Operation Overlord
In this article, Phoenix talks about Operation Overlord, how it happened, and why was it so important.
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Operation Overlord: D-Day
Operation Overlord: D-Day
By: Sir Phoenix C. Robinson
By: Sir Phoenix C. Robinson
Most people know the month of June for a few notable events. The beginning of summer, the month before the 4th of July, and some people know about Juneteenth. One thing most people do not know is that 81 years ago, one of the most important events happened that helped to save democracy internationally. That event is Operation Overlord, the largest naval invasion in history.
To give a brief summary of what led up to Operation Overlord, in 1939, Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, this action triggered the beginning of World War Two. The United Kingdom and its Commonwealth, along with France and its colonial subjects, declared war in an attempt to aid Poland. The war continues and France falls to Hitler as well. In 1940, all Allied forces were either evacuated completely from mainland Europe or were captured. From 1940 onwards, Nazi Germany was unable to make any further progress in Europe.
As to how the United States got involved in a European war, it boils down to the Axis Powers. The Axis Powers consisted of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan because of a few treaties each country signed. Imperial Japan had already been waging war against China since 1937. The Office of the Historian states that the relationship between America and Japan became more tense after the U.S.S. Panay was attacked. America began increasing the aid given to China and began placing more strict regulations on trade with Japan. When Japan joined the Axis Powers, they became emboldened to target other areas of the Pacific. In response, the United States established a total embargo on all Japanese, froze all U.S. assets in Japanese banks, and halted all negotiations with the Japanese delegates. Imperial Japan was totally reliant on U.S. steel, oil, and other materials. That combined with their almost non-existent rubber supply. Imperial Japan had no choice but to gather materials by conquest. In 1941, Japan awoke the sleeping giant by bombing the U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor.
From 1941 onward, the United States began participating in both the Pacific and Atlantic fronts. Ammo, fuel, steel, and equipment were all sent to reinforce the United Kingdom. From 1941-1943, significant progress was made by the Allies. By 1944, all of North Africa was secured, most of Italy had been seized, Japan was on the run, and Germany was being closed in by the Soviet Union. The end of the war was in sight, but there was still one major problem. The Allies still have no foothold in France.
Photo of Allied personnel carrying an inflatable tank. Image by U.S. Army Center for Military History
A plan had been years in the making. Supplying French resistance, analyzing weaknesses in the Atlantic Wall (a giant defensive line of fortifications made by Hitler), reconnaissance on the units stationed there, and cracking the codes that Germany used to communicate. As the U.S. Army Center for Military History puts it, deception was a major part of the forgotten espionage battle before Operation Overlord. The U.S. Army had devised a special unit whose entire purpose was trickery-- 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, also known as “The Ghost Army.” Inflatable tanks, artillery pieces, and jeeps with cheap camo nets were placed all around Southern England. The goal? To make Germany believe an attack was imminent on France. More specifically, Pas de Calais. False intelligence continued to be hand-fed to the Germans up until the day of the landings.
As the plan began to finalize, the areas of Normandy were designated with different code names for the different units landing there. The beaches were “Utah,” “Omaha,” “Gold,” “Juno,” and “Sword.” Each beach had different units assigned to them. Omaha Beach may be familiar to people with knowledge of history as the deadliest of the landing zones. Two other landing zones were for Airborne. Caen and Cherbourg. For Operation Overlord to work, all units needed to be successful and complete their objectives on time.
Photo of the final map of Operation Overlord. Image by The National World War Two Museum
Photo of Exercise Tiger's Aftermath. Image by Naval History And Heritage Command.
Throughout much of early to mid-1944, many allied units were sent to England to train for the much-anticipated landings. An example of one of these training exercises was Operation Tiger. The Naval History And Heritage Command tells of a plan to recreate the conditions that would be seen at Utah Beach. 221 ships were expected to participate just off Lyme Bay, England. To realistically recreate the conditions, all forces used live ammunition. From shells to rifles, the units just off the shores of Slapton Sands were armed to the teeth. Even though the Allied forces stayed radio silent, German intelligence was watching intently. One of the convoys, nicknamed Convoy T4, had set off for the landing point. In the middle of the night, a small hunting pack of German torpedo boats engaged the ships. Under the assumption that the ships were a part of the exercise, the convoy ignored them until they realized they were being shot at. Within hours, several of the ships had been sunk. Because of the dedication to realism, all the vehicles were fully fueled and all of the ammo was fully live. After several ships were hit with torpedoes, it did not take long for the ships to find themselves at the bottom of the sea.
Disasters on scales as small as planning and disasters as large as causing full convoys to be disabled had littered the plans of Operation Overlord, yet still the plan went on. The need to gain a foothold in Europe was not a need that could be suppressed. And after nearly two years of planning, everybody was ready. June 5, 1944: the weather was perfect, the airborne were all geared up for the imminent invasion, and the grandiose fleet of the largest naval invasion in history had already set sail. And then a sudden storm postponed the invasion by a full day.
On the following day, June 6, 1944, D-Day was ready to launch. Operation Overlord was a go. Early that night, around 18,000 members of the 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne, and 6th Airborne had dropped into Normandy from the skies. 1,500 planes and gliders brought them there. Heavy winds and even heavier anti-air guns made the landings difficult. The Imperial War Museums say that, even though many units were scattered and confused because of the bad conditions, they still managed to accomplish most of their objectives. And as the sun lit the foggy channel, the largest naval invasion ever conceived had arrived. The Eisenhower Library estimates an armada of 7,000 ships operated by 195,000 naval personnel helped carry over an Allied landing force of 133,000 soldiers. 10,300 of these men would be killed or suffer injuries. Ultimately, the operation was a resounding success.
Photo of D-Day Landings. Image by The Department of Defense.
The success of Operation Overlord is a combination of many factors-- from the years of preparation to the French resistance, and because of major blunders made by Nazi Germany. Because of the success on the beaches of Normandy, Nazi Germany ultimately failed their goals for global domination and the Allies preserved world democracy. Every year, June 6th passes by and many people do not give it a second thought. This June 6th, take a moment to appreciate the freedom we have.
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