The Normandy Invasion
By: Gabriel Smith
What is the Normandy Invasion?
The Normandy Invasion (June 6th, 1944) or Operation Overlord was the Allied invasion of Western Europe, specifically Normandy, France. This invasion was the largest seaborne invasion in history and resulted in a massive amount of life when Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain stormed the German controlled beaches, but in the end it changed the tide of the war in the Allies favor.
Normandy Defenses
The main German defense of Normandy was called: The Atlantic Wall. This “wall” consisted of mines on the beaches, mines in the English channel, barbed wire fences, concrete walls, obstacles in the water, and deadly fields of fire. The first Atlantic Wall was woefully inadequate, made up of only a fraction of the second wall, and was later improved by Erwin Rommel.
Normandy Environmental Factors
The Normandy Invasion was affected by a number of environmental factors, including: flooded marshes, choppy seas, fierce wind, strong currents, rough surf, tides changed, and offshore shoals. These factors inevitably got many Allied soldiers killed.
Normandy Human Factors
Among the environmental factors that affected Normandy, there were also many human-made factors, such as: the German Atlantic Wall, German Panzer divisions, machine guns on cliffs, artillery, heavy German resistance, anti-aircraft guns, and minefields.
Normandy Attacking Force
Normandy was invaded by a total of 156,000 Allied soldiers, including Canadians, British, and American soldiers. Along with these 156,000 soldiers, 11,590 aircraft were used in the invasion of Normandy, 54,186 vehicles were used in the Normandy Invasion, 6,939 naval vessels were used in the Normandy invasion, and 195,700 soldiers worked on Operation Neptune (Seaborne part of invasion).
Normandy Changing Points
There were many changing points in Normandy, including ones that could have changed the tide of the invasion. For example, American forces were misled about how many forces were at Omaha, and it turned out it was very heavily defended. Also, soldiers at Gold beach arrived late to the invasion, Utah beach was less defended because they did not land where they were supposed to, Allied forces pre-bombed the beaches, and many more.
Normandy Casualties
The casualty count at Normandy was very high, well above 5,000 Allied soldiers, and near 10,000 Axis soldiers. A casualty is when a soldier is dead, wounded, a prisoner of war (POW), or missing in action (MIA). The total number of casualties at D-Day numbered near 17,000 soldiers.
Normandy Leadership
There were many leaders involved in the Normandy Invasion, including:
- Erwin Rommel (German; made Atlantic Wall)
- Carl Spaatz (American; airstrikes to soften defenses)
- Bertram Ramsay (British; led naval forces)
- Bernard Montgomery (British; controlled Allied ground forces)
- Omar Bradley (American; made plans to protect Allied forces)
- Dwight Eisenhower (American; supreme commander of Allied expeditionary force)
- Miles Dempsey (British; commanded 2nd army)
- Trafford Leigh-Mallory (British; created transportation plan)
Normandy Effects
The Normandy Invasion had a drastic effect on the outcome of World War 2. Because of this massive invasion the Jewish population in not extinct, and we are not being ruled by Germany’s fuhrer: Adolf Hitler.