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D-Day: The Story of Operation Neptune
*Includes pictures
*Includes a table of contents
“The invasion of Europe was planned by a small group of driving, determined, devoted and occasionally furious men.”
On June 6, 1944 the Allies carried out the largest amphibious assault in history. Five divisions of British, American, and Canadian troops were landed along a 50-mile stretch of the coast of Normandy in northern France; their mission to gain a foothold ashore and begin the liberation of north-west Europe. The flanks of the invasion force were secured by a major parachute and glider drop of three airborne divisions. By the end of that eventful day, Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” had been breached and 156,000 Allied soldiers were firmly established on French soil.
Operation “Overlord” was the name given to the plan to liberate occupied Europe, but the large-scale naval operation to assault the enemy coast and get the armies ashore was codenamed Operation “Neptune.” Almost 7,000 warships, transports, and landing craft of all types and sizes were involved. The assault was preceded by a massive air and naval bombardment, and the whole enterprise was carried out under an umbrella of fighter protection by the Allied air forces.
D-Day was a masterpiece of planning, preparation, and execution. It involved the largest gathering of naval vessels and landing craft ever seen, the careful stockpiling of vast quantities of vehicles, supplies, and equipment, and the movement, under great secrecy, of tens of thousands of men into assembly areas in southern England from where they would embark. A huge air effort was involved, which included months of preparatory bombing and intelligence gathering. Fundamental to its success was an Allied deception plan that successfully kept the enemy guessing as to where and when the invasion would take place. Even after the landings had occurred, the fiction was maintained that this was only a feint and the “real” invasion would come elsewhere.
“Overlord” has rightly become one of the most famous military operations of all time. It represented a major turning point in the Second World War. Hitherto, Allied military strategy had favored engaging the Germans in what might be described as peripheral campaigns. In North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Italy British and American troops won important victories and gradually reduced the zone of Axis influence. At sea, a vital battle to secure Britain’s economic and military lifeline with the United States was fought and won in the Atlantic. In the air, Britain had unleashed a strategic bomber offensive of increasing strength against German war industry.
But ultimately, and even with Russian successes in the East, there could be no definitive victory until the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe was invaded from across the Channel, and the main German armies confronted in battle. To achieve this feat required not only the political and military will, but a patient build-up of strength and the development of new technologies and skills. Britain could not carry out the task alone. The entry into the war of the United States, the industrial powerhouse of the western democracies, enabled such an enterprise to be planned and successfully carried to fruition. “Overlord” opened up the Second Front, and paved the way to final victory.
*Includes a table of contents
“The invasion of Europe was planned by a small group of driving, determined, devoted and occasionally furious men.”
On June 6, 1944 the Allies carried out the largest amphibious assault in history. Five divisions of British, American, and Canadian troops were landed along a 50-mile stretch of the coast of Normandy in northern France; their mission to gain a foothold ashore and begin the liberation of north-west Europe. The flanks of the invasion force were secured by a major parachute and glider drop of three airborne divisions. By the end of that eventful day, Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” had been breached and 156,000 Allied soldiers were firmly established on French soil.
Operation “Overlord” was the name given to the plan to liberate occupied Europe, but the large-scale naval operation to assault the enemy coast and get the armies ashore was codenamed Operation “Neptune.” Almost 7,000 warships, transports, and landing craft of all types and sizes were involved. The assault was preceded by a massive air and naval bombardment, and the whole enterprise was carried out under an umbrella of fighter protection by the Allied air forces.
D-Day was a masterpiece of planning, preparation, and execution. It involved the largest gathering of naval vessels and landing craft ever seen, the careful stockpiling of vast quantities of vehicles, supplies, and equipment, and the movement, under great secrecy, of tens of thousands of men into assembly areas in southern England from where they would embark. A huge air effort was involved, which included months of preparatory bombing and intelligence gathering. Fundamental to its success was an Allied deception plan that successfully kept the enemy guessing as to where and when the invasion would take place. Even after the landings had occurred, the fiction was maintained that this was only a feint and the “real” invasion would come elsewhere.
“Overlord” has rightly become one of the most famous military operations of all time. It represented a major turning point in the Second World War. Hitherto, Allied military strategy had favored engaging the Germans in what might be described as peripheral campaigns. In North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Italy British and American troops won important victories and gradually reduced the zone of Axis influence. At sea, a vital battle to secure Britain’s economic and military lifeline with the United States was fought and won in the Atlantic. In the air, Britain had unleashed a strategic bomber offensive of increasing strength against German war industry.
But ultimately, and even with Russian successes in the East, there could be no definitive victory until the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe was invaded from across the Channel, and the main German armies confronted in battle. To achieve this feat required not only the political and military will, but a patient build-up of strength and the development of new technologies and skills. Britain could not carry out the task alone. The entry into the war of the United States, the industrial powerhouse of the western democracies, enabled such an enterprise to be planned and successfully carried to fruition. “Overlord” opened up the Second Front, and paved the way to final victory.
44 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2014
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