The landing in Normandywhich took place on Tuesday June 6, 1944was one of the most impressive and important military operations in history, sometimes improperly called D-dayan expression used in military jargon in numerous military actions, which actually means “day x”. The Anglo -American, who started from southern England and supported by French partisans, landed in the region in northern France to free it from the Nazi occupation. At the head of the operations was the general Dwight “ike” eisenhower. The landing took place later months of preparation and it was above all conducted by American soldiers, English And Canadian. Normandy landing was one of the most important components of theOperation Overlordthat is, the invasion of France occupied by the Nazis. The outcome was in favor of the allies, who started the liberation of Western Europe. Less than a year later, thanks also to the Soviet advance from the east, the Second World War in Europe was over.
The situation of the Second World War before the landing in Normandy
In 1944 the Second World War was fought mainly on three fronts:
- The forehead Easternthe most important in terms of men and means, which opposed Germany and its allies to the Soviet Union. In 1943 the Red Army had started a powerful counter -offensive, which in 1945 will lead her to conquer Berlin and put an end to the war;
- The Italian frontopened in September 1943 when the Anglo -American, after freeing North Africa and Sicily, had landed in the peninsula. From the south they progressively advanced to the north, forcing the Germans and their fascist allies to retreat
- The Pacific ocean frontin which the United States and their allies fought against the empire of Japan.
The forces of the axis were in retreat on all frontsbut at the beginning of 1944 most of Europe was still occupied by Germany’s soldiers or governed by its allies. The Soviet Union, which supported the greatest weight of the conflict against the Germans, insistently asked the allies to open a new front and attack Germany from the west.
The preparations and the Atlantic Vallo
At the Tehran conference of November 1943, the leaders of the allied countries promised to Stalin that the invasion of Europe would take place in 1944. The operation was baptized Overlord And he expected that the troops, starting from England, landed in northern France and, from there, advanced to Germany. Before the start of the operations, England was filled with military fields and operational bases that housed the soldiers pending the attack. The US General General was placed in command of the operations Dwight eisenhowerwhich in December 1943 was appointed head of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary forcethat is, commander in the field of allied troops in Europe. Eisenhower and his command decided to make the landing in Normandy, instead of Calais, which would have been the most logical point for an invasion. The Germans, in fact, were aware that the allies would invaded France and had prepared imposing coastal defenses, emphasized “Vallo Atlantico“And coordinated by Feldmaresse Erwin Rommel, the most famous German general. The Atlantic Vallo, however, was particularly fortified in Calais, where most of the German troops was deployed, but was much weaker in Normandy.
The allies’ plan
The allied plan planned to land the troops on 5 beaches of the Norman coast, called with code names Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno And Sword. The first two were reserved for the Americans, the other three to the British and Canadian troops. Before the landing, a massive was foreseen Campaign for aerial bombings and, in the previous night the operations, the launch of paratroopers And AviotraSported soldiers To occupy strategic points such as railway bridges and joints. The allies also organized a vast sidetracking operation, to make the Germans believe that the landing would take place in Calais. They could also count on the support of the French resistancewhich, before the landing, created numerous sabotage operations to the detriment of the Germans.
Military operations and victims
The operations began on the night between 5 and 6 June 1944. About Normandy first arrived 20 000 Paratroopers and Avntaged Soldierswho occupied some stations and freed the first French country, Sainte-Mère Église, located a few kilometers from the coast. The real landing, called Neptune operationbegan at dawn. War ships, approaching the coast, cannon the German defenses; Subsequently, the landing vehicles approached the beaches and made the soldiers go down, under the fire of the Germans who shot their workstations. The Anglo -Americans, who had a clear superiority of means and men, could complete the Operations successfully. On the beach Omahahowever, the German resistance proved to be more intense than expected and the Americans managed to conquer the beach only at the cost of serious losses. The Germans did not employ all their resources to counter the landing. Even after the start of the operations, in fact, they continued to think that the real invasion would take place in Calais and that the landing in Normandy was a diversion.
Overall, on the day of the landing they came about the French coast 156,000 soldiers. The allies they lost about 10,000 menincluding over 4,000 deaths; The Germans suffered losses between 4,000 and 9,000 menconsidering deaths, wounded and prisoners. The entire Overlord operation, also comprising the soldiers who arrived in the following days, involved approximately 850,000 mentogether with a large amount of planes, tanks and other means.
The consequences of the landing in Normandy
The landing started the liberation western Europe. The Germans still opposed a tenacious resistance in the following months, but they could not stop the advance of the allies. On August 26 the troops of the Free Francethat is, the French soldiers who had not accepted the defeat in 1940 and fought against the Germans under the orders of the General de Gaullethey freed Paris. In April of the following year, the allies who advanced from the west and the Russians who came from the east met at the Elba river. The war in Europe was over and Nazism had been defeated.
