D-day

It was in 1943, at the Quebec Conference that the decision was taken to attempt a large-scale invasion, code-named Overlord, against the continent of Europe in the spring of 1944. However, instead of aiming their operation at the coast of northern France close to Britain, as the Germans had expected, the Allies chose to come ashore in the Bay of the Seine.
Landing in lower Normandy, on shores less heavily fortified than those in the Pas de Calais, gave the Allies the advantage of surprise. In the absence of a large port in the area to unload the heavy equipment, it had been arranged for two artificial harbours to be constructed, one off Arromanches at the western end of the British ...

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of the front. The paratroops' mission was to capture certain keypoints (the Merville battery, the bridge over the Caen canal, roads, locks etc.).
A little later, several hundred Rangers managed to capture the fortified position at the Pointe du Hoc, after a particularly daring assault. Meanwhile, between 0630 and 0730 hours, 135,000 men and roughly 20,000 vehicles were brought in by sea on five landing beaches as planned.
Although the objectives fixed for the evening of D-Day (Caen, Bayeux, Isigny, Carentan), were not achieved, overall the operation was a success. Except at Omaha Beach (Colleville-Saint-Laurent-Vierville) where despite a show of extraordinary courage from the Americans the beachhead for long hung in the balance, casualties were lighter than expected.
It then remained to link up the five assaults beaches and face the German counter-attack.

The Battle of Normandy (June-August 1944)
After joining up the five beaches and establishing a firm bridgehead ...

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 8/28/2007 09:24:14 AM
Category: World History
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 564
Pages: 3

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