We pay solemn tribute to the greatest generation, who bravely stormed the beaches of Normandy 76 years ago to change the course of history.
All gave some, some gave all.
All gave some, some gave all.
Remembering!
- Thread starter StrangerHorn
- Start date
Here's What You Need To Remember: Germany’s air force no longer had control of the skies, thus missing the chance to spot the Allied build-up on England’s southern coast––and being able to disrupt or destroy it. The Luftwaffe’s last remaining fighter squadrons in France had been moved far out of range from the Normandy beaches.
A Convoluted Command Structure
Although he was responsible for the defense of Normandy, Rommel, head of Army Group B, was not the “Supreme Commander” on the German side, as Eisenhower was on the Allied side. Over Rommel was Commander-in-Chief, West (OB West) Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt and, of course, Adolf Hitler. And the German navy, air force, and SS were also beyond Rommel’s control. Rommel could not make an independent move.
Seeing to Mistresses Instead of the War
A number of key German commanders were absent from their posts during the critical first hours of June 6, 1944. Believing that the Allies would not invade during a violent Channel storm on June 5, Admiral Theodor Krancke, the naval commander in the west, was on his way to Bordeaux. Maj. Gen. Edgar Feuchtinger, commander of the 21st Panzer Division, was heading to Paris to see his mistress; the commander of the Merville Battery on the far eastern flank of the invasion area was in bed with his.
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had left Normandy for a trip back to Germany for his wife’s 50th birthday; General Friedrich Dollmann, commanding the Seventh Army in Normandy, had left his headquarters to attend a war-games exercise at Rennes––over 100 miles south of the Normandy coast. Lt.. Gen. Heinz Hellmich, commander of the 243rd Division, was heading there, too, as was Maj. Gen. Wilhelm Falley, CG of the 91st Air-Landing Division.
False Assumptions About the Enemy
The Germans had long assumed that the Allied landings would come at the Pas de Calais because:
(a) that coastal city was only 20 miles from southeast England,
(b) Calais was far closer to Germany’s western border and,
(c) the Allies encouraged this wrong assumption with their brilliant deception plan: Operation Fortitude.
Fooled by Fortitude
The Allies’ concocted a near-perfect deception plan by building a fictitious force (“First U.S. Army Group” or FUSAG around Lt. Gen. George Patton) with fake radio traffic and hundreds of realistic but dummy tanks, trucks, landing craft, and aircraft in southeast England where the “build-up” would be spotted by German reconnaissance aircraft. The presence of Patton and the dummy force near Dover further convinced the Germans that the invasion would take place at Calais.
Even after the invasion began, the Germans still believed that Normandy was merely a diversion and that the real invasion would take place at Calais––and Patton would lead it.
Spies Who Turned
The Allies were able to “turn” all the German spies in Britain into double agents who then fed false information to their bosses back in Germany.
“Secure” Communications That Were Anything But
By being able to break the German military codes, the Allies were able to know that their efforts to plant false information was being swallowed hook, line, and sinker by the enemy’s high command.
Hitler’s Restrictions on Panzers
The Führer issued a directive that Germany’s armored forces, which were kept well back from the beaches, could only be deployed upon his personal order.
Compounding the situation, Hitler had gone to bed late on June 5 and gave orders that he was not to be awakened for any reason. His staff obeyed that order; by the time Hitler woke up, it was too late to stop the invasion.
Bad Weather Forecasting
The Germans had lost their weather-forecasting ability when their weather ships in the North Atlantic were captured or sunk and Weather Station Kurt, installed by a U-boat crew in Northern Labrador, Newfoundland, ran out of battery power. The Germans were thus unable to see the brief “window” of opportunity that occurred during the middle of the Channel storm––and which the Allies had spotted.
Heavy Reliance on Fixed Defenses
By relying so heavily on static defenses (sea and shore obstacles; millions of land mines; pillboxes, casemates, individual fighting positions; automatic flame throwers; flooded fields; anti-glider poles; and units without motorized transportation, etc.), the Germans had lost the mobility they needed to respond to the rapidly developing situation.
Many Foreign Conscripts (Perhaps Too Many)
Many of the German coastal units were made up of conscripts from Nazi-conquered lands who did not wish to die for Hitler––and surrendered the first chance they had.
The Heavy Failure of the Kriegsmarine
Except for a few isolated, daring attacks (such as during an amphibious-landing rehearsal at Slapton Sands on April 28, 1944), the German navy was absent in the English Channel, allowing the massive seaborne force to cross the Channel virtually unimpeded.
Myriad Shortcomings from the Luftwaffe
Germany’s air force no longer had control of the skies, thus missing the chance to spot the Allied build-up on England’s southern coast––and being able to disrupt or destroy it. The Luftwaffe’s last remaining fighter squadrons in France had been moved far out of range from the Normandy beaches.
And, once the invasion was underway, the movement of the panzers and other reinforcements was stopped by Allied air power. Without control of the air, Germany was doomed.
This article by Flint Whitlock originally appeared on Warfare History Network.
Image: Wikipedia.
Click here to read the full original article.
Here's What You Need To Remember: Germany’s air force no longer had control of the skies, thus missing the chance to spot the Allied build-up on England’s southern coast––and being able to disrupt or destroy it. The Luftwaffe’s last remaining fighter squadrons in France had been moved far out of range from the Normandy beaches.
A Convoluted Command Structure
Although he was responsible for the defense of Normandy, Rommel, head of Army Group B, was not the “Supreme Commander” on the German side, as Eisenhower was on the Allied side. Over Rommel was Commander-in-Chief, West (OB West) Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt and, of course, Adolf Hitler. And the German navy, air force, and SS were also beyond Rommel’s control. Rommel could not make an independent move.
Seeing to Mistresses Instead of the War
A number of key German commanders were absent from their posts during the critical first hours of June 6, 1944. Believing that the Allies would not invade during a violent Channel storm on June 5, Admiral Theodor Krancke, the naval commander in the west, was on his way to Bordeaux. Maj. Gen. Edgar Feuchtinger, commander of the 21st Panzer Division, was heading to Paris to see his mistress; the commander of the Merville Battery on the far eastern flank of the invasion area was in bed with his.
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had left Normandy for a trip back to Germany for his wife’s 50th birthday; General Friedrich Dollmann, commanding the Seventh Army in Normandy, had left his headquarters to attend a war-games exercise at Rennes––over 100 miles south of the Normandy coast. Lt.. Gen. Heinz Hellmich, commander of the 243rd Division, was heading there, too, as was Maj. Gen. Wilhelm Falley, CG of the 91st Air-Landing Division.
False Assumptions About the Enemy
The Germans had long assumed that the Allied landings would come at the Pas de Calais because:
(a) that coastal city was only 20 miles from southeast England,
(b) Calais was far closer to Germany’s western border and,
(c) the Allies encouraged this wrong assumption with their brilliant deception plan: Operation Fortitude.
Fooled by Fortitude
The Allies’ concocted a near-perfect deception plan by building a fictitious force (“First U.S. Army Group” or FUSAG around Lt. Gen. George Patton) with fake radio traffic and hundreds of realistic but dummy tanks, trucks, landing craft, and aircraft in southeast England where the “build-up” would be spotted by German reconnaissance aircraft. The presence of Patton and the dummy force near Dover further convinced the Germans that the invasion would take place at Calais.
Even after the invasion began, the Germans still believed that Normandy was merely a diversion and that the real invasion would take place at Calais––and Patton would lead it.
Spies Who Turned
The Allies were able to “turn” all the German spies in Britain into double agents who then fed false information to their bosses back in Germany.
“Secure” Communications That Were Anything But
By being able to break the German military codes, the Allies were able to know that their efforts to plant false information was being swallowed hook, line, and sinker by the enemy’s high command.
Hitler’s Restrictions on Panzers
The Führer issued a directive that Germany’s armored forces, which were kept well back from the beaches, could only be deployed upon his personal order.
Compounding the situation, Hitler had gone to bed late on June 5 and gave orders that he was not to be awakened for any reason. His staff obeyed that order; by the time Hitler woke up, it was too late to stop the invasion.
Bad Weather Forecasting
The Germans had lost their weather-forecasting ability when their weather ships in the North Atlantic were captured or sunk and Weather Station Kurt, installed by a U-boat crew in Northern Labrador, Newfoundland, ran out of battery power. The Germans were thus unable to see the brief “window” of opportunity that occurred during the middle of the Channel storm––and which the Allies had spotted.
Heavy Reliance on Fixed Defenses
By relying so heavily on static defenses (sea and shore obstacles; millions of land mines; pillboxes, casemates, individual fighting positions; automatic flame throwers; flooded fields; anti-glider poles; and units without motorized transportation, etc.), the Germans had lost the mobility they needed to respond to the rapidly developing situation.
Many Foreign Conscripts (Perhaps Too Many)
Many of the German coastal units were made up of conscripts from Nazi-conquered lands who did not wish to die for Hitler––and surrendered the first chance they had.
The Heavy Failure of the Kriegsmarine
Except for a few isolated, daring attacks (such as during an amphibious-landing rehearsal at Slapton Sands on April 28, 1944), the German navy was absent in the English Channel, allowing the massive seaborne force to cross the Channel virtually unimpeded.
Myriad Shortcomings from the Luftwaffe
Germany’s air force no longer had control of the skies, thus missing the chance to spot the Allied build-up on England’s southern coast––and being able to disrupt or destroy it. The Luftwaffe’s last remaining fighter squadrons in France had been moved far out of range from the Normandy beaches.
And, once the invasion was underway, the movement of the panzers and other reinforcements was stopped by Allied air power. Without control of the air, Germany was doomed.
This article by Flint Whitlock originally appeared on Warfare History Network.
Image: Wikipedia.
Click here to read the full original article.
Its good to see someone who like history Old!
My father flew F5s during the war. It was a P38 converted to photorecon. The .50s had been removed to make room for the cameras. There was 1 20 mm cannon. It also had a back seat. He was Prince Bernhard's air chauffeur for a while, escorted Clark Gable's bomber for his mission. When they crossed the channel, his squadron was bivouacked in a Belgian chateau. The servants were surprised at the Americans' informality. When the Luftwaffe had the chateau, it housed only 4 pilots and their valets. They had their clothes laid out morning and evening. The Americans put the whole squadron. 16 pilots, mechanics, etc. in the place. The Germans ran out of pilots in part because of their class structure. Lower class boys didn't drive, couldn't fly.
That's very inserting 72! I seen the movie The Blue Max , of course it was WW1 and seen how the pilots did on the German side, in WW2 our boys came to win, not to have niceties...I have read about the Red Tails and the Bomber crews, the crews was like being on a suicide mission if you made it back from the fighters and flac then you was lucky...there's a lotta good stories at the Library, I go once a week and grab a book on WW2 or 1
In the German cemetery at Normandy,many markets did not list date of birth. That is because so many defenders were under the age of ten or over the age of seventy.
That should say markers
That should say markers
When you look at Omaha beach and Pont de Hoc you cannot below eve they could do it.
Another tid bit.... the brass did not want to waste our best troops, so the first wave was raw troops just out of basic training.
All were told they would face court marshal if they stopped to help any wounded. Thief orders were to keep moving no matter what.
Scary,scary stuff.
Another tid bit.... the brass did not want to waste our best troops, so the first wave was raw troops just out of basic training.
All were told they would face court marshal if they stopped to help any wounded. Thief orders were to keep moving no matter what.
Scary,scary stuff.
