D-Day 77 years ago
Landing on the coast of France under heavy Nazi machine gun fire are these American soldiers, shown just as they left the ramp of a Coast Guard landing boat, June 6, 1944. CPhoM. Robert F. Sargent. (Coast Guard)
NARA FILE #: 026-G-2343
WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #: 1041
Seventy-seven years ago was 6 June, 1944. It’s a good day to re-read some of our old articles on the topic of Operation Overlord which commenced that day, better known as D-Day. Overlord was the Allied invasion of Fortress Europe on the coast of Normandy. It would be a marked success and the largest amphibious assault in history. At the time it was the largest airborne assault as well, and was only outdone several months later by Operation Market Garden (which involved many of the same units as Overlord). Opening a foothold on Continental Europe, from there the fate of the Nazis was sealed. Millions of Allied troops poured into France and in less than a year Germany had surrendered unconditionally and Hitler had killed himself.
US Army History Center’s D-Day piece
Brig. General Theodore Roosevelt – One of only a handful of men who received the Medal of Honor for actions on 6 June 1944 at Normandy.
AW1Ed’s 75-year D-Day Retrospective
Ex-PH2 reminds us of the importance of the weatherman on D-Day
Flak Bait – B-26 Marauder that flew more than 200 combat missions over Europe and always came back, including D-Day.
This delightful bit of bureaucratic nonsense that the war fighters had to death with from guys in the rear.
Category: Historical, Real Soldiers, We Remember
I have seen Brits on the internet (quite a few can be found on Quora) claim that they could have defeated Germany with just the Soviet Union and without the US (never mind the fact the Soviet Union fought in a very wasteful manner). While that maybe true, they seem to ignore the fact the Soviet Union was not a country you would want to be friends with and they would probably be right back at square one when they realize that Soviets were not just going to turn around and go home. Honestly, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are two opposite sides of the exact same coin.
The war in Europe became a race to try to take over more land than the Soviets by the end of the war. Much less land would have been taken if it had only been Brits. (Or only US, for that matter, to make the argument fair.) I say the same about the dropping of the atomic bombs. How much of Japan would have been flying under a commie flag if we had not forced the Japanese to surrender when they did, due to the atomic bombings? More than they would like, I’d wager. They are still fighting over the Kuril Islands.
Here is another scenario that just occurred to me. Okay, so the British manage to defeat the Germans with just the Soviets and no involvement from the US. They quickly come to the realization that the Soviets will not be going anywhere. They most certainly are not going to give up the countries they just took over. So, here is the important question.
Would the British have had the required financial reserves to fight a war with the Soviet Union for when the day comes that the Soviets start looking at them like a predator sizing up their prey and begin wondering if they can potentially take over the UK as well? They were still pretty strapped for cash thanks to World War I and were even more strapped at the end of World War II.
We would still have gotten sucked into it.
All wars are proxy wars in some fashion.
I do not deny that.
Both the Brits and (more so) the Soviets were reliant on Lend-Lease.
They did start the war allied, parceling up Eastern Europe.
Which people seem to forget.
I actually saw a Tweet a couple years back (before I got banned for life for disrespecting Hillary) that stated the Soviet Union won the war nearly singlehandedly as the Allies only had to face 10 German divisions in Europe. For anyone who might be tempted to believe that enormous lie, here is the German Order of Battle in the West on 6 June 1944:
Order of battle of German Forces in the West, 6.06.44 – Feldgrau
It seems that people leave out the 24 hour bombing campaign performed by the RAF and US Army Air Forces which helped prevent Germany from ever reaching their maximum industrial output. Since the RAF could only attack at night, that means the damage would not have been as wide spread if the USAAF was not involved and Germany could easily utilize the many factories that they now had under their control throughout the territories that they took over across Europe to manufacture equipment. It also means that the Luftwaffe could concentrate more of their resources against the Soviets as they would only have to worry about the RAF.
My dad was a gunner/togglier in a B-17 late in the war
flying missions out of Foggia. The assesment photos
he brought back (and I still have) prove your point.
Massive damage that Russia would not have been in
any shape to rebuild let alone control.
Exhibit A….Berlin cut in half.
Amen. There is also Exhibit B: people risking life and limb to escape from the “Democratic Republic” of Germany after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The most audacious escape was a train engineer and his fireman who drove their locomotive through the wall at full speed. Unfortunately, many others did not make it.
“WE RISKED IT ALL to escape the perils of Capitalism to live in socialism” said no sane person ever.
God Bless them men that stormed the beaches that day. They fought and died for freedom from tyranny. Don’t let their sacrifices be vain. Let’s keep America the country they believed in. That we believe in. Never give up.
Gen Z thinks they can “Uber” that now.
Okinawa?
It breaks my heart how few of those men are left among us today, and I fear a majority of today’s youth simply don’t know or care what treasures are slipping away from them each day.
And to think, several of my father’s high school teachers were D-Day veterans, as well as two uncles. It amazed me and does even moreso when I think that at that time, less time had passed between D-Day and his school years than time between now and the First Gulf War. Heroes walked among us by the millions in those years. Simply incredible.
A little history.
Rangers, do indeed, lead the way.
Frank DeVita, a Coast Guard Gunner’s Mate on a Higgins boat that day tells his story.
D-Day vet tells his story: ‘Why am I alive?’ – YouTube
77 years ago?
I mean, is anyone counting the last year of the O’Xiden regime on the record of human history?
Somethings are worth forgoing and forgetting.
(i.e., point taken)
I had meant to visit the largest ABMC cemetery on Memorial Day 2014. I couldn’t make it work. So I settled for doing it on the 70th anniversary of D-Day a few days later.
How many times I have to tell you guys that I am not good at maths?
∞
Small correction here, but that should be 78 years ago. Had to take my shoes off to double check my math.
There would be 4,414 allied lives lost on that day, but it marked the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.
I can’t imagine going ashore with that much fire directed towards you, and seeing people all around you being mowed down. But onward they went, and achieved their goals.
Went to Normandy a few times as a kid, and to the Allied Cemeteries…..As for the cemeteries, when a Senior in HS, I made the following remark to my dad “How can something so beautiful, be born of something so ugly……”
Here’s a story on the only Chinese member of the WWII 5th Rangers, who also went ashore during D-Day.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chinese-d-day-ranger-fought-171610283.html
American Military News has some interesting images of the various D-Day memorials:
Photos: D-Day remembered – A look at the invasion 78 years ago in Normandy | American Military News
Mason, It was 78 years ago, but other than that it all needs to be remembered past their and our generations.
That picture is of E 2/16 Infantry. The found a seam between the killing fields left and right and avoided the roads off the beach, bulling their way o the top and engaging some of the bunkers from behind.
Really tired of the Russia won the war crap. Yes the average Russian soldier fought well on ONE front.
On D day another large fleet leftHawaii bound for Saipan and Guam,
The Russians received billions in aid from lend lease, including 80000 studebaker trucks.
This aid was transported at great risk by British and American ships.
About a million Germans were tied down in Germany on air defense.
Rome was captured on 5 June 44
Many of those Studebaker trucks given to the Russkies were abandoned as soon as they broke down due to a lack of maintenance.
Never forget! Twice in less than 30 years that American Blood and Money saved the world from depostic tyrants. Ironically, we now have wanna be despotic tyrants running our country that we need to be saved from. If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
Thanks to all for the great linkys in re of this momentous day in history.
You Be The Judge:
“Biden White House Neglects To Mention Anniversary If D-Day, Second Year In A Row”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-white-house-anniversary-d-day-normandy
But he’ll sure as fuck show up at a perversity (*OOPS*, Pride) Rally or go dance in the blood of murdered children to further his party’s political agenda.
18-20-some Year Olds going “into the belly of the beast” risking all, many giving all while today many of the same age group in so-called “colleges” need “safe spaces” with crayons and coloring books to get away from whatever “offends” them or hurts their pwecious feewings.
I think somewhere they said the average age on the beaches was 19.
Absolutely incredible.
Gen Z thinks you can just “Uber” this now.
Posted that before… my bad. Gen Z still sux though.
Gen X was different, despite being called “slackers” by Boomers:
Makes me think of the photo of Theodore Miller, the weary Marine climbing aboard a transport in 1944 after combat on Eniwetok. He was killed a couple weeks later in action on another island.
The difference between that young man and the young non-binaries and slackers of today’s mess of a society after ONLY 78 YEARS is fucking scary and sad.