D-Day Normandy Research Paper

D-Day or the Normandy Invasion, was the Allied effort to break the Western Front and launch a full invasion of Germany. It was code named Operation Overlord, and consisted on the storming of five beaches in Normandy France, by joint British Canadian, and American forces. The five beaches were code named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword and were to be attacked by The United States, The United States, Britain, Canada, and Britain respectively (3). However, it was no simple task as the beaches were characterized by sharp rocks, cliffs, and Hitler’s Atlantic wall. The location at Normandy was chosen because it was unexpected and the Atlantic wall was mostly field obstacles in that region. However, the psychological impact of Nazi propaganda was …show more content…
of 1944 (6). Eisenhower planned for the invasion to take place on Jun. the 5th however bad weather delayed the invasion till Jun. the 6th (6). By dawn, paratroopers and glider troops were on the ground capturing bridges and exit roads, while the amphibious assault began at 6:30 (6). British, Canadian, and American forces encountered little opposition at Sword, Gold, and Utah; however, American forces encountered heavy opposition at Omaha were there were nearly 2,000 American casualties (6). After the completion of the invasion 156,000 Allied troops succeeded in invading Normandy, however estimates recorded 4,000 fatalities with several thousand more wounded or MIA (6). On Jun. 11, the Normandy beaches were completely secured by over 326,000 troops, 50,000 vehicles, and 100,000 tons of equipment (6). In the absence of Rommel, who was on leave, and with confusion within German ranks Hitler did not send reinforcements; in part because he believed that the Normandy invasion was just a distraction for a larger attack soon coming north of the Seine River (6). The dismay within the German military ultimately lead to the success of the invasion and the success of the later German