D-Day - 73 years ago today...

[crimsonaudio]

June 6, 1944: It’s Tuesday - today marks the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and the beginning of the liberation of Europe. Operation Overlord - the largest seaborne invasion in history - begins. In Normandy, France, just after midnight, the US 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions are dropped inland from the right flank beach. The British 6th Airborne Division is landed inland from the left flank beach. These forces achieve their objectives and create confusion among the German defenders. The Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy at dawn. Forces of the 21st Army Group (Field Marshal Montgomery) commands the US 1st Army (General Bradley) on the right and the British 2nd Army (General Dempsey) on the left. There are five invasion beaches: Utah on the right flank, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, on the left flank. At Utah, the US 7th Corps (General Collins) lands with US 4th Division spearheading the assault. The troops advance inland against light resistance. Admiral Moon provides naval support. At Omaha, the US 5th Corps (General Gerow) lands. There is heavy resistance and by the end of the day the American forces have advance less than one mile inland. Admiral Hall provides naval support. At Gold, the British 30th Corps (General Bucknall) lands with 50th Infantry Division and 8th Armored Brigade leading the assault. There is reasonable advance inland although the assigned objectives are not met. At Juno beach, the British 1st Corps (General Crocker) lands with the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division and the Canadian 2nd Armored Brigade leading the assault. The tanks and infantry quickly push inland. Naval support is under the command of Commodore Oliver. At Sword beach, other elements of the British 1st Corps land. The British 3rd Infantry Division, 27th Armored Brigade and several Marine and Commando units lead the assault. The beach is quickly secured and bridges over the Orne River are captured but the first day objectives are not reached. The German 21st Panzer Division counterattacks in the late afternoon but does not dislodge the British defenders. Naval support and massive aerial interdiction prevents the German defenders from concentrating forces for a decisive counterattack. By day’s end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops have successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches. According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing.

Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy.

Allied air forces - including 3,467 heavy bombers, 1,645 medium and light bombers, 5,409 fighters, and 2,316 transports - fly more than 14,000 sorties over Normandy.


Pictured: American soldiers coming ashore at Utah Beach, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944

Americans of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division moved out over the seawall on Utah Beach, Normandy, June 6, 1944

Troops taking cover behind German beach obstacles, Normandy, June 6, 1944

Pre-invasion bombing by A-20 bombers of Pointe du Hoc at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944

US Army soldiers resting at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944

Situation map from June 6, 1944

 

[crimsonaudio]

https://www.tidefans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227242

 

[crimsonaudio]

And please, no posts about politics, millennials, etc. Let's just honor and respect what these brave men did 73 years ago.

 

[tattooguy21]

Greatest generation

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[RWBTide]

Lest we forget.

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[MattinBama]

The whole thing still amazes me across the board. Hard to imagine having the guts to go across those beaches with some of the opposition some of them faced on the most well defended ones. My grandfather on my mom's side fought in France (though wasn't apart of D-Day).

 

[Tidewater]

8,000 ships and no collisions (that I have heard). Amazing seamanship.

On the other hand, look at the aircraft numbers and sorties numbers. Most of those aircraft flew one sortie on D-Day.

 

[tidegrandpa]

8,000 ships and no collisions (that I have heard). Amazing seamanship.

On the other hand, look at the aircraft numbers and sorties numbers. Most of those aircraft flew one sortie on D-Day.

My Pop's B-26's flew one at dawn over Juno, and one that afternoon over Gold, he was 22 years old.

 

[tidegrandpa]

https://www.tidefans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227242

Thanks for this, I was about to ask, I pull out my Pop's diary every time and follow along with his missions through Dec 44 when he came home. He flew 65 missions from June 43 to Dec 44.

 

[Crimson1967]

As one who enjoys thinking about the what-ifs of history, here is an article about a note Ike prepared in case the invasion failed. Thankfully it is just an interesting sidebar piece and not actual history.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/48...ry-General-Eisenhower-In-Case-of-Failure-note

 

[Bazza]

 

[Tidewater]

When I was in the 101st, the members of the Scout Platoon (a sought-after assignment, so they suffered from "elite soldier" syndrome) decided it would be cool to shave their heads into Mohawks (illegal by Army regs). Well, the Command Sergeant Major got wind of it and it was funny for the rest of us watching the CSM stomping around the battalion swearing like a sergeant major and watching the scouts (sporting the Mohawks) ducking out the windows and back doors of buildings as the Sergeant Major was stomping in the front door.
Eventually, the Scouts just had to shave their heads completely (which is a legal haircut).

 

[Bazza]

---snip---
Eventually, the Scouts just had to shave their heads completely (which is a legal haircut).

Great story - thanks, TW!

I can relate. When I was a bit younger and living in the Ft Myers area I started training for triathlons and decided having a Mohawk would put me in a more apt state of mind but eventually it was time for the Mohawk to go so a head shaving is really the only recourse at that point!

 

[crimsonaudio]

I am once again frustrated by the lack of acknowledgment from the mainstream media outlets regarding the 73rd anniversary of D-Day. I know there are pressing issues that need to be addressed, but if we ignore the relatively recent past, we will repeat it.

There are still a few still alive that, showing tremendous courage, pushed back against a great evil. As long as any of them live (and even after) they should be honored by those us who have enjoyed the resulting historical anomaly known as The Long Peace - "It has been 2,000 years since an army has not crossed the Rhine for so long a time."

People move on with their lives and it's easy to dismiss something that happened seven-plus decades ago, but this is important. The peace we've enjoyed for all of our lives (at least a vast majority of us) is the result, in part, of the sacrifice so many brave men made 73 years ago yesterday.

June 6, 1944 will always be a special day to me - it's the day that the world united to declare "This evil will not win, not on our watch."

 

[cuda.1973]

Pardon the slight digression, but I noticed the total lack of any mention (anywhere, not just here) of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. (Had I not been ill, I would have brought it up.)

It was a very significant event. It marked the "end of the beginning", and the point at which the Empire of Japan was on perpetual defense, for the remainder of the conflict.

Pretty sure someone (probably some guy from Texas) pointed out when the last survivor, of the pilots who sunk their carriers, passed away a year or so ago. He got direct hits, on two of them. He probably could not have duplicated that feat, again, if he had a hundred chances. But, he did.

Even though the war ground on, for over 3 more horrible years, imagine what would have happened if the battle was a stalemate. Or worse, the fascists prevailed. Who knows how many of our brave young men (and women) lived to lead normal lives, and help to shape the world we live in, had he not got "lucky" (through unimaginable bravery and courage), and changed the course of the war. Sometimes, it is too hard to imagine.

We all owe them all so much, yet so many are impervious to their actions.

 

[cuda.1973]

Ok, since this is supposed to be about the Normandy Invasion..................

"Rangers lead the way."

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/06/06/odonnell-beyond-valor-rangers-lead-way-d-day/

 

[Crimson1967]

I am once again frustrated by the lack of acknowledgment from the mainstream media outlets regarding the 73rd anniversary of D-Day. I know there are pressing issues that need to be addressed, but if we ignore the relatively recent past, we will repeat it.

You've probably seen the last of big media hullabaloo over anything WWII related. You might see a little when the 75th anniversaries roll around, but it won't be much. The average WWII vet is probably around 95 or so and anybody who has any real memories of the war happening isn't much younger than that. So the people who decide what gets covered don't have a connection to it.

 

[crimsonaudio]

You've probably seen the last of big media hullabaloo over anything WWII related. You might see a little when the 75th anniversaries roll around, but it won't be much. The average WWII vet is probably around 95 or so and anybody who has any real memories of the war happening isn't much younger than that. So the people who decide what gets covered don't have a connection to it.

Yah, I thought about that they other day.

The problem is we need to remember it - humans haven't changed in 70 years...

 

[Crimson1967]

Yah, I thought about that they other day.

The problem is we need to remember it - humans haven't changed in 70 years...

I agree it needs to be remembered. But time pushes it to the history books rather than life experiences for most people.

It is going to happen to 9/11 eventually.


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[GreatMarch]

You've probably seen the last of big media hullabaloo over anything WWII related. You might see a little when the 75th anniversaries roll around, but it won't be much. The average WWII vet is probably around 95 or so and anybody who has any real memories of the war happening isn't much younger than that. So the people who decide what gets covered don't have a connection to it.

I thought the same thing yesterday. I have posted on here in years past that I was fortunate enough to be a part of the 50th anniversary of D-Day aboard the USS George Washington and have posted what I witnessed that morning on the flight deck with 3 D-Day veterans. I have thought that probably more than 97% of the WW II veterans that were alive in 1994 have passed but I decided to go and find videos of the various activities and speeches that were delivered that morning and it still sends chills up and down my spine like it did in 1994. I was fortunate to visit Pearl Harbor in 2015 and while Hawaii is so very beautiful, the USS Arizona might be, in my opinion, the most heart stopping and solemn place I have ever visited.

I will share this little funny bit about the 1994 50th anniversary of D-Day aboard the GW. A speech was given on board the boat by a D-Day veteran who was a Ranger. Very nice gentleman but a guy from the Bronx in our squadron pitched a fit wondering, "We couldn't get Yogi Berra?!" "We can paint the black and white allied stripes on our birds but we can't get Yogi Berra to come and give a speech aboard a naval vessel on the anniversary of D-Day! W have to listen a Ranger!" The old Ranger looked at the guy and said, "The stripes are perfectly done on your aircraft and I would have rather heard Yogi Berra too!"