Ele Ludemann: 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord – what have we learned?

It is 80 years since D-Day when Operation Overlord. the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare took place.

It was pivotal in ending Germany’s occupation in Europe and came at the cost of thousands of lives.

Some of the horrors the men landing faced are explained at the Normandy American War Cemetery.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,388 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

Click to view

The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations; at the center is the bronze statue, “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.” An orientation table overlooking the beach depicts the landings in Normandy. Facing west at the memorial, one sees in the foreground the reflecting pool; beyond is the burial area with a circular chapel and, at the far end, granite statues representing the United States and France.

The Imperial War Museum records what happened:

Early on 6 June, Allied airborne forces parachuted into drop zones across northern France. Ground troops then landed across five assault beaches – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the day, the Allies had established a foothold along the coast and could begin their advance into France. . .

The aim was to open a second front to relieve pressure on Russia in the east and liberate France to weaken Germany’s overall position in Europe.

A command team led by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was formed in December 1943 to plan the naval, air and land operations. Deception campaigns were developed to draw German attention – and strength – away from Normandy. To build up resources for the invasion, British factories increased production and in the first half of 1944 approximately 9 million tonnes of supplies and equipment crossed the Atlantic from North America to Britain. A substantial Canadian force had been building up in Britain since December 1939 and over 1.4 million American servicemen arrived during 1943 and 1944 to take part in the landings.

D-Day was an international effort.

The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) was an international coalition and although the Allies were united against Germany, the military leadership responsible for ‘Overlord’ had to overcome political, cultural and personal tensions.

By 1944, over 2 million troops from over 12 countries were in Britain in preparation for the invasion. On D-Day, Allied forces consisted primarily of American, British and Canadian troops but also included Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian and Polish naval, air or ground support.

It was the largest naval, air and land operation in history.

The invasion was conducted in two main phases – an airborne assault and amphibious landings. Shortly after midnight on 6 June, over 18,000 Allied paratroopers were dropped into the invasion area to provide tactical support for infantry divisions on the beaches. Allied air forces flew over 14,000 sorties in support of the landings and, having secured air supremacy prior to the invasion, many of these flights were unchallenged by the Luftwaffe.

Nearly 7,000 naval vessels, including battleships, destroyers, minesweepers, escorts and assault craft took part in Operation ‘Neptune’, the naval component of ‘Overlord’. Naval forces were responsible for escorting and landing over 132,000 ground troops on the beaches. They also carried out bombardments on German coastal defences before and during the landings and provided artillery support for the invading troops.

German defences weren’t all effective.

Germany tried to defend the northern coast of France with a series of fortifications known as the ‘Atlantic Wall’. However, German defences were often incomplete and insufficiently manned.

Members of the French Resistance and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) provided intelligence and helped weaken defences through sabotage. The Allied deception campaigns succeeded in convincing the Germans as late as July 1944 that the main invasion force would still land elsewhere. The threat of this larger, second invasion kept German reinforcements tied down away from Normandy.

Defence also suffered from the complex and often confused command structure of the German Army as well as the constant interference of Adolf Hitler in military matters. However, the Allies faced a number of setbacks both on 6 June and in the months that followed.

On D-Day, the Americans came close to defeat on Omaha partially because the preliminary air and naval bombardment failed to knock out strong defence points, but also because they faced highly effective German troops who had gained hard-earned experience on the Eastern Front. Throughout the Battle of Normandy, the technical superiority of their tanks and anti-tank weapons, as well as the tactical skill of their commanders, gave German forces an advantage over the Allies. However, the Germans were never able to fully exploit their successes or the weaknesses of the Allies in a decisive way. . .

D-Day was only possible because of Allied efforts elsewhere.

In planning D-Day, Allied commanders drew important lessons from previous failures at Dieppe in France and Anzio in Italy.

The Allied strategic bombing campaign, which began in 1942, weakened German industry and forced Germany to commit manpower and resources away from Normandy to home defence. Securing air superiority allowed the Allies to carry out aerial reconnaissance, giving them vital intelligence on German coastal defences.

D-Day also depended on Allied control of the Atlantic, which was finally achieved in 1943 through victory in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The campaign in Italy directed German troops away from the Western and Eastern Fronts. The Soviet Belorussian offensive, Operation ‘Bagration’, was launched just after ‘Overlord’ and destroyed the entire German Army Group Centre. It also kept German forces tied down in the east. Ten weeks after D-Day, the Allies launched a second invasion on the southern coast of France and began a simultaneous advance towards Germany. . .

D-Day was significant but it was just the start.

Establishing a bridgehead was critical, but it was just the first step. In the three months after D-Day, the Allies launched a series of additional offensives to try and advance further inland. These operations varied in success and the Allies faced strong and determined German resistance.

The bocage – a peculiarity of the Normandy landscape characterised by sunken lanes bordered by high, thick hedgerows – was difficult to penetrate and placed the advantage with the German defenders. Yet the bloody and protracted Battle of Normandy was a decisive victory for the Allies and paved the way for the liberation of much of north-west Europe. . .

The battle didn’t end the war in Europe, but it was the start of the process.

By the end of August 1944, the German Army was in full retreat from France, but by September Allied momentum had slowed. The Germans were able to regroup and launched a failed but determined counter-offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944. This defeat sapped German manpower and resources and allowed the Allies to resume their advance towards Germany. . .

The June 6th D-Day was one of many in the war.

D-Day’ is a general term for the start date of any military operation – the ‘D’ stands for ‘day’. It is often used when the exact date is either secret or not yet known. Some people thought soldiers serving in Italy were avoiding ‘real combat’ in France and called them ‘D-Day Dodgers’. But troops in Italy had faced their own D-Days at Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio and were engaged in a dangerous and difficult advance up the Italian peninsula.

Eighty years on, what have we learned?

Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.