The Battle of D-Day
“You are about to embark on the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you….. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle”(General Dwight D Eisenhower). These are words spoken on the day the tides turned into World War 2. On June 6, 1944, the U.S and its allies invaded Normandy Beach. D-Day was called the beginning of World War 2 because of its great impact on the War (National D-Day Memorial). D-Day was one of the most important battles in World War 2.
The battle of D-Day took a lot of planning and preparation. To even run an operation as big as D-Day the allies needed a good leader. “ Dwight Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied commander …show more content…
All the paratroopers had special jobs like clearing spots for equipment and gliders to land. Some of the gliders carried light tanks. They also had special targets to attack. When on the ground, the paratroopers started to form LGOP´s, also known as little groups of paratroopers(How the D-Day invasion was planned). By dawn, thousands of paratroopers were on the ground securing bridges and exit roads (D-Day). Altogether, 23,000 paratroopers were used in D-Day. At 5:50 A.m, the largest naval bombardment ever seen at the time was going to begin. British ships shelled German coastal guns, pillboxes, and fortified German positions before and after the landings. ¨ The bombardment was largely effective at neutralizing the German coastal guns, which failed to land a single hit on any allied ship¨(National D-Day Memorial). In 10 minutes 600 naval guns fired 2000 tons of shells at Nazi batteries. The air force also played a major role in in D-Day. The Germans had 1750 fighter planes and 500 bombers compared to 7500 allied planes. Allies used glide bombing, strafe bombing, and dive bombing in the attack. Overall, 11,000 tons of bombs were dropped on D-Day. ¨ The plan worked so well that the Luftwaffe left they sky to the Allies on D-Day¨(How the D-Day invasion was planned). The Luftwaffe was the German air …show more content…
156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on beaches along a 50-mile stretch of land(D-Day). The Americans and other allies had separate beaches that the attacked. One American beach was called Utah Beach. On this beach, there were 2,697 casualties. Right before this attack, Paratroopers from the 82 and 101 divisions landed. Another beach was Omaha beach. The allies split this beach into sections. ¨ The beach was split into 8 sections, Charlie, Dog Green, Dog White, Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox Green, and Fox Red¨(National D-Day Memorial). This made communication a lot easier. The men attacked during low tide so the landing craft couldn't make it all the way to the shore. The men had to wade through the water to get to the beach. Most men drowned or were killed by enemy fire before even reaching the beach. Tanks were supposed to support but sank before getting to the beach(National D-Day Memorial. Through all this hard work D-Day was a
“You are about to embark on the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you….. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle”(General Dwight D Eisenhower). These are words spoken on the day the tides turned into World War 2. On June 6, 1944, the U.S and its allies invaded Normandy Beach. D-Day was called the beginning of World War 2 because of its great impact on the War (National D-Day Memorial). D-Day was one of the most important battles in World War 2.
The battle of D-Day took a lot of planning and preparation. To even run an operation as big as D-Day the allies needed a good leader. “ Dwight Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied commander …show more content…
All the paratroopers had special jobs like clearing spots for equipment and gliders to land. Some of the gliders carried light tanks. They also had special targets to attack. When on the ground, the paratroopers started to form LGOP´s, also known as little groups of paratroopers(How the D-Day invasion was planned). By dawn, thousands of paratroopers were on the ground securing bridges and exit roads (D-Day). Altogether, 23,000 paratroopers were used in D-Day. At 5:50 A.m, the largest naval bombardment ever seen at the time was going to begin. British ships shelled German coastal guns, pillboxes, and fortified German positions before and after the landings. ¨ The bombardment was largely effective at neutralizing the German coastal guns, which failed to land a single hit on any allied ship¨(National D-Day Memorial). In 10 minutes 600 naval guns fired 2000 tons of shells at Nazi batteries. The air force also played a major role in in D-Day. The Germans had 1750 fighter planes and 500 bombers compared to 7500 allied planes. Allies used glide bombing, strafe bombing, and dive bombing in the attack. Overall, 11,000 tons of bombs were dropped on D-Day. ¨ The plan worked so well that the Luftwaffe left they sky to the Allies on D-Day¨(How the D-Day invasion was planned). The Luftwaffe was the German air …show more content…
156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on beaches along a 50-mile stretch of land(D-Day). The Americans and other allies had separate beaches that the attacked. One American beach was called Utah Beach. On this beach, there were 2,697 casualties. Right before this attack, Paratroopers from the 82 and 101 divisions landed. Another beach was Omaha beach. The allies split this beach into sections. ¨ The beach was split into 8 sections, Charlie, Dog Green, Dog White, Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox Green, and Fox Red¨(National D-Day Memorial). This made communication a lot easier. The men attacked during low tide so the landing craft couldn't make it all the way to the shore. The men had to wade through the water to get to the beach. Most men drowned or were killed by enemy fire before even reaching the beach. Tanks were supposed to support but sank before getting to the beach(National D-Day Memorial. Through all this hard work D-Day was a