Log in to your personal account. The second front was opened Where were our troops in June 1944

"Second front". For three whole years our soldiers opened it. This is what the American stew was called. And also the "second front" existed in the form of aircraft, tanks, trucks, non-ferrous metals. But the real opening of the second front, the landing in Normandy, took place only on June 6, 1944.

Europe as one impregnable fortress

In December 1941, Adolf Hitler announced that he would create a belt of gigantic fortifications from Norway to Spain and this would be an insurmountable front for any enemy. This was the first reaction of the Fuhrer to the entry of the United States into the Second World War. Not knowing where the allied troops would land, in Normandy or elsewhere, he promised to turn the whole of Europe into an impregnable fortress.

It was absolutely impossible to do this, however, for a whole year no fortifications were built along the coastline. And why did it? The Wehrmacht was advancing on all fronts, and the victory of the Germans seemed to them simply inevitable.

Start of construction

At the end of 1942, Hitler now seriously ordered the construction of a belt of structures on the western coast of Europe, which he called the Atlantic Wall, in a year. The construction employed nearly 600,000 people. All of Europe was left without cement. Even materials from the old French Maginot line were used, but it was not possible to make it on time. The main thing was missing - well-trained and armed troops. The Eastern Front was literally devouring German divisions. So many parts in the west had to be formed from old people, children and women. The combat effectiveness of such troops did not inspire any optimism in the commander-in-chief on the Western Front, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. He repeatedly asked the Fuehrer for reinforcements. Hitler eventually sent Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to help him.

New curator

The aged Gerd von Rundstedt and the energetic Erwin Rommel did not work together right away. Rommel did not like the fact that the Atlantic Wall was only half built, there were not enough large-caliber guns, and despondency reigns among the troops. In private conversations, Gerd von Rundstedt called defenses a bluff. He believed that his units should be withdrawn from the coast and attack the Allied landing site in Normandy after. Erwin Rommel strongly disagreed with this. He intended to defeat the British and Americans right on the shore, where they could not bring up reinforcements.

For this it was necessary to concentrate tank and motorized divisions off the coast. Erwin Rommel stated: “The war will be won or lost on these sands. The first 24 hours of the invasion will be crucial. The landing of troops in Normandy will enter military history as one of the most unfortunate thanks to the gallant German army. " In general, Adolf Hitler approved Erwin Rommel's plan, but left the tank divisions in his subordination.

The coastline is getting stronger

Even under these conditions, Erwin Rommel did a lot. Almost the entire coast of French Normandy was mined, and tens of thousands of metal and wooden slingshots were installed below the water level at low tide. It seemed that a landing in Normandy was impossible. The protective structures were supposed to stop the landing craft so that the coastal artillery could target enemy targets. The troops were engaged in combat training without interruption. There is not a single part left on the coast that Erwin Rommel has not visited.

Everything is ready for defense, you can rest

In April 1944 he will tell his adjutant: "Today I have only one enemy, and that enemy is time." All these worries so exhausted Erwin Rommel that in early June he went on a short vacation, however, like many German military commanders of the west coast. Those who did not go on vacation, by a strange coincidence, found themselves on business trips far from the coast. The generals and officers who remained in the field were calm and relaxed. The weather forecast until mid-June was the most unsuitable for the landing. Therefore, the landing of the allies in Normandy seemed to be something unreal and fantastic. Severe rough seas, squally winds and low clouds. No one had any idea that an unprecedented armada of ships had already left the British ports.

Great battles. Landing in Normandy

The landing operation in Normandy was named "Overlord" by the Allies. Literally translated, it means "lord". It became the largest amphibious operation in the history of mankind. The landing of the allied forces in Normandy took place with the participation of 5,000 warships and landing craft. The Allied Commander-in-Chief, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, could not postpone the landing due to the weather. Only three days - from 5 to 7 June - was the late moon, and just after dawn - low tide. The condition for the transfer of paratroopers and troops on gliders was the dark sky and the rising of the moon during the landing. Low tide was necessary for the amphibious assault to see the coastal barriers. In the stormy sea, thousands of paratroopers suffered from seasickness in the cramped holds of boats and barges. Several dozen ships could not withstand the assault and drowned. But nothing could stop the operation. Disembarkation in Normandy begins. The troops were to land at five locations along the coast.

Operation Overlord begins

At 0 hours 15 minutes on June 6, 1944, the ruler entered the land of Europe. The operation was started by paratroopers. Eighteen thousand paratroopers scattered across the lands of Normandy. However, not everyone was lucky. About half ended up in swamps and minefields, but the other half completed their tasks. Panic began in the German rear. Communication lines were destroyed, and, most importantly, intact strategically important bridges were captured. By this time, the marines were already fighting on the coast.

The landing of American troops in Normandy was on the sandy beaches of Omaha and Utah, the British and Canadians landed in the Sword, June and Gold sectors. Warships fought a duel with coastal artillery, trying, if not to suppress, then at least to distract them from the paratroopers. Thousands of Allied aircraft simultaneously bombed and stormed German positions. One English pilot recalled that the main task was not to collide with each other in the sky. Allied air advantage was 72: 1.

Memories of a German ace

On the morning and afternoon of June 6, the Luftwaffe offered no resistance to the coalition forces. Only two German pilots showed up in the landing area, this is the commander of the 26th fighter squadron, the famous ace Joseph Priller, and his wingman.

Joseph Priller (1915-1961) got tired of listening to confused explanations of what was happening on the shore, and he flew out on his own. Seeing thousands of ships at sea and thousands of aircraft in the air, he ironically exclaimed: "Today is truly a great day for the Luftwaffe pilots." Indeed, never before has the Reich air force been so powerless. Two planes swept in low level flight over the beach, firing cannons and machine guns, and disappeared into the clouds. That's all they could do. When the mechanics examined the plane of the German ace, it turned out that there were more than two hundred bullet holes in it.

The assault of the allied forces continues

The Nazi naval forces did a little better. Three torpedo boats in a suicidal attack by the invasion fleet managed to sink one American destroyer. The landing of allied troops in Normandy, namely the British and Canadians, did not meet with serious resistance in their sectors. In addition, they managed to transport tanks and guns to the shore in integrity. The Americans, especially in the Omaha sector, were much less fortunate. Here, the Germans were defended by the 352nd division, which consisted of veterans fired on on different fronts.

The Germans let the paratroopers close to four hundred meters and opened hurricane fire. Almost all of the American boats approached the coast east of the designated places. They were carried away by a strong current, and the thick smoke from the fires made it difficult to navigate. The sapper platoons were almost destroyed, so there was no one to make the passages in the minefields. The panic began. Then several destroyers came close to the coast and began to strike with direct fire at the positions of the Germans. The 352nd division did not remain in debt to the sailors, the ships received serious damage, but the paratroopers under their cover were able to break through the German defenses. Thanks to this, the Americans and the British were able to advance several miles in all areas of the landing.

Trouble for the Fuhrer

A few hours later, when Adolf Hitler awoke, Field Marshals Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl gently informed him that the Allied landing seemed to have begun. Since there was no exact data, the Fuhrer did not believe them. The tank divisions remained where they were. At this time, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was sitting at home and did not really know anything either. The German military commanders lost their time. The attacks of the following days and weeks yielded nothing. The Atlantic Wall collapsed. The allies went out into the operational space. Everything was decided in the first twenty-four hours. The landing of the Allies in Normandy took place.

Historic Day "D"

A huge army crossed the English Channel and landed in France. The first day of the offensive was called D-Day. The task is to gain a foothold on the coast and drive the Nazis out of Normandy. But bad weather in the strait could lead to disaster. The English Channel is famous for its storms. In a matter of minutes, visibility could drop to 50 meters. Commander-in-Chief Dwight D. Eisenhower demanded a minute-by-minute weather report. All responsibility fell on the chief meteorologist and his team.

Allied military assistance in the fight against the Nazis

1944 year. The Second World War has been going on for four years. The Germans occupied all of Europe. The forces of the allies of Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States need a decisive blow. Intelligence reported that the Germans would soon begin to use guided missiles and atomic bombs. An energetic offensive was to interrupt the plans of the Nazis. The easiest way is to go through the occupied territories, for example through France. The secret name of the operation is Overlord.

The landing in Normandy of 150 thousand Allied soldiers was scheduled for May 1944. They were supported by transport planes, bombers, fighters and a flotilla of 6,000 ships. Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the offensive. The date of the disembarkation was kept in the strictest confidence. At the first stage, the 1944 landing in Normandy was supposed to capture more than 70 kilometers of the French coast. The exact areas of the assault of the German troops were kept in strict secrecy. The Allies chose five beaches from east to west.

Commander-in-Chief's worries

May 1, 1944 could potentially be the start date of Operation Overlord, but this day was abandoned due to the unpreparedness of the troops. For military and political reasons, the operation was postponed to early June.

In his memoirs, Dwight Eisenhower wrote: "If this operation, the landing of the Americans in Normandy, does not take place, then only I will be to blame." Operation Overlord begins at midnight on June 6. Commander-in-Chief Dwight D. Eisenhower personally visits the 101st Air Division just prior to departure. Everyone understood that up to 80% of the soldiers would not survive this assault.

Overlord: chronicle of events

The landing in Normandy of the airborne assault was to take place first on the shores of France. However, everything went wrong. The pilots of the two divisions needed good visibility, they were not supposed to drop troops into the sea, but they could not see anything. The parachutists disappeared into the clouds and landed a few kilometers from the collection point. Then the bombers had to clear the way for the amphibious assault. But they didn't fix their goals.

On the Omaha beach, 12 thousand bombs had to fall to destroy all obstacles. But when the bombers reached the coast of France, the pilots found themselves in a difficult situation. There were clouds all around. The bulk of the bombs fell ten kilometers south of the beach. Allied gliders were ineffective.

At 3.30 am the flotilla headed for the shores of Normandy. After a few hours, the soldiers boarded small wooden boats to finally reach the beach. Huge waves rocked the small boats like matchboxes in the frigid waters of the English Channel. Only at dawn did the Allied amphibious landing in Normandy begin (see photo below).

Death awaited the soldiers on the shore. There were obstacles all around, anti-tank hedgehogs, everything around was mined. The Allied fleet fired at the German positions, but strong storm waves interfered with aimed fire.

The first soldiers to disembark were waiting for the fierce fire of German machine guns and cannons. Hundreds of soldiers died. But they continued to fight. It seemed like a real miracle. Despite the most powerful German barriers and bad weather, the largest landing force in history began its offensive. Allied soldiers continued to land on the 70-kilometer coast of Normandy. During the day, the clouds over Normandy began to dissipate. The main obstacle for the Allies was the Atlantic Wall, a system of permanent fortifications and cliffs that protect the Normandy coast.

The soldiers began to climb the coastal cliffs. The Germans fired at them from above. By midday, the Allied forces began to outnumber the Nazi garrison in Normandy.

The old soldier remembers

US Army Private Harold Humbert, 65 years later, recalls that by midnight, all machine guns were silent. All the Nazis were killed. Day D is over. The landing in Normandy, the date of which is June 6, 1944, took place. The Allies lost almost 10,000 soldiers, but they captured all the beaches. It seemed that the beach was flooded with bright red paint and bodies were scattered. The wounded soldiers died under the starry sky, while thousands of others moved forward to continue the fight against the enemy.

Continuation of the assault

Operation Overlord has entered its next phase. The task is to free France. On the morning of June 7, a new obstacle appeared before the Allies. Impenetrable forests became another obstacle to the attack. The woven roots of the Norman forests were stronger than the English ones on which the soldiers trained. The troops had to bypass them. The Allies continued to pursue the retreating German forces. The Nazis fought desperately. They used these forests because they learned to hide in them.

D-Day was just a battle won, the war was just beginning for the Allies. The troops the Allies faced on the beaches of Normandy were not the elite of the Nazi army. The days of the hardest battles began.

Scattered divisions could be defeated by the Nazis at any moment. They had time to regroup and replenish their ranks. On June 8, 1944, the battle for Carantan began, this city opens the way to Cherbourg. It took more than four days to break the resistance of the German army.

On June 15, the forces of Utah and Omaha finally came together. They took several cities and continued their advance on the Cotentin Peninsula. The forces united and moved in the direction of Cherbourg. For two weeks the German troops put up fierce resistance to the allies. On June 27, 1944, Allied forces entered Cherbourg. Now their ships had their own port.

The last attack

At the end of the month, the next phase of the Allied offensive in Normandy began, Operation Cobra. This time the target was Cannes and Saint-Lo. The troops began to advance deep into France. But the Allied offensive was opposed by serious Nazi resistance.

The French resistance movement led by General Philippe Leclerc helped the Allies to enter Paris. Happy Parisians greeted the liberators with joy.

On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his own bunker. Seven days later, the German government signed a pact of unconditional surrender. The war in Europe was over.

Operation Neptune

Allied landings in Normandy

date	June 6, 1944
Place	Normandy, France
Cause	The need to open a Second Front in the European theater of operations
Outcome	Successful Allied Landing in Normandy
Changes	Opening of the Second Front

Opponents

Commanders

Forces of the parties

Operation Neptune(English Operation Neptune), day "D" (English D-Day) or landing in Normandy (English Normandy landings) - amphibious operation carried out from June 6 to July 25, 1944 in Normandy during World War II wars by the forces of the USA, Great Britain, Canada and their allies against Germany. It was the first part of the strategic Operation Overlord (English Operation Overlord) or Normandy operation, which involved the seizure of northwestern France by the allies.

common data

Operation Neptune was the first phase of Operation Overlord, and consisted in crossing the English Channel and seizing a bridgehead on the French coast. To support the operation, the Allied naval forces were assembled under the command of the British Admiral Bertram Ramsey, who had experience of similar large-scale naval operations for the transfer of manpower and military equipment (see evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk, 1940).

Characteristics of the parties involved

German side

Land units

In June 1944, the Germans had 58 divisions in the West, eight of which were stationed in Holland and Belgium, and the rest in France. About half of these divisions were coastal defense or training divisions, and of the 27 field divisions, only ten were tank divisions, of which three were in the south of France and one was in the Antwerp area. Six divisions were deployed to cover two hundred miles of the Norman coastline, four of which were coastal defense divisions. Of the four coastal defense divisions, three covered the forty-mile stretch of coastline between Cherbourg and Caen, and one division was deployed between the Orne and Seine rivers.

Air Force

The 3rd Air Fleet (Luftwaffe III) under the command of Field Marshal Hugo Sperle, intended for the defense of the West, nominally numbered 500 aircraft, but the qualifications of the pilots remained below average. By the beginning of June 1944, the Luftwaffe had 90 bombers and 70 fighters in operational readiness in the West.

Coastal defense

Coastal defense included artillery guns of all calibers, from 406-mm coastal defense turret guns to French 75-mm field guns during the First World War. On the Normandy coast between Cape Barfleur and Le Havre, there was one battery of three 380 mm guns, located 2.5 miles north of Le Havre. On a 20-mile stretch of coastline on the eastern side of the Cotentin Peninsula, four casemate batteries of 155-mm guns were installed, as well as 10 howitzer batteries, consisting of twenty-four 152-mm and twenty 104-mm guns.

Along the northern coast of the Bay of the Seine, 35 miles between Isigny and Ouistreham, there were only three casemate batteries of 155 mm guns and one battery of 104 mm guns. In addition, there were two more open-type batteries of 104-mm guns and two batteries of 100-mm guns in this area.

On the seventeen-mile stretch of coast between Ouistreham and the mouth of the Seine, three casemate batteries of 155 mm guns and two open batteries of 150 mm guns were installed. Coastal defenses in the area consisted of a system of strongholds at intervals of approximately a mile from each other with echeloned depths of 90–180 m. Casemates were installed in concrete shelters whose roofs and sea-facing walls were 2.1 meters thick. Smaller concrete artillery shelters, which contained 50-mm anti-tank guns, were positioned in such a way as to keep the coast under longitudinal fire. A complex system of communication routes linked artillery positions, machine-gun nests, mortar positions and a system of infantry trenches with each other and with the living quarters of the personnel. All this was defended by anti-tank hedgehogs, barbed wire, mines and anti-landing obstacles.

Naval forces

The structure of the command of the German navy in France was confined to the commander-in-chief of the naval group "West" Admiral Kranke, whose headquarters were in Paris. Group "West" included the admiral of the naval forces, the commander on the coast of the English Channel with headquarters in Rouen. Three area commanders were subordinate to him: the commander of the Pas-de-Calais section, which stretched from the Belgian border south to the mouth of the Somme; the commander of the Seine-Somme region, whose boundaries were determined by the coast between the estuaries of the said rivers; commander of the Norman coast from the mouth of the Seine westward to Saint-Malo. There was also an admiral in command of the Atlantic Seaboard, whose headquarters were in Angers. The last commander was subordinate to the three commanders of the regions of Brittany, Loire and Gascony.

The boundaries of the naval areas did not coincide with the boundaries of the military districts, there was no direct interaction between the military, naval and aviation administrations necessary to operate in a rapidly changing situation as a result of the allied landings.

The grouping of the German Navy, which is directly at the command of the Channel Zone (English Channel) command, consisted of five destroyers (base in Le Havre); 23 torpedo boats (8 of which were at Boulogne and 15 at Cherbourg); 116 minesweepers (distributed between Dunkirk and Saint-Malo); 24 patrol ships (21 at Le Havre and 23 at Saint-Malo) and 42 artillery barges (16 at Boulogne, 15 at Fécane and 11 at Ouistreham). Along the Atlantic coast, between Brest and Bayonne, there were five destroyers, 146 minesweepers, 59 patrol ships and one torpedo boat. In addition, 49 submarines were assigned for anti-amphibious service. These boats were based at Brest (24), Lorian (2), Saint-Nazaire (19) and La Pallis (4). In the bases of the Bay of Biscay there were another 130 large ocean-going submarines, but they were not adapted to operations in the shallow waters of the English Channel and were not taken into account in the plans to repel the landing.

In addition to these forces, 47 minesweepers, 6 torpedo boats and 13 patrol ships were based in various ports in Belgium and Holland. Other naval forces of Germany, consisting of ships of the line Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, "pocket battleships" Admiral scheer and Lützow heavy cruisers Prinz Eugen and Admiral hipper, as well as four light cruisers Nürnberg , Köln and Emden, together with 37 destroyers and 83 torpedo boats were either in Norwegian or Baltic waters.

The few naval forces under the command of the commander of the naval group "West" could not be constantly at sea in readiness for action in case of possible enemy landings. Starting in March 1944, enemy radar stations tracked our ships as soon as they left the bases ... The losses and damage became so significant that if we did not want to lose our few naval forces even before it came to the landing of the enemy We didn’t have to carry permanent outposts, let alone reconnaissance raids to the enemy's coast. ” Commander-in-Chief of the German Fleet, Gross Admiral Doenitz

In general, the planned antiamphibious measures of the German fleet consisted of the following:

• the use of submarines, torpedo boats and coastal artillery to attack landing craft;
• placing a large number of mines of all types, including new and simple types known as the KMA mine (coastal contact mine), along the entire length of the European coast;
• the use of midget submarines and man-torpedoes to strike ships in the area of ​​the invasion;
• intensification of strikes against allied convoys in the ocean using new types of ocean-going submarines.

Allies

Naval part of the operation

The task of the Allied naval forces was to organize the safe and timely arrival of convoys with troops to the enemy's coast, to ensure the uninterrupted landing of reinforcements and fire support for the landing. The threat from the enemy's navy was not considered particularly great.

The command system for the invasion and subsequent escort was as follows:

Eastern sector:

• Eastern Naval Task Force: Commander Rear Admiral Sir Philip Weyenne. The Scylla flagship.
• S-Force (Sword): Commander Rear Admiral Arthur Talbot. Flagship Largs (3rd British Infantry Division and 27th Panzer Brigade).
• G-Forces (Gold): Commander Commodore Douglas-Pennant. Flagship Bulolo (British 50th Infantry Division and 8th Panzer Brigade).
• Forces "J" (Juno): Commander Commodore Oliver. Flagship Hilary (3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade).
• Second Echelon Force "L": Commander Counter-Admiral Perry. Flagship Albatross (7th British Panzer Division and 49th Infantry Division; 4th Panzer Brigade and 51st Scottish Infantry Division).

Western sector:

• Western Naval Task Force: Commander US Navy Rear Admiral Alan Kirk. American heavy cruiser flagship Augusta .
• O Forces (Omaha): Commander US Navy Rear Admiral D. Hall. Flagship Ancon (1st US Infantry Division and part of the 29th Infantry Division).
• U-Forces (Utah): Commander US Navy Rear Admiral D. Moon. Flagship troop transport "Bayfield" (4th US Infantry Division).
• Second Echelon B Forces: Commander Commodore of the US Navy S. Edgar. Flagship Minor (2nd, 9th, 79th and 90th US divisions and the remainder of the 29th division).

The naval commanders of Operational Formations and Airborne Forces were to remain senior commanders in their respective sectors until the army units were firmly entrenched in the bridgehead.

Among the ships allocated for shelling the Eastern Sector were the 2nd and 10th cruiser squadrons under the command of Rear Admirals F. Delrimple-Hamilton and W. Petterson. In seniority as Task Force Commander, both admirals agreed to relinquish their seniority and act as instructed by Task Force Command. Likewise, this problem was solved to everyone's satisfaction in the Western Sector. Rear Admiral of the Free French Navy Joshar, holding his flag on the cruiser Georges Leygues, also agreed with a similar command system.

Composition and distribution of naval forces

In total, the Allied fleet included: 6,939 ships for various purposes (1213 - combat, 4126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - merchant ships).

106 ships were allocated for artillery support, including artillery and mortar landing ships. Of these ships, 73 were in the East Sector and 33 in the West. When planning artillery support, a large consumption of ammunition was envisaged, so measures were taken to use lighters loaded with ammunition. Upon returning to port, the lighters were to be loaded immediately, which ensured that the artillery support ships could return to their bombing positions with minimal delays. In addition, it was envisaged that artillery support ships may need to change guns due to the deterioration of the barrels due to the intensity of their use. Therefore, in the ports of southern England, a stock of gun barrels with a caliber of 6-inches and below was created. However, ships in need of replacing 15-inch guns (battleships and monitors) were to be sent to ports in northern England.

Operation progress

Operation Neptune began on June 6, 1944 (also known as D-Day) and ended on July 1, 1944. Her goal was to conquer a beachhead on the continent, which lasted until July 25.

Planned direct artillery preparation began 40 minutes before the landing. The fire was conducted by 7 battleships, 2 monitors, 23 cruisers, 74 destroyers. The heavy guns of the united fleet fired at the detected batteries and reinforced concrete structures of the enemy, the explosions of their shells, in addition, had a very strong effect on the psyche of the German soldiers. As the distance was reduced, lighter naval artillery entered the battle. When the first wave of the landing began to approach the coast, a stationary barrage was placed at the landing sites, which stopped immediately as soon as the troops reached the coast.

Approximately 5 minutes before the start of the assault squadrons' landing, jet mortars mounted on barges opened fire to increase the density of fire. When firing from close range, one such barge, according to the participant in the landing, Captain 3rd Rank K. Edwards, in terms of fire power, replaced more than 80 light cruisers or almost 200 destroyers. About 20 thousand shells were fired at the landing sites of British troops and about 18 thousand shells at the sites of American troops disembarkation. Artillery fire from ships, rocket artillery strikes that covered the entire coast, were, in the opinion of the participants in the landing, more effective than air strikes.

The following trawling plan was adopted:

• for each of the invading forces, two channels must be cut through the mine barrier; trawling of each channel is carried out by a fleet of squadron minesweepers;
• to carry out trawling of the coastal fairway for shelling by ships of the coast and other operations;
• as soon as possible the traversed channel should be widened to create more maneuvering space;
• after disembarkation, continue to monitor enemy mine-barrier operations and sweep newly placed mines.

date	Event	Note
On the night of June 5-6	Trawling approach fairways
June 5-10, 6	Combat ships along the tracked fairways arrived in their areas and anchored, covering the flanks of the deployment of the landing from possible enemy counterattacks from the sea
June 6, morning	Artillery preparation	7 battleships, 2 monitors, 24 cruisers, 74 destroyers took part in the shelling of the coast
6-30, June 6	The beginning of the landing of the amphibious assault	First, in the western zone, and an hour later in the eastern zone, the first amphibious assault units landed on the coast
June 10th	Completed assembly of artificial port facilities	2 complexes of artificial ports "Mulberry" and 5 artificial breakwaters "Gooseberry" for port protection
June 17	American troops reached the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula in the Cartere region	German units on the peninsula were cut off from the rest of Normandy
June 25-26	Anglo-Canadian offensive on Caen	The goals were not achieved, the Germans showed stubborn resistance
27th of June	Taken Cherbourg	By the end of June, the Allied bridgehead in Normandy reached 100 km along the front and from 20 to 40 km in depth
July 1	The Cotentin Peninsula is completely cleared of German troops
first half of July	Port of Cherbourg restored	The port of Cherbourg played a significant role in the supply of the Allied troops in France
July 25	The allies reached the line south of Saint-Lo, Comont, Caen	Normandy landing operation ended

Loss and bottom line

In the period from June 6 to July 24, the American-British command managed to land an expeditionary force in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead about 100 km along the front and up to 50 km in depth. The size of the bridgehead was about 2 times less than that envisaged by the plan of the operation. However, the absolute domination of the allies in the air and at sea made it possible to concentrate a large number of forces and means here. The landing of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Normandy was the largest landing operation of strategic importance during the Second World War.

During D-Day, the Allies landed 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American component numbered 73,000: 23,250 amphibious assault on Utah Beach, 34,250 at Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne assault forces. 83,115 troops (of which 61,715 are British) have landed on the British and Canadian bridgeheads: 24,970 at Gold Beach, 21,400 at Juneau Beach, 28,845 at Sord Beach and 7,900 in the airborne assault.

11,590 air support aircraft of various types were involved, which made a total of 14,674 sorties, 127 combat aircraft were shot down. On June 6, 2,395 aircraft and 867 gliders were involved in the airborne assault landing.

The naval forces involved 6,939 ships and vessels: 1,213 combat, 4,126 amphibious, 736 auxiliary and 864 for cargo transportation. To provide support, the fleet allocated: 195,700 sailors: 52,889 - American, 112,824 - British, 4,988 - from other countries of the coalition.

By June 11, 1944, there were already on the French coast: 326,547 military, 54,186 units of military equipment, 104,428 tons of military equipment and supplies.

Allied losses

During the landing, the Anglo-American troops lost 4,414 people (2,499 - Americans, 1,915 - representatives of other countries). Generally total losses allies on D-Day were about 10,000 people (6,603 - Americans, 2,700 - British, 946 - Canadians). The losses suffered by the Allies include: the dead, the wounded, the missing (whose bodies have never been found) and prisoners of war.

Allies in the period from June 6 to July 23 lost 122 thousand people (49 thousand British and Canadians and about 73 thousand Americans).

Loss of German forces

The losses of the Wehrmacht troops on the day of the landing are estimated to be from 4,000 to 9,000 people.

The total loss of the Nazi troops over a period of almost seven weeks of fighting amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 2117 tanks and 345 aircraft.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed during the invasion, mostly by Allied bombing

Assessment of the event by contemporaries

Notes (edit)

Image in art

Literature and sources of information

• Pochtarev A.N. "Neptune" through the eyes of Russians... - Independent Military Review, No. 19 (808). - Moscow: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 2004.

Image gallery

Forrest Pogue began recording oral stories from D-Day veterans as early as June 6, 1944. He served as a sergeant (and with a doctorate historical sciences) in the United States Army History Department under S.L.A. Marshall. General George S. Marshall commissioned the team to collect documentary evidence from military personnel of all ranks in order to prepare the official history of the United States' involvement in World War II. The result was a multivolume edition of The US Army in World War II, widely known in many countries for the accuracy and depth of historical narrative (also known as The Green Book, in color of the binding). In 1954, Dr. Pogue published a collection in the European Theater of War (ETO) series entitled High Command, based on documents from the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force and interviews with Eisenhower, Montgomery and other key figures in the Normandy operation. The "High Command" remains the largest and most authoritative source of information to this day.

On D-Day, Pogue was aboard an amphibious assault ship, converted into a ship's hospital, providing landing on the Omaha coastline. The sergeant talked to the wounded, asking them about what they experienced in morning hours June 6. He became the first collector of oral recollections of veterans and subsequently one of the founders of the Oral History Association.

From the moment I began editing Eisenhower's war memoirs, Dr. Pogue has been my mentor, explorer, and creative inspiration. He and his books have taken an important place in my life (especially the classic four-volume biography of General George S. Marshall). For three decades, Dr. Pogue did not spare his time on me, shared with me his wise remarks and observations. I studied with him both at scientific conferences and during personal meetings, telephone conversations, and postal correspondence. His experience has been invaluable to me on eight trips across Normandy and other European battlefields.

Hundreds of young and not so young historians of World War II and American foreign policy owe their debt to Dr. Pogue. He has trained an entire generation of war documentary filmmakers. Dr. Pogue is generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge. At conferences, he was always surrounded by budding historians and university graduates, eager to hear the advice of the great teacher. We are grateful to Dr. Pogue for leaving an indelible mark on our lives, helping us to become professionals. He was and remains the first and best historian of the D-Day. I am proud that Dr. Pogue has given permission to dedicate this book to him.

My interest in D-Day, pioneered by Dr. Pogue, intensified further in 1959 after reading Cornelius Ryan's study, The Longest Day. I considered it then and still consider it the most complete and excellent description of the battle. Although I have some disagreement with the author on the interpretation of what happened on June 6, 1944, it would be an unforgivable mistake not to express my gratitude to Ryan for his excellent work.

This book is based on the oral and written D-Day narratives collected by the Eisenhower Center in New Orleans over the past eleven years. More than 1380 certificates are kept in the Center. This is the most extensive, first-hand collection of memoirs from a single World War II battle. Although space constraints prevented me from citing every spoken or written recollection, they all influenced my perception of events. To all veterans from me huge and sincere gratitude.

Russell Miller from London conducted numerous interviews with UK D-Day attendees. Eisenhower Center students transcribed some of the notes that Miller graciously allowed me to use in his book. The Imperial War Museum in London also provided me with cassettes of interviews organized by its staff, and Andre Heinz interviewed villagers on the Calvados coast for many years: the records are kept in Cana in the Museum of the Battle of Normandy. Heinz kindly gave me permission to use them in my book. The United States Army War Institute in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, provided me with extensive documentary collections and interviews with veterans recorded by Forrest Pogue, Ken Heckler, and other researchers.

Phil Jatras, an American paratrooper who settled in Sainte-Mere-Eglise after the war, is now director of the Parachute Museum there. He lent to the Eisenhower Center and allowed his interviews with American veterans and residents of Saint-Mer-Eglis to be quoted in my book.

Captain Ron Drez was the commander of the US Marine Infantry Company in 1968 at Keesan and is now Deputy Director of the Eisenhower Center. For over a decade, he has recorded group and one-to-one interviews with veterans at their meetings in New Orleans and other cities in the United States. Thanks to his combat experience, the former Marine easily found mutual language with D-Day participants and learned from them such details that usually remain unspoken. His contribution to the book is invaluable.

Dr. Gunther Bischof is Austrian by birth. His father served in the Wehrmacht and was captured by the Americans, then ending up in the United States. He is now also Deputy Director of the Eisenhower Center. Bischoff prepared and continues to record rare interviews with German veterans. We are fortunate to have researchers such as Bischoff and Drez working at the Center.

Miss Katie Jones is the main driving force at the Eisenhower Center. Without her, we are like no hands. She maintains correspondence, maintains archives and the library, arranges business meetings, hosts our annual conferences, guides students to transcribe cassette tapes, finds veterans and arranges interviews with them, calms the disaffected, and generally acts like our chief of staff. We are amazed at her selfless dedication and ability to deal with hundreds of pressing issues at the same time. At the same time, she never gets annoyed and does not lose her sense of humor. Dwight D. Eisenhower once called Beatle Smith "an excellent chief of staff." We say the same about Katie Jones.

We admire the work capacity of Mrs. Carolyn Smith, Secretary of the Eisenhower Center, our student assistants Marissa Ahmed, Maria Andara Romain, Tracey Hernandez, Jerry Blanda, Scott Peebles, Peggy Aychem, Jogen Shukla and Elena Marina, PhD students Jerry Strachan, Olga Bortar our contingent volunteers - Colonel James Moolis, Mark Swango, S. W. Anangst, John Daniel, Joe Flynn, John Niskoch, Joe Molison, Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs and Edie Ambrose. They all work tirelessly, although many of them are paid little or no pay at all. Without them, the very existence of the Eisenhower Center is impossible and there would not have been many interviews with veterans. The students had to puzzle over the names of French villages and towns (as they were pronounced by the American "g-aes"). But they succeeded and won this battle. I owe them a great debt.

The Eisenhower Center intends to continue collecting memoirs of veterans, military letters and other testimonies from representatives of all branches of the military and all countries of the world as long as the participants of the "D" day are alive. We ask veterans to contact us at the University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70148 for instructions on how to write their memoirs.

In 1979, my closest friend, Dr. Gordon Müller, encouraged me to lead the battlefield tour "From D-Day to the Rhine: In the Footsteps of Ike." Mr. Peter McLean, Peter McLean, Ltd. in New Orleans, arranged the trip. Mr. Richard Salaman from London became our guide. It was an amazing trip. We were joined by more than twenty veterans, from generals to privates, who shared with me their most vivid memories of D-Day. We did this tour eight times. It was a great pleasure for me to work with McLean and Salaman. They helped me to learn more and better understand the events of D-Day, as did many other enthusiasts, scientists, writers, documentary filmmakers and, of course, veterans. Unfortunately, it is impossible to list them all.

Many events claim the role of the main battle of World War II, but in Europe there is no doubt that it was the Normandy landing operation and the events that followed. Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Lavrov, in an interview with RT, said that Western historians are silent about the role of the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of the Kursk Bulge, focusing on the decisive role of the Western allies.

Vladimir Lavrov is confident that Germany would have been defeated without the Allies landing in Normandy.

“The opening of the second front by the Americans and the British in 1944 was not a major event, not a turning point, as is usually written in Western textbooks,” the historian believes. "For the West, this is a major operation, they opened a second front, but they promised to open it much earlier."

“The Americans enter the war, start to share the pie, when they already need to get profit, but without big losses, to fight with big losses, neither the Americans, nor the British are used to. We could have won without them, ”added Lavrov.

The head of the German Agency for Global Communications, Professor Lorenz Haag, also believes that the Landing of the Allied Forces in Normandy on June 6, 1944 “is an important event, but the Second World War was won on the Eastern Front by the Red Army. "

“It was on the Eastern Front that the Wehrmacht lost 90% of its personnel,” he recalled. “Therefore, we should not overestimate the significance of this operation. If it had not taken place, the Second World War could have been completely won by the USSR. "

According to the expert, "the landing of the allies in Normandy was of great military and political importance, primarily for the United States and Great Britain." “The leaders of these countries understood that Nazi Germany would soon be defeated, and the USSR would become its only winner. The leaders of the United States and Great Britain took into account that the delay in opening a second front would harm their interests in Europe after the end of the war, ”said Lorenz Haag, ITAR-TASS reports.

“Considering the contradictions between the USSR and Western countries, their hostility to each other, it was not easy to solve this problem earlier,” the historian believes. “The Allied promise to open the Second Front was not fulfilled either in 1942 or in 1943,” the agency's interlocutor recalled. “They waited and hoped that after an exhausting war, the Soviet Union would be weakened and lose its significance as a great power. And the deployment of hostilities in Western Europe would lead to the diversion of part of the German troops from the Eastern Front and, consequently, to the preservation of the forces of the Red Army. "

The professor believes that the war in Europe could have ended in 1943. “And if this did not happen, then the reason for this is the desire of the United States and especially England to outplay the USSR not in the fight against Nazi Germany, but in building the post-war world order. Costs were of little concern to London and Washington, ”he said.

The renowned British historian of the Second World War, James Holland, also believes that the landing of the Allied forces in Normandy, in contrast to the popular point of view, was not exclusively an American military operation.

"By the Normandy landings, many people only mean the fierce fighting of American and German forces in the Omaha zone and the landing of American parachute troops," Holland notes in an article posted on the CNN website June 5 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Operation Overlord. ... According to him, such views are largely influenced by popular culture, including the famous film "Saving Private Ryan" and the television series "Brothers in Arms".

“The landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944 was an allied operation in which Great Britain played the leading role. Yes, the American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, but his deputy was the British Royal Air Force Marshal Arthur Tedder. Three commanders of the branches of the armed forces were also British, ”the researcher writes.

Most of the plan for Operation Overlord was drawn up by British General Bernard Montgomery, commander-in-chief of the Allied ground forces in Europe, Holland said, with the British navy being primarily responsible for carrying out the landing.

Holland notes that as a result of the landing operation, the United States and Great Britain lost approximately equal numbers of people. The historian emphasizes that he does not detract from the merits of the American side, however, he seeks to show the public a broader view of this important historical event.

According to information from open sources, the Norman Operation, or Operation Overlord, is a strategic Allied landing operation in Normandy, which began early in the morning on June 6, 1944 and ended on August 31, 1944, after which the Allies crossed the Seine River, liberated Paris and continued the offensive. to the French-German border.

The operation opened the Western Front in Europe in World War II. More than 3 million people took part in the landing operation in Normandy, who crossed the English Channel from England to Normandy.

The front of the armed struggle of the United States and Great Britain, as well as the troops of a number of allied states, against Nazi Germany in 1944-1945. in Western Europe was opened on June 6, 1944 by the landing of the Anglo-American expeditionary forces on the territory of Northern France (Normandy landing operation).

From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet leadership put before the United States and Great Britain the question of the earliest possible opening by the Anglo-American troops of a second front in Western Europe. The landing of the allies in France led to a decrease in the losses of the Red Army and the civilian population, the quickest expulsion of the enemy from the occupied areas. At some stages of hostilities in 1941 - 1943. the problem of the second front was of critical importance for the Soviet Union. At the same time, the timely opening of hostilities in the West could significantly accelerate the defeat of the fascist bloc, shorten the duration of the entire Second World War. For Western leaders, however, the question of a second front was largely a matter of implementing their strategy.

During the negotiations, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, British Prime Minister W. Churchill and US President F. Roosevelt in May-June 1942, an agreement was reached on the creation of a second front in Western Europe in 1942. However, soon after negotiations, Western leaders decided to revise their previous obligations and postpone the opening second front

Only during the Tehran Conference in November-December 1943 was the question of the timing of the opening of the second front resolved. The Allies agreed to land their troops in France in May 1944. For his part, he made a statement that at about the same time he would launch a powerful offensive on the Soviet-German front.

The general leadership of the Allied military operations in Europe was entrusted to the commander of the expeditionary forces, General D. Eisenhower. The British group of forces was headed by Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The opening of the second front was sincerely welcomed in Moscow. But over a two-year period of postponing the Allied landings in Northern France - from May 1942 to June 1944. only the irrecoverable losses of the Soviet armed forces (killed, captured and missing) amounted to more than 5 million people.

Myagkov M.Yu. Second front. // The Great Patriotic War. Encyclopedia. / Resp. ed. Ak. A.O. Chubaryan. M., 2010

CORRESPONDENCE OF W. CHURCHILL AND I. STALIN DURING THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE ALLIES IN NORMANDY, June 6-9, 1944

It all started well. Mines, obstacles and coastal batteries have been largely overcome. The airborne assault was highly successful and was undertaken on a large scale. The infantry disembarkation is developing rapidly, and a large number of tanks and self-propelled guns are already on the shore.

The weather is tolerable, with a tendency to improve.

B) SECRET AND PERSONAL FROM PREMIER JV STALIN TO THE PRIME MINISTER, Mr W. CHURCHILL, June 6, 1944.

I have received your message on the success of the start of Operation Overlord. It makes us all happy and encourages us to make progress.

The summer offensive of Soviet troops, organized in accordance with the agreement at the Tehran Conference, will begin by mid-June on one of the important sectors of the front. The general offensive of the Soviet troops will be deployed in stages by the successive introduction of armies into offensive operations. At the end of June and throughout July, offensive operations will turn into a general offensive by the Soviet troops.

I undertake to promptly inform you about the progress of offensive operations.

C) PERSONAL AND MOST SECRET MESSAGE FROM Mr WINSTON CHURCHILL TO MARSHAL STALIN, June 7, 1944.

1. Thank you for your message and congratulations on Rome. With regard to the Overlord, I am quite satisfied with the situation as it developed until noon today, June 7th. Only in one coastal area, where the Americans landed, there were serious difficulties, and now they have been eliminated. Behind enemy lines, twenty thousand airborne troops landed safely on its flanks, in each case they established contact with American and British forces disembarked from the sea. We crossed with little casualties. We expected to lose about 10 thousand people. We hope to have on the shore today by evening most of a quarter of a million people, including a significant number of armored forces (tanks), unloaded ashore from special ships or reached the shore on their own, by swimming. This last type of tank had quite significant losses, especially on the American front, due to the fact that the waves overturned these amphibious tanks. We must now expect strong counterattacks, but we are counting on superiority in armored forces and, of course, overwhelming air superiority whenever the sky is clear of clouds.

2. Last night, late in the Caen area, there was a tank battle our newly unloaded armored forces with fifty enemy tanks from the 21st Armored Grenadier Division, as a result of which the enemy left the battlefield. The British 7th Armored Division is now coming into action, and it should give us the upper hand in a few days. It's about how much force they can throw against us in the coming week. The weather in the Canal region, apparently, will not in any way hinder the continuation of our landing. Indeed, the weather seems more promising than before. All commanders are satisfied that in reality things were going better during the landing process than we expected.

3. Top secret. We envision very soon setting up two large prefabricated ports on the shores of a wide bay at the mouth of the Seine. Nothing like these ports has ever been seen before. Large ocean liners will be able to unload and deliver supplies to the fighting forces through numerous berths. This should be completely unexpected for the enemy, and it will allow accumulation to be carried out to a very large extent regardless of weather conditions. We hope to take Cherbourg soon during operations.

4. On the other hand, the enemy will quickly and intensively concentrate his forces, and the battles will be fierce and their scale will increase. We continue to hope that by the D-30 date we will have deployed about 25 divisions with all their auxiliary troops, with both front flanks facing the sea and the front having at least three good ports: Cherbourg and two collection ports. This front will be continuously supplied and expanded, and later we hope to include the Brest Peninsula. But it all depends on the accidents of the war, which you, Marshal Stalin, are so well aware of.

5. We hope that this successful landing and victory near Rome, the fruits of which still need to be collected from the cut off divisions of the Huns, will delight your valiant soldiers after all the burden they had to bear and that no one outside your country felt more acutely than I ...

6. After I dictated the above, I received your message regarding the successful start of the Overlord, in which you talk about the summer offensive of the Soviet troops. I sincerely thank you for this. I hope that you will pay attention to the fact that we have never asked you a single question due to our complete confidence in you, your people and your troops.

D) SECRET AND PERSONAL FROM PREMIER JV STALIN TO THE PRIME MINISTER, Mr W. CHURCHILL, June 9, 1944.

I have received your message of June 7, announcing the successful deployment of Operation Overlord. We all salute you and the courageous British and American troops, and we warmly wish you continued success. Preparations for the summer offensive of the Soviet troops are coming to an end. Tomorrow, June 10, the first round of our summer offensive on the Leningrad front begins.

I was very pleased to receive your message, which I conveyed to General Eisenhower. The whole world can see the embodiment of Tehran's plans in our concerted attacks against our common enemy. May every success and happiness accompany the Soviet armies.

Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the United States and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Vol. 1. M., 1986

FROM THE MEMORIES OF D. EISENHAUER

The period from D-Day to our decisive breakthrough of the enemy's defenses on July 25 constituted a definite phase in the operations of the allied forces and was called "Battle for the Bridgehead." This phase included a series of continuous and heavy fighting, during which, apart from the capture of Cherbourg, we did not succeed in getting very far. However, it was at this time that the conditions were prepared for subsequent actions to liberate France and Belgium ...

From the day we landed on the coast, nowhere did hostilities acquire a positional character during the First World War, with the exception of battles at isolated isolated points. However, such a possibility existed, and we all, and especially our English friends, remembered this ...

By July 2, 1944, we had landed about a million people in Normandy, including 13 American, 11 British and 1 Canadian divisions. During the same period, we unloaded 566 648 tons of cargo and 171 532 tires ashore. It was very hard and exhausting work, but it paid off handsomely when we finally prepared to strike at the enemy with all our might. In those first three weeks, we captured 41,000 prisoners. Our losses amounted to 60,771 people, of which 8,975 were killed.

Eisenhower D. At the head of the allied forces. // World War II in the memoirs of W. Churchill, C. de Gaulle, C. Hull, W. Lega, D. Eisenhower. M., 1990