Posted on 06/05/2008 1:55:44 PM PDT by doug from upland
THE HISTORIC INVASION ON THE BEACHES OF NORMANDY TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM THE NAZIS
Encyclopædia Britannica tells the story of the Normandy Invasion through the spoken recollections of veterans who fought it, the newsreels that brought the news home, and the written words of historians who have dedicated years to studying the great campaign.
Thanks Doug. Ronald Reagan’s speach at Normandy in 1985 was one of his best.
bookmarked
I meant 1984.
Thanks for the link, Doug.
This post is premature. It is only 1938.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen more stirring video than the looks on our guys’ faces as the landing barges head towards the beach.
What incredible bravery. Thank you all for your heroics. I hope one day to pay personal tribute in France.
I had an Uncle, whom I never got to meet, die from wounds sustained on the great day!
I’ve wanted to go for years, but some business always gets in the way. We need a FReeper field trip to Normandy!
Normandy Invasion
also called Operation Overlord
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, an Allied force led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the greatest …
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.during World War II, the Allied invasion of western Europe, which was launched on June 6, 1944 (the most celebrated D-Day of the war), with the simultaneous landing of U.S., British, and Canadian forces on five separate beachheads in Normandy, France. By the end of August 1944 all of northern France was liberated, and the invading forces reorganized for the drive into Germany, where they would eventually meet with Soviet forces advancing from the east to bring an end to the Nazi Reich.
If my Zulu time calcs are right, the 101st and 82nd were taking off at just about this hour. 2215 hours GMT on June 5.
("What if" in History - No. 3) June 1, 1944: NEW YORK TIMES breaks OPERATION OVERLORD
Free Republic ^ | 12/25/2005 | Origionally Posted by Doug from Upland
Posted on 06/06/2006 5:11:23 AM PDT by AirBorn
("What if" in History - No. 3) June 1, 1944: NEW YORK TIMES breaks OPERATION OVERLORD DFU "what if" in history | June 1, 1944 | Jonathon Risen (fictitious name)
Posted on 12/26/2005 7:15:58 PM PST by doug from upland
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Jonathon Risen, New York Times Dateline: France June 1, 1944
The NEW YORK TIMES, always first with breaking news, has discovered that a daring invasion is planned on the coast of France on June 5 in an effort to liberate the courageous and valiant French citizens from the Nazis. If the weather conditions are not right, we have learned that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower may delay the invasion for a day.
OPERATION OVERLORD will be a massive Allied invasion of Western Europe that will include simultaneous landings on five beachheads by U.S., British, and Canadian forces.
When Eisenhower's chief meteorologist, James Martin Stagg, informs the general of a break in the weather, Eisenhower will announce -- “O.K. We'll go.”
Within hours of the decision to go, an armada of 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 other ships, and 500 naval vessels--escorts and bombardment ships--will began to leave English ports. At night, 822 aircraft, carrying parachutists or towing gliders, will roar overhead to the Normandy landing zones. They will be just a fraction of the air armada of 13,000 aircraft that will support "D-Day."
The largest of the D-Day assault areas, Omaha Beach, stretches over 10 km (6 miles) between the fishing port of Port-en-Bessin on the east and the mouth of the Vire River on the west. The western third of the beach is backed by a seawall 3 metres (10 feet) high, and the whole beach is overlooked by cliffs 30 metres high.
Utah Beach is the westernmost beach of the planned five landing areas. It will be assaulted by elements of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. In the pre-dawn hours, units of the 82nd and 101st airborne division will be airdropped inland from the landing beach. Their plan is to isolate the seaborned invasion force from defending German units.
Sword Beach is the easternmost beach of the five landing areas of the planned invasion. It will be assaulted by units of the British 3rd Division, with French and British commandos attached. Shortly after midnight on D-Day morning, elements of the 6th Airborne Division will launch a daring glider-borne assault, hoping to seize bridges inland from the beach and also silence artillery pieces that could threaten the seaborne landing forces.
H-Hour (the time the first assault wave is to land) at Gold Beach is set for 0725 hours, one hour later than the scheduled landings on the American beaches owing to the direction of the tide, which move from west to east and bring high water later to the British beach.
Juno Beach is the second beach from the east among the five landing areas of the invasion. The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division will invade Juno Beach.
Sources have told us that this invasion could be the beginning of the end for the Nazis. Although TIMES editors held a meeting to discuss whether this information should be reported, it was decided unanimously that it is news and our first obligation is to journalism and reporting the story. We do hope, of course, that Allied casualties are kept to a minimum.
Count on the NEW YORK TIMES for all your war coverage. If it's news, we will have it first.
From last year, you told us that your did landed there. What can you tell us about it?
People of Western Europe: A landing was made this morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This landing is part of the concerted United Nations’ plan for the liberation of Europe, made in conjunction with our great Russian allies.
I have this message for all of you. Although the initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching.
All patriots, men and women, young and old, have a part to play in the achievement of final victory. To members of resistance movements, I say, “Follow the instructions you have received.” To patriots who are not members of organized resistance groups, I say, “Continue your passive resistance, but do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give you the signal to rise and strike the enemy. The day will come when I shall need your united strength. Until that day, I call on you for the hard task of discipline and restraint.”
Citizens of France! I am proud to have again under my command the gallant Forces of France. Fighting beside their Allies, they will play a worthy part in the liberation of their Homeland.
Because the initial landing has been made on the soil of your country, I repeat to you with even greater emphasis my message to the peoples of other occupied countries in Western Europe. Follow the instructions of your leaders. A premature uprising of all Frenchmen may prevent you from being of maximum help to your country in the critical hour. Be patient. Prepare!
As Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, there is imposed on me the duty and responsibility of taking all measures necessary to the prosecution of the war. Prompt and willing obedience to the orders that I shall issue is essential.
Effective civil administration of France must be provided by Frenchmen. All persons must continue in their present duties unless otherwise instructed. Those who have made common cause with the enemy and so betrayed their country will be removed. As France is liberated from her oppressors, you yourselves will choose your representatives, and the government under which you wish to live.
In the course of this campaign for the final defeat of the enemy you may sustain further loss and damage. Tragic though they may be, they are part of the price of victory. I assure you that I shall do all in my power to mitigate your hardships. I know that I can count on your steadfastness now, no less than in the past. The heroic deeds of Frenchmen who have continued the struggle against the Nazis and their Vichy satellites, in France and throughout the French Empire, have been an example and an inspiration to all of us.
This landing is but the opening phase of the campaign in Western Europe. Great battles lie ahead. I call upon all who love freedom to stand with us. Keep your faith staunch - our arms are resolute - together we shall achieve victory.
-— Raido Broadcast by General Dwight Eisenhower, June 6, 1944
Okay, will they rent a few days to some FReepers for a field trip?
To: doug from upland
From my in-laws place in Troueville you look directly down the Normandy beach. If you were there that morning with binoculars or a telescope you could have watched the entire show. There is still a German pillbox about 50 yards from their house.
30 posted on 06/05/2007 9:42:34 AM PDT by SF Republican
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Thanks for the YouTube link.
RONALD REAGAN
Remarks at the U.S. Ranger Monument
Pointe du Hoc, France
June 6, 1984
One of two speeches commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion, this speech was delivered at the site of the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc, France, where veterans of the Normandy Invasion, and others, had assembled for the ceremony. Later during the day, President Reagan spoke at Omaha Beach, France.
1,988 words.
We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers—the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.
Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your “lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.’’
I think I know what you may be thinking right now—thinking, “We were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.’’ Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren’t. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.
Lord Lovat was with him—Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, “Sorry I’m a few minutes late,’’ as if he’d been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he’d just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland’s 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England’s armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard’s “Matchbox Fleet’’ and you, the American Rangers.
Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge—and pray God we have not lost it—that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.
You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They thought—or felt in their hearts, though they couldn’t know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.
Something else helped the men of D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we’re about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’’
These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.
When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.
There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall Plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall Plan led to the Atlantic alliance—a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.
In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They’re still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, Allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose—to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.
We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.
But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.
It’s fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.
We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.
We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’’
Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.
Thank you very much, and God bless you all.
Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. at the site of the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc, France, where veterans of the Normandy invasion had assembled for the ceremony.
Following his remarks, the President unveiled memorial plaques to the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. Then, escorted by Phil Rivers, superintendent of the Normandy American Cemetery, the President and Mrs. Reagan proceeded to the interior of the observation bunker. On leaving the bunker, the President and Mrs. Reagan greeted each of the veterans.
Other Allied countries represented at the ceremony by their heads of state and government were: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada.
My wife for the first time in 10 years will not be flying home to France this summer, round trip flight (with a layover in Frankfurt) is $1,500. She did say she would stay home if she could spend half that on champagne, you thirsty?
Pop said there was some kind of wall or something they ran to on the beach [kind of like ‘Saving Pvt. Ryan’], and that once they got organized they moved out.
He was in the first unit to reach St. Mere Egliese. Saw the airborne guys hanging from the trees and the poles from the night before.
Pop was in on taking Cherbourg. Actually ran into two Portuguese guys in German uniforms [Worked for Organization Todt]. Pop was of Portuguese descent, so hearing what he thought were Germans speaking Portuguese got his attention.
Dad captured a German parade sword in Normandy, from an officer. It's pre-WW I. The blade is inscribed for a regiment named for Czar Nicholas II.
Dad was in the hills overlooking St. Lo for Operation Cobra. Some of the aircraft bombing the Germans flew in lower than he was. He also marched through Paris later.
Pop got a bad case of frostbite in the Huertgen Forest, and missed the Bulge. Almost got killed by a German sniper in Worms. Finished the war in Bavaria.
I wanted to take my Dad back in ‘84 [when Reagan was there], and even in ‘94 [ when Slick Willie went]. Told Pop we’d do the tour of all the places he’d been starting on Utah Beach. He wouldn’t do it. Said he had no interest in going back.
Thought it was a little odd, ‘til I realized I have no desire to go back to the DMZ in Korea, or to go back to ‘Nam for a visit.
My much older brother was in the Coast Guard but attached to the Navy.
He was in 3 previous invasions and Normandy.
He piloted a landing craft carrying a Va. Natl. Guard Division onto Omaha Beach.
The only time he ever got emotional about his experience was going to see Saving Private Ryan. The opening 30 minutes really caused him to break.
He told me when he dropped the front of the landing craft a German machine gun opened up. Just mowed down the troops.
Even though we were 20 yrs apart ( he passed away in 2002) and never really lived in the same house I miss him terribly.
After the War he went to college, got several degrees, BA, BS, MS, PHD, Dr. of Theo. became a missionary, then minister.
Oh, also a crack shot. A firearms instructor.
The D-Day landings didn’t save the world or Europe from the Nazis, they were doomed anyway by 1944.
What the D-Day landings actually did was save a greater chunk of Europe from the Communists than actually did end up being dominated in the East...
It’s worth remembering that the U.S. landed only 6 divisions in all of Normandy on D-Day, 1944.
They were opposed by 44 Wehrmacht and Panzer armored divisions.
Traditional military thought was that we’d be slaughtered.
Last year, someone on FR posted a link to audio files of WWII events. I thought I saved the link, but apparently not. The link went to a website that had the announcement made by either Churchill or FDR that the invasion had begun. Does anyone have that link??
From the BBC, this might be helpful - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/dday_audio.shtml
Kürassier-Regiment Kaiser Nikolas I. von Rußland (Brandenburgisches) Nr.6.
The regiment is named after Nicholas II’s great grandfather, Nicholas I.
The inscription reads: “Chev. Regt. Kaiser Nicklaus II vom Russland”.
“Im treue fest” is inscribed on the reverse side.
The blade is also engraved with a variety of motifs including a horse’s head, horseshoe and scrollwork.
The 1st SS Pz. Korps was up near the Pas de Calais, and into western Belgium. The 9th and 10th SS Pz. Divs. were en- route from Russia [ they would de-train and march straight into combat]. The 2nd SS Pz. Div. was in southern France in the Central Massif, and wouldn't reach Normandy for just shy of ten days after the landings.
Of the infantry divisions, some were first quality [like the 352nd at Omaha Beach]. Most weren't. There were units composed of troops with ulcers and digestive problems. There were units composed of troops from Eastern Europe and Russia. Many lacked transport and artillery. Plus, by D-Day German infantry divisions [at best] numbered 8,000 men. Many had 6,000. And they were covering not only all of France's coast [and interior], but Holland and Belgium as well.The Germans had no air cover, were unprepared for naval bombardment, and had a very inefficient command structure.
While many thought the invasion would be difficult, and might be defeated, few thought we'd be slaughtered.
Drew was a real Casper Milquetoast looking fella in his early sixties. He cut his war reporter teeth in the first wave on Omaha.
It was he who reported the "we're getting killed here, we might as well get killed inland" quote. The officer who said it got up, took two steps and got shot between the eyes. He fell across Drew's legs, dead before he hit the ground. The episode was mangled in The Longest Day and split between two characters.
Drew was a true gent who would spit on what the Times has become.
Thank you, Vets.
Kgl. Bayer. 1. Chevaulegers-Regiment Kaiser Nikolaus von Rußland.
I forgot to check Bavaria's army, which was separate from the Prussian/German Army until after WWI.
Mega dittos!
Thanks for the ping and I’d like to say thanks to our veterans also. I appreciate their service very much.
I am not a vet. I have a great deal of respect for folks who are, and I would never want anyone to mistakenly think I was.
I’d be proud to be one, but I don’t want to take credit that is not due.
Take a bow vets. You earned our praise.
Thanks for the info!
Bump for those who missed it.
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