by the time the U.S. entered the war is a tribute to British ingenuity, as well as the intestinal fortitude of the populace.The British dealt with daily "Blitzkrieg Bombings", which in turn led to the British people having to live for months underground, in subway tunnels. However, from the struggle and sacrifice during the Battle of Britain, came the advent of radar,an invention that not only helped to turn the tide against the Germans in World War II, but is also a tool that has been vastly improved upon in subsequent years, and whose legacy endures to this day.
In addition to the British struggle, Russia was enduring huge losses and unthinkable sacrifices in their fight against the Nazis. It was against this back drop that by 1944, pressure was mounting on President Roosevelt and U.S. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall to open up a new front in the European Campaign. Official discussion of a new front had actually started at the end of November, 1943, when Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Russian leader Joseph Stalin, met in Tehran, Iran to discuss the future course of World War II.
From November 1943 forward, SHAEF ( Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force), led by newly installed Supreme Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as Chief Of Staff George. C. Marshall were charged with the task of determining what form the new front would take, and where it would be launched from. The Americans, along with the British High Command, led by Supreme Commander Bernard Law Montgomery, put their collective heads together and the result was the greatest collection of military resources for a single battle the world has ever known. The elite units of the United States military (101st, 82nd Airborn, 1st Army Rangers among others), were dispatched to the British Isles for extensive training as Operation Overlord was born.
In actuality, preparation for Overlord began as soon as the U.S. entered the war, due to the fact that the only way to eventually defeat the Germans it was reasoned, was to formulate an axis of advance in order to eventually march straight into Berlin. How exactly to do this without disastrous consequences was the problem that Marshall, Eisenhower, and the British planners were charged with tackling from mid-March 1943, right through the early months of 1944. Thus it was decided that the best course of action would be to cross the English Channel and mount an invasion on German forces on the Calvados Coast of Normandy, France.
The Russians, who had already established and secured the Eastern Front, were pleading for a second Western front to be opened at some point in 1944. The German invasion of Russia, and the subsequent Battles of Stalingrad well as Kursk, had taken a terrible toll on the Russians, who despite their mounting casualties, were in a good position to enter Germany by the early months of 1944. If the Germans' dwindling forces and munitions could be diverted to defend an attack on the Western front, it was reasoned, it was quite possible for the war to be over by January 1945, or earlier.
The Normandy coast was chosen for the opening of this new front, due to its proximity to the port of Caen. Ports were the point at which weapons and supplies were brought to the front, thus strengthening the axis of advance. The commanders reasoned that if Caen could be captured (as well as the neighboring Carpiquet Airport), the entire Contentin Peninsula on which the Normandy coast is located, and where much German armor was located, would be isolated, and thus the Anglo-American forces would be in a position to march on Paris, which would surely send the Germans into panic mode. More importantly, invading Normandy would put the Allies on a straight track through France, Belgium, and eventually in position to take Germany. As the Allies attacked from the West, Russia would be marching into Berlin from the East, thus forcing the already depleted and battle weary Nazi forces to surrender.
WEATHER AND LOGISTICS
With years of training behind them, and with all men, munitions, and other resources set and ready to go, it was finally decided the the invasion would be in early June of 1944, June 5th, to be exact. With all of the men properly trained for months (and in some cases years), and an armada of battle ships at the ready to unload on Hitler's Fortress Europe, the only thing holding things up on the evening of June 4th was the weather. Heavy wind and rain was pounding the French coast and the scheduled start of the invasion was in jeopardy. Eisenhower now had a difficult decision to make: Go on despite the weather, or postpone? One important factor in the decision was the full moon, which was vital to the previously mentioned Airborne parachute drops which would occur at night, preferably under bright moonlight. The next favorable tide for a full moon would not be until June 19th. So it was that June 4th, Eisenhower,huddled in the mess room at his residence at Southwich House on the British Isles, with his Chief of Staff Walter B. Smith, British Commanders Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Aurthur Tedder, and Bernard Montgomery, and U.S Commander Omar Bradley, anxiously awaited further weather reports. Finally at approximately 21:30 (9:30PM), a forecast was delivered that stated a break in the storm was anticipated, on the night of June 5th-6th. This window would be brief, but it was possible that it might be just long enough for the invasion to be launched. It was now decision time.... Postpone, or launch? Eisenhower's decision would be to postpone the invasion from June5th, to June 6th. What would happen in the event of further inclement weather was a bridge that Eisenhower would cross, once he came upon it.
A great account of Eisenhower's decision process, as well as a fascinating window into the Supreme Commander's mind during this tense time period, can be found in the book
D-DAY, THE CLIMATIC BATTLE OF WORLD WAR II, by the late Stephen E. Ambrose. Doctor Ambrose's works are by far the best accounts of the Second World War. Dr. Ambrose writes of the final, tense hours of debate:
"If there was going to be an invasion before June 19, Eisenhower had to decide now. Smith was struck by the "loneliness and isolation of a commander at a time when such a momentus decision was to be taken by him, with full knowledge that failure or success rests on his individual decision." Looking out at the wind-driven rain, it hardly seemed possible that the operation could go ahead. Eisenhower calmly weighed the alternatives, and at 9:45PM on the evening of June 5th said, "I am quite sure that the order must be given."
H-HOUR D-DAY
What would finally commence at dawn on June 6th, was a cross-channel, amphibious assault of the beaches of the Calvados Coast. The beaches were arranged by sectors, the Western-most beaches, code named Gold, Sword, and Juno, were assigned to the British and Canadian forces, while the Eastern-most beaches code named Omaha, and Utah, were assigned to the American troops. For the Americans, the task was straight forward, yet very difficult. The 101st, and 82nd Airborne Divisions, as previously stated, would land late at night, behind German lines. Communication frequencies were to be jammed, and a very important supply bridge, code named Pegasus, was to be blown up, among other assignments.
Before dawn, the Air Force was to bomb the coast, further destroying transportation and communication lines, vital to the Nazi forces at Normandy. German machine gun installations, already pre-sited, were also to be destroyed, thus assuring that the amphibious landings would meet minimal resistance. If all were to go as planned, the American forces landing at Omaha and Utah, following the Army Engineers charged with blowing up beach obstacles and defusing mind fields, would have a clear shot to breach the seawalls, make a charge towards what German gun emplacements that remained after the early morning bombings, and link up with their British counterparts well behind Nazi lines, and then, the long march towards Germany could begin.
What was drawn up on paper and what actually happened on the morning of June 6th, confirms the notion put forth by Eisenhower years later in his memoirs when he stated:
"Once the battle is joined, all intelligence and preparation is rendered useless" In short, what was awaiting the American forces on Utah and especially Omaha Beach, was not at all like what they were told to expect. The weather took a turn for the worse during the late night and early morning hours of June 5th-6th, thus scrubbing most of the bombing missions. Some bombers did in fact come in but they did not do even close to what was originally planned.
The wet and windy weather wrecked havoc on the amphibious landing. Most of the forces coming in on Higgins transport boats (named after their inventor, Andrew Higgins of New Orleans), landed badly off course, some miles away from their original objectives. The weather also disrupted the job of the Engineers so badly that in some cases the GI's were in the same spot at the exact same time,as the very men who were already supposed to have cleared a path for the Army Rangers, attacking in the first wave at dawn.
As the boats hit the shore and the ramps came up, the Germans unleashed hellacious fire upon the Rangers attacking in the first wave. Entire boats full of men were destroyed, blown up by the deadly German 88 Millimeter guns. DD tanks were launched during the initial waves hitting Omaha; Most either sank, or were blown apart. Once the ramp was let down, machine gun fire rained down upon the attacking G.I's, knocking out full squadrons in some cases. Most of the men were weighed down with almost 100 pounds worth of equipment and thus were forced to dive into the Channel to shed some of the excess weight. More machine-gun fire and mines awaited as the men slowly reached the beaches. Entire units, most badly scattered, found themselves pinned down at the sea walls that they were already supposed to have been breached.
It was at these very sea walls that the essence of D-Day emerged. It was here that the Captains, Sargeants, and assorted NONCOMS (Non-Commanders) took charge. These young men began to gather their fellow wounded, scattered, and otherwise demoralized fellow Citizen Soldiers. Finally, little by little, these men collected themselves, gathered the supplies and ammunition that they had, while reorganizing the scattered units. It was here that the various Captains and squad leaders gathered their men, looked them in the eye, and said... " If we're going to die, it ain't going to be on this bloody beach head...if we are going to go, we are going to go making a charge on those bastards firing on us." What weapons they still had were gathered, and the strategy that would lead to victory in the months to come, was established. D-Day remains the only battle in the history of American warfare where the upper-echelon commanders (Generals, Officers), were well to the rear of the battle field. Victory was eventually achieved at Normandy through the fortitude and bravery, by the young men in the field.
In the months that followed D-Day the Allies continued their push through France and Belgium, with Eisenhower and Omar Bradley's boys making much progress throughout the Summer and early Fall. Most of this advance was thwarted by the brutal Ardennes Winter of 1944-45 in Belgium, and the supply crisis that would follow. Victory was brought about in August of 1945, with Germany and Japan's surrender.
From one generation to the greatest of all generations, I give my salute to the men who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy, and all throughout Europe and the Japanese theater during World War II. These men saved the world from tyranny and oppression, and liberated the continent of Europe from Nazi rule. Their numbers are shrinking year by year, but this student of the history of Second World War, will always hold a place in his heart for those who fought some 60-plus years ago.
Dr. Ambrose has the final word here: "When will their glory
fade?" Alfred Lord Tennyson asked in his poem Charge Of The Light Brigade, and so I ask about the men of D-Day:
O the wild charge they made
All the world wondered
Honor the charge they made!
