Allied Normandy landing operation. The Normandy landings briefly

Operation Overlord

Many years have passed since the famous landing of the Allied forces in Normandy. And the debate still continues to this day: did the Soviet army need this help, since the turning point in the war had already come?

In 1944, when it was already clear that the war would soon come to a victorious end, a decision was made on the participation of allied forces in World War II. Preparations for the operation began back in 1943, after the famous Tehran Conference, at which he finally managed to find a common language with Roosevelt.

While the Soviet army was fighting fiercely, the British and Americans were carefully preparing for the upcoming invasion. As the English military encyclopedias on this topic say: “The allies had sufficient time to prepare the operation with the care and thoughtfulness that its complexity required; they had the initiative and the ability to freely choose the time and place of landing.” Of course, it’s strange for us to read about “enough time” when thousands of soldiers were dying every day in our country...

Operation Overlord was to be carried out both on land and at sea (its naval part was codenamed “Neptune”). Its tasks were as follows: “Land on the coast of Normandy. Concentrate the forces and means necessary for a decisive battle in the area of ​​​​Normandy, Brittany, and break through the enemy’s defenses there. With two army groups, pursue the enemy on a broad front, concentrating the main efforts on the left flank, in order to capture the ports we need, reach the borders of Germany and create a threat to the Ruhr. On the right flank our troops will join forces that will invade France from the south."

One cannot help but be amazed at the caution of Western politicians, who spent a long time choosing the moment for the landing and postponing it day after day. The final decision was made in the summer of 1944. Churchill writes about this in his memoirs: “Thus, we came to an operation that the Western powers could rightfully consider the climax of the war. Although the road ahead might be long and difficult, we had every reason to be confident that we would achieve a decisive victory. Russian armies expelled the German invaders from their country. Everything that Hitler had so quickly won from the Russians three years earlier was lost by him with enormous losses in men and equipment. Crimea was cleared. The Polish borders were reached. Romania and Bulgaria were desperate to avoid revenge from the eastern victors. Any day now a new Russian offensive was supposed to begin, timed to coincide with our landing on the continent”...
That is, the moment was most opportune, and the Soviet troops prepared everything for the successful performance of the allies...

Combat power

The landing was to take place in the northeast of France, on the coast of Normandy. The Allied troops should have stormed the coast and then set off to liberate the land territories. The military headquarters hoped that the operation would be crowned with success, since Hitler and his military leaders believed that landings from the sea were practically impossible in this area - the coastal topography was too complex and the current was strong. Therefore, the area of ​​the Normandy coast was weakly fortified by German troops, which increased the chances of victory.

But at the same time, it was not in vain that Hitler believed that the enemy’s landing on this territory was impossible - the allies had to rack their brains a lot, figuring out how to carry out a landing in such impossible conditions, how to overcome all the difficulties and gain a foothold on an unequipped shore...

By the summer of 1944, significant Allied forces were concentrated in the British Isles - as many as four armies: the 1st and 3rd American, 2nd British and 1st Canadian, which included 39 divisions, 12 separate brigades and 10 detachments of the British and American Marine Corps. The air force was represented by thousands of fighters and bombers. The fleet under the leadership of the English admiral B. Ramsey consisted of thousands of warships and boats, landing and auxiliary vessels.

According to a carefully developed plan, sea and airborne troops were to land in Normandy over an area of ​​about 80 km. It was assumed that 5 infantry, 3 airborne divisions and several detachments of marines would land ashore on the first day. The landing zone was divided into two areas - in one the American troops were to operate, and in the second - the British troops, reinforced by the allies from Canada.

The main burden in this operation fell on the navy, which had to deliver troops, provide cover for the landing and provide fire support for the crossing. Aviation should have covered the landing area from the air, disrupted enemy communications, and suppressed enemy defenses. But the most difficult thing was experienced by the infantry, led by the English General B. Montgomery...

Judgment Day

The landing was scheduled for June 5, but due to bad weather it had to be postponed by a day. On the morning of June 6, 1944, a great battle began...

Here's how the British Military Encyclopedia talks about it: “Never has any coastline endured what the coast of France had to endure that morning. At the same time, shelling from ships and bombardment from the air were carried out. Along the entire invasion front, the ground was cluttered with debris from explosions; shells from naval guns punched holes in the fortifications, and tons of bombs rained down on them from the sky... Through the clouds of smoke and falling debris, the defenders, gripped by horror at the sight of general destruction, could barely discern hundreds of ships and other vessels inexorably approaching shore."

With a roar and explosions, the landing force began landing on the shore, and by evening, significant Allied forces found themselves in the territory captured by the enemy. But at the same time they had to suffer considerable losses. During the landing, thousands of servicemen from the American, British, and Canadian armies died... Almost every second soldier was killed - such a heavy price had to be paid for the opening of a second front. This is how veterans remember it: “I was 18. And it was very hard for me to watch the guys die. I just prayed to God to let me return home. And many did not return."

“I tried to help at least someone: I quickly gave an injection and wrote on the wounded man’s forehead that I had injected him. And then we collected our fallen comrades. You know, when you are 21 years old, it’s too hard, especially if there are hundreds of them. Some bodies surfaced after several days or weeks. My fingers passed through them”...

Thousands of young lives were cut short on this inhospitable French coast, but the command’s task was completed. On June 11, 1944, Stalin sent a telegram to Churchill: “As can be seen, the mass landing, undertaken on a grandiose scale, was a complete success. My colleagues and I cannot but admit that the history of wars does not know of another similar enterprise in terms of the breadth of its concept, the grandeur of its scale and the skill of its execution.”

The Allied forces continued their victorious offensive, liberating one town after another. By July 25, Normandy was practically cleared of the enemy. The Allies lost 122 thousand people between June 6 and July 23. The losses of German troops amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, as well as 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft. But as a result of the operation, Germany found itself between two fires and was forced to fight a war on two fronts.

Disputes still continue as to whether the participation of the Allies in the war was really necessary. Some are confident that our army itself would have successfully overcome all the difficulties. Many people are irritated by the fact that Western history textbooks very often talk about the fact that the Second World War was actually won by British and American troops, and the bloody sacrifices and battles of Soviet soldiers are not mentioned at all...

Yes, most likely, our troops would have been able to cope with Hitler’s army on their own. Only this would have happened later, and many more of our soldiers would not have returned from the war... Of course, the opening of a second front brought the end of the war closer. It’s just a pity that the Allies took part in hostilities only in 1944, although they could have done this much earlier. And then the terrible victims of the Second World War would have been several times smaller...

Allied landings in Normandy
(Operation Overlord) and
fighting in Northwestern France
summer 1944

Preparations for the Normandy landing operation

By the summer of 1944, the situation in the theaters of war in Europe had changed significantly. Germany's position deteriorated significantly. On the Soviet-German front, Soviet troops inflicted major defeats on the Wehrmacht in Right Bank Ukraine and Crimea. In Italy, Allied troops were located south of Rome. A real possibility had arisen of landing American-British troops in France.

Under these conditions, the United States and England began preparations for the landing of their troops in Northern France ( Operation Overlord) and in Southern France (Operation Anvil).

For Normandy landing operation(“Overlord”) four armies were concentrated in the British Isles: the 1st and 3rd American, the 2nd English and the 1st Canadian. These armies included 37 divisions (23 infantry, 10 armored, 4 airborne) and 12 brigades, as well as 10 detachments of British commandos and American Rangers (airborne sabotage units).

The total number of invasion forces in Northern France reached 1 million people. To support the Normandy landing operation, a fleet of 6 thousand military and landing ships and transport vessels was concentrated.

The Normandy landing operation was attended by British, American and Canadian troops, Polish units, which were subordinate to the emigrant government in London, and French units, formed by the French Committee of National Liberation (Fighting France), which, on the eve of the landing, proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of France.

The general leadership of the American-British forces was carried out by American General Dwight Eisenhower. The landing operation was commanded by the commander 21st Army Group English Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The 21st Army Group included the 1st American (commander General O. Bradley), 2nd British (commander General M. Dempsey) and 1st Canadian (commander General H. Grerard) armies.

The plan for the Normandy landing operation provided for the forces of the 21st Army Group to land sea and airborne assault forces on the coast Normandy on the section from the Grand Vey bank to the mouth of the Orne River, about 80 km long. On the twentieth day of the operation, it was planned to create a bridgehead 100 km along the front and 100–110 km in depth.

The landing area was divided into two zones - western and eastern. American troops were to land in the western zone, and British-Canadian troops in the eastern zone. The western zone was divided into two sections, the eastern – into three. At the same time, one infantry division, reinforced with additional units, began landing in each of these areas. 3 Allied airborne divisions landed deep in the German defense (10–15 km from the coast). On the 6th day of the operation it was planned to advance to a depth of 15–20 km and increase the number of divisions in the bridgehead to sixteen.

Preparations for the Normandy landing operation lasted three months. On June 3–4, the troops allocated for the landing of the first wave headed to the loading points - the ports of Falmouth, Plymouth, Weymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, and Newhaven. The start of the landing was planned for June 5, but due to bad weather conditions it was postponed to June 6.

Operation Overlord plan

German defense in Normandy

The Wehrmacht High Command expected the Allied invasion, but it could not determine in advance either the time or, most importantly, the place of the future landing. On the eve of the landing, the storm continued for several days, the weather forecast was bad, and the German command believed that in such weather a landing would be completely impossible. The commander of the German forces in France, Field Marshal Rommel, just before the Allied landings, went on vacation to Germany and learned about the invasion only more than three hours after it began.

The German Army High Command in the West (in France, Belgium and Holland) had only 58 incomplete divisions. Some of them were “stationary” (did not have their own transport). Normandy had only 12 divisions and only 160 combat-ready combat aircraft. The superiority of the group of allied forces intended for the Normandy landing operation (“Overlord”) over the German troops opposing them in the West was: in number of personnel - three times, in tanks - three times, in guns - 2 times and 60 times on airplanes.

One of three 40.6cm (406 mm) guns of the German Lindemann battery
Atlantic Wall sweeping across the English Channel


Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-364-2314-16A, Atlantikwall, Batterie "Lindemann"

Beginning of the Normandy landing operation
(Operation Overlord)

The night before, the landing of Allied airborne units began, in which American: 1,662 aircraft and 512 gliders, British: 733 aircraft and 335 gliders.

On the night of June 6, 18 ships of the British fleet conducted a demonstrative maneuver in the area northeast of Le Havre. At the same time, bomber aircraft dropped strips of metallized paper to interfere with the operation of German radar stations.

At dawn on June 6, 1944, the Operation Overlord(Normandy landing operation). Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing began on five sections of the coast in Normandy. The German navy offered almost no resistance to the landing.

American and British aircraft attacked enemy artillery batteries, headquarters and defensive positions. At the same time, powerful air strikes were carried out on targets in the Calais and Boulogne areas in order to divert enemy attention from the actual landing site.

From the Allied naval forces, artillery support for the landing was provided by 7 battleships, 2 monitors, 24 cruisers and 74 destroyers.

At 6:30 a.m. in the western zone and at 7:30 in the eastern zone, the first amphibious assault forces landed on the shore. American troops that landed in the extreme western sector (“Utah”), by the end of June 6, advanced deep into the coast up to 10 km and linked up with the 82nd Airborne Division.

In the Omaha sector, where the 1st American Infantry Division of the 5th Corps of the 1st American Army landed, enemy resistance was stubborn and the landing forces during the first day had difficulty capturing a small section of the coast up to 1.5–2 km deep.

In the landing zone of the Anglo-Canadian troops, enemy resistance was weak. Therefore, by the evening they linked up with units of the 6th Airborne Division.

By the end of the first day of landing, the Allied troops managed to capture three bridgeheads in Normandy with a depth of 2 to 10 km. The main forces of five infantry and three airborne divisions and one armored brigade with a total number of more than 156 thousand people were landed. On the first day of the landing, the Americans lost 6,603 people, including 1,465 killed, the British and Canadians - about 4 thousand people killed, wounded and missing.

Continuation of the Normandy landing operation

The 709th, 352nd and 716th German infantry divisions defended the Allied landing zone on the coast. They were deployed on a front of 100 kilometers and were unable to repel the landing of Allied troops.

On June 7–8, the transfer of additional Allied forces to the captured bridgeheads continued. In just three days of landing, eight infantry, one tank, three airborne divisions and a large number of individual units were landed.

Arrival of Allied reinforcements at Omaha Beachhead, June 1944.


Original uploader was MIckStephenson at en.wikipedia

On the morning of June 9, Allied troops located at different bridgeheads began a counter-offensive to create a single bridgehead. At the same time, the transfer of new formations and units to the captured bridgeheads and armies continued.

On June 10, one common bridgehead was created 70 km along the front and 8-15 km in depth, which by June 12 managed to be expanded to 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth. By this time, there were already 16 divisions on the bridgehead, which numbered 327 thousand people, 54 thousand combat and transport vehicles and 104 thousand tons of cargo.

An attempt by German troops to destroy the Allied bridgehead in Normandy

To eliminate the bridgehead, the German command brought up reserves, but believed that the main attack of the Anglo-American troops would follow through the Pas de Calais Strait.

Operational meeting of the command of Army Group B


Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-300-1865-10, Nordfrankreich, Dollmann, Feuchtinger, Rommel

Northern France, summer 1944. Colonel General Friedrich Dollmann (left), Lieutenant General Edgar Feuchtinger (center) and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (right).

On June 12, German troops launched a strike between the Orne and Vir rivers in order to dissect the Allied group located there. The attack ended in failure. At this time, 12 German divisions were already operating against the Allied forces located on the bridgehead in Normandy, of which three were tank and one motorized. Divisions arriving at the front were brought into battle in units as they unloaded in the landing areas. This reduced their striking power.

On the night of June 13, 1944. The Germans first used the V-1 AU-1 (V-1) projectile aircraft. London was attacked.

Expansion of the Allied bridgehead in Normandy

On June 12, the 1st American Army from the area west of Sainte-Mère-Eglise launched an offensive westward and occupied Caumont. On June 17, American troops cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, reaching its western coast. On June 27, American troops captured the port of Cherbourg, taking 30 thousand people prisoner, and on July 1, they completely occupied the Cotentin Peninsula. By mid-July, the port at Cherbourg had been restored, and through it increased supplies for the Allied forces in Northern France.

On June 25–26, Anglo-Canadian troops made an unsuccessful attempt to take Caen. The German defense offered stubborn resistance. By the end of June, the size of the Allied bridgehead in Normandy reached: along the front - 100 km, in depth - 20 to 40 km.

A German machine gunner, whose field of vision is limited by clouds of smoke, is blocking the road. Northern France, June 21, 1944


Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1808-10A, Nordfrankreich, Rauchschwaden, Posten mit MG 15.

German security post. Plumes of smoke from a fire or from smoke bombs in front of a barrier with steel hedgehogs between concrete walls. In the foreground is a lying guard post with an MG 15 machine gun.

The Wehrmacht High Command (OKW) still believed that the main Allied attack would be delivered through the Pas-de-Calais Strait, so it did not dare to reinforce its troops in Normandy with formations from North-East France and Belgium. The transfer of German troops from Central and Southern France was delayed by Allied air raids and sabotage by the French “resistance”.

The main reason that did not allow the reinforcement of German troops in Normandy was the strategic offensive of Soviet troops in Belarus that began in June (Belarusian Operation). It was launched in accordance with an agreement with the Allies. The Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht was forced to send all reserves to the Eastern Front. In this regard, on July 15, 1944, Field Marshal E. Rommel sent a telegram to Hitler, in which he reported that since the beginning of the landing of the Allied forces, the losses of Army Group B amounted to 97 thousand people, and the reinforcements received were only 6 thousand. people

Thus, the Wehrmacht High Command was unable to significantly strengthen the defensive grouping of its troops in Normandy.

United States Military Academy's Department of History

Troops of the Allied 21st Army Group continued to expand the bridgehead. On July 3, the 1st American Army went on the offensive. In 17 days it went 10-15 km deep and occupied Saint-Lo, a major road junction.

On July 7–8, the British 2nd Army launched an offensive with three infantry divisions and three armored brigades on Caen. To suppress the defense of the German airfield division, the Allies brought in naval artillery and strategic aviation. Only on July 19 did British troops completely capture the city. The 3rd American and 1st Canadian armies began landing on the bridgehead.

By the end of July 24, the troops of the 21st Allied Army Group reached the line south of Saint-Lo, Caumont, and Caen. This day is considered the end of the Normandy landing operation (Operation Overlord). During the period from June 6 to July 23, German troops lost 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft. The losses of the Allied forces amounted to 122 thousand people (73 thousand Americans and 49 thousand British and Canadians).

The Normandy landing operation ("Overlord") was the largest amphibious operation during the Second World War. In the period from June 6 to July 24 (7 weeks), the 21st Allied Army Group managed to land expeditionary forces in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead of about 100 km along the front and up to 50 km in depth.

Fighting in France in the summer of 1944

On July 25, 1944, after a “carpet” bombing by B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft and an impressive artillery barrage, the Allies launched a new offensive in Normandy from the Len-Lo area with the goal of breaking through from the bridgehead and entering the operational space ( Operation Cobra). On the same day, more than 2,000 American armored vehicles entered the breakthrough towards the Brittany Peninsula and towards the Loire.

On August 1, the 12th Allied Army Group was formed under the command of American General Omar Bradley, consisting of the 1st and 3rd American Armies.

The breakthrough of American troops from the bridgehead in Normandy to Brittany and Loire.


United States Military Academy's Department of History

Two weeks later, General Patton's 3rd American Army liberated the Brittany Peninsula and reached the Loire River, capturing a bridge near the city of Angers, and then moved east.

The advance of Allied troops from Normandy to Paris.


United States Military Academy's Department of History

On August 15, the main forces of the German 5th and 7th tank armies were surrounded, in the so-called Falaise “cauldron”. After 5 days of fighting (from the 15th to the 20th), part of the German group was able to leave the “cauldron”; 6 divisions were lost.

The French partisans of the Resistance movement, who operated on German communications and attacked rear garrisons, provided great assistance to the Allies. General Dwight Eisenhower estimated guerrilla assistance at 15 regular divisions.

After the defeat of the Germans in the Falaise Pocket, the Allied forces rushed east almost unhindered and crossed the Seine. On August 25, with the support of the rebel Parisians and French partisans, they liberated Paris. The Germans began to retreat to the Siegfried Line. The Allied forces defeated the German troops located in Northern France and, continuing their pursuit, entered Belgian territory and approached the Western Wall. On September 3, 1944, they liberated the capital of Belgium, Brussels.

On August 15, the Allied landing operation Anvil began in the south of France. Churchill objected to this operation for a long time, proposing to use the troops intended for it in Italy. However, Roosevelt and Eisenhower refused to change the plans agreed upon at the Tehran Conference. According to the Anvil plan, two Allied armies, American and French, landed east of Marseille and moved north. Fearing being cut off, German troops in southwestern and southern France began to withdraw towards Germany. After the connection of the Allied forces advancing from Northern and Southern France, by the end of August 1944 almost all of France was cleared of German troops.

The worst thing besides
lost battle
this is a won battle.

Duke of Wellington.

Allied landings in Normandy, Operation Overlord, "D-Day", Normandy operation. This event has many different names. This is a battle that everyone knows about, even outside the countries that fought the war. This is an event that claimed many thousands of lives. An event that will go down in history forever.

general information

Operation Overlord- a military operation of the Allied forces, which became the opening operation of a second front in the West. Held in Normandy, France. And to this day it is the largest landing operation in history - in total more than 3 million people were involved. The operation has begun June 6, 1944 and ended on August 31, 1944 with the liberation of Paris from the German occupiers. This operation combined the skill of organizing and preparing for combat operations of the Allied troops and the rather ridiculous mistakes of the Reich troops, which led to the collapse of Germany in France.

Goals of the warring parties

For Anglo-American troops "Overlord" set the goal of delivering a crushing blow to the very heart of the Third Reich and, in cooperation with the advance of the Red Army along the entire eastern front, crushing the main and most powerful enemy from the Axis countries. The goal of Germany, as the defending side, was extremely simple: not to allow the Allied troops to land and gain a foothold in France, to force them to suffer heavy human and technical losses and dump them into the English Channel.

Strengths of the parties and the general state of affairs before the battle

It is worth noting that the position of the German army in 1944, especially on the Western Front, left much to be desired. Hitler concentrated his main troops on the eastern front, where Soviet troops were victorious one after another. The German troops were deprived of a unified leadership in France - constant changes in senior commanders, conspiracies against Hitler, disputes about a possible landing site, and the lack of a unified defensive plan did not in any way contribute to the successes of the Nazis.

By June 6, 1944, 58 Nazi divisions were stationed in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, including 42 infantry, 9 tank and 4 air field divisions. They were united into two army groups, “B” and “G”, and were subordinate to the “West” command. Army Group B (commander Field Marshal E. Rommel), located in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, included the 7th, 15th armies and the 88th separate army corps - a total of 38 divisions. Army Group G (commanded by General I. Blaskowitz) consisting of the 1st and 19th armies (11 divisions in total) was located on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and in southern France.

In addition to the troops that were part of the army groups, 4 divisions made up the reserve of the West command. Thus, the greatest densities of troops were created in North-Eastern France, on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait. In general, the German units were scattered throughout France and did not have time to arrive on the battlefield in time. For example, about 1 million more Reich soldiers were in France and initially did not participate in the battle.

Despite the relatively large number of German soldiers and equipment stationed in the area, their combat effectiveness was extremely low. 33 divisions were considered “stationary”, that is, they either had no vehicles at all or did not have the required amount of fuel. About 20 divisions were newly formed or recovered from battles, so they were only 70-75% of normal strength. Many tank divisions also lacked fuel.

From the memoirs of the Chief of Staff of the West Command, General Westphal: “It is well known that the combat effectiveness of the German troops in the West, already at the time of the landing, was much lower than the combat effectiveness of the divisions operating in the East and Italy... A significant number of ground force formations located in France, the so-called “stationary divisions,” were very poorly equipped with weapons and by motor transport and consisted of older soldiers". The German air fleet could provide about 160 combat-ready aircraft. As for the naval forces, Hitler's troops had at their disposal 49 submarines, 116 patrol ships, 34 torpedo boats and 42 artillery barges.

The Allied forces, commanded by future US President Dwight Eisenhower, had 39 divisions and 12 brigades at their disposal. As for aviation and navy, in this aspect the Allies had an overwhelming advantage. They had about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 2300 transport aircraft; over 6 thousand combat, landing and transport ships. Thus, by the time of the landing, the overall superiority of the Allied forces over the enemy was 2.1 times in men, 2.2 times in tanks, and almost 23 times in aircraft. In addition, the Anglo-American troops constantly brought new forces to the battlefield, and by the end of August they already had about 3 million people at their disposal. Germany could not boast of such reserves.

Operation plan

The American command began preparing for the landing in France long before "D-Day"(the original landing project was considered 3 years before - in 1941 - and was codenamed “Roundup”). In order to test their strength in the war in Europe, the Americans, together with British troops, landed in North Africa (Operation Torch), and then in Italy. The operation was postponed and changed many times because the United States could not decide which theater of military operations was more important for them - the European or the Pacific. After it was decided to choose Germany as the main rival, and in the Pacific to limit itself to tactical defense, the development plan began Operation Overlord.

The operation consisted of two phases: the first was codenamed "Neptune", the second - "Cobra". "Neptune" assumed an initial landing of troops, the capture of coastal territory, "Cobra" - a further offensive deep into France, followed by the capture of Paris and access to the German-French border. The first part of the operation lasted from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944; the second began immediately after the end of the first, that is, from July 1, 1944 until August 31 of the same year.

The operation was prepared in the strictest secrecy, all troops that were supposed to land in France were transferred to special isolated military bases that were forbidden to leave, information propaganda was conducted regarding the place and time of the operation.

In addition to US and British troops, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand soldiers took part in the operation, and French resistance forces were active in France itself. For a very long time, the command of the allied forces could not accurately determine the time and place of the start of the operation. The most preferred landing sites were Normandy, Brittany and Pas-de-Calais.

Everyone knows that the choice was made on Normandy. The choice was influenced by factors such as the distance to the ports of England, the echelon and strength of defensive fortifications, and the range of the Allied aircraft. The combination of these factors determined the choice of the Allied command.

Until the very last moment, the German command believed that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area, since this place was closest to England, and therefore required the least time to transport cargo, equipment, and new soldiers. In Pas-de-Calais, the famous “Atlantic Wall” was created - an impregnable line of defense for the Nazis, while in the landing area the fortifications were hardly half ready. The landing took place on five beaches, which were codenamed “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Sword”, “Juno”.

The start time of the operation was determined by the ratio of the water level and the time of sunrise. These factors were considered to ensure that the landing craft did not run aground and were not damaged by underwater obstacles, and that it was possible to land equipment and troops as close to the shore as possible. As a result, the day the operation began was June 6, and this day was named "D-Day". The night before the landing of the main forces, a parachute landing was dropped behind enemy lines, which was supposed to help the main forces, and immediately before the start of the main attack, the German fortifications were subjected to a massive air raid and Allied ships.

Progress of the operation

Such a plan was developed at headquarters. In reality, things didn't go quite that way. The landing force, which was dropped behind German lines the night before the operation, was scattered over a vast territory - over 216 square meters. km. for 25-30 km. from captured objects. Most of the 101st Division, which landed near Sainte-Maire-Eglise, disappeared without a trace. The 6th British Division was also unlucky: although the landing paratroopers were much more numerous than their American comrades, in the morning they came under fire from their own aircraft, with which they could not establish contact. The 1st US Division was almost completely destroyed. Some ships with tanks were sunk before they even reached the shore.

Already during the second part of the operation - Operation Cobra - Allied aircraft attacked their own command post. The offensive went much slower than planned. The bloodiest event of the entire company was the landing on Omaha Beach. According to the plan, early in the morning, German fortifications on all beaches were subjected to fire from naval guns and air bombing, as a result of which the fortifications were significantly damaged.

But on the Omaha, due to fog and rain, the naval guns and planes missed, and the fortifications did not receive any damage. By the end of the first day of the operation, on the Omaha the Americans had lost more than 3 thousand people and were unable to take the positions planned by the plan, while on the Utah during this time they lost about 200 people, took the necessary positions and united with the landing force. Despite all this, on the whole the landing of the Allied troops was quite successful.

Then the second phase was successfully started Operation Overlord, within which cities such as Cherbourg, Saint-Lo, Caen and others were taken. The Germans retreated, throwing weapons and equipment to the Americans. On August 15, due to mistakes by the German command, two German tank armies were surrounded, and although they were able to escape from the so-called Falaise Pocket, it was at the cost of huge losses. Allied forces then captured Paris on August 25, continuing to push the Germans back to the Swiss borders. After the complete cleansing of the French capital from fascists, Operation Overlord was declared completed.

Reasons for the victory of the Allied forces

Many of the reasons for the Allied victory and the German defeat have already been mentioned above. One of the main reasons was the critical position of Germany at this stage of the war. The main forces of the Reich were concentrated on the Eastern Front; the constant onslaught of the Red Army did not give Hitler the opportunity to transfer new troops to France. Such an opportunity arose only at the end of 1944 (Ardennes Offensive), but then it was already too late.

The better military-technical equipment of the Allied troops also had an effect: all the equipment of the Anglo-Americans was new, with full ammunition and a sufficient supply of fuel, while the Germans constantly experienced supply difficulties. In addition, the Allies constantly received reinforcements from English ports.

An important factor was the activity of the French partisans, who pretty well spoiled the supplies for the German troops. In addition, the allies had a numerical superiority over the enemy in all types of weapons, as well as in personnel. Conflicts within the German headquarters, as well as the incorrect belief that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area and not in Normandy, led to a decisive Allied victory.

Operation meaning

In addition to the fact that the landing in Normandy showed the strategic and tactical skill of the command of the Allied forces and the courage of ordinary soldiers, it also had a huge impact on the course of the war. "D-Day" opened a second front, forced Hitler to fight on two fronts, which stretched the already dwindling forces of the Germans. This was the first major battle in Europe in which American soldiers proved themselves. The offensive in the summer of 1944 caused the collapse of the entire Western Front, the Wehrmacht lost almost all positions in Western Europe.

Representation of the battle in the media

The scale of the operation, as well as its bloodshed (especially on Omaha Beach) led to the fact that today there are many computer games and films on this topic. Perhaps the most famous film was the masterpiece of the famous director Steven Spielberg "Saving Private Ryan", which tells about the massacre that occurred on the Omaha. This topic was also discussed in "The Longest Day", television series "Brothers in Arms" and many documentaries. Operation Overlord has appeared in more than 50 different computer games.

Even though Operation Overlord was carried out more than 50 years ago, and now it remains the largest amphibious operation in the history of mankind, and now the attention of many scientists and experts is riveted to it, and now there are endless disputes and debates about it. And it’s probably clear why.

"Many battles claim to be the main battle of the Second World War. Some believe that this is the battle of Moscow, in which the fascist troops suffered their first defeat. Others believe that the Battle of Stalingrad should be considered as such; others think that the main battle was the Battle of Kursk arc. In America (and recently in Western Europe) no one doubts that the main battle was the Normandy landing operation and the battles that followed it. It seems to me that Western historians are right, although not in everything.

Let's think about what would have happened if the Western allies once again hesitated and did not land troops in 1944? It is clear that Germany would still have been defeated, only the Red Army would have ended the war not near Berlin and the Oder, but in Paris and on the banks of the Loire. It is clear that what would have come to power in France would have been not General de Gaulle, who arrived in the Allied convoy, but one of the leaders of the Comintern. Similar figures could be found for Belgium, Holland, Denmark and all other large and small countries of Western Europe (as they were found for the countries of Eastern Europe). Naturally, Germany would not have been divided into four occupation zones, therefore, a single German state would have been formed not in the 90s, but in the 40s, and it would not have been called the Federal Republic of Germany, but the GDR. There would be no place for NATO in this hypothetical world (who would join it except the USA and England?), but the Warsaw Pact would unite all of Europe. Ultimately, the Cold War, if it had taken place at all, would have been of a completely different nature, and would have had a completely different outcome. However, I am not at all going to prove that everything would have been exactly this way and not otherwise. But there is no doubt that the results of World War II would have been different. Well, the battle, which largely determined the course of post-war development, should rightfully be considered the main battle of the war. It’s just a stretch to call it a battle.

Atlantic Wall
This was the name of the German defense system in the west. In films and computer games, this rampart appears to be something very powerful - rows of anti-tank hedgehogs, behind them concrete pillboxes with machine guns and cannons, bunkers for manpower, etc. However, remember, have you ever seen a photograph somewhere in which all this was visible? The most famous and widely circulated photograph of the NDO shows landing barges and American soldiers wading waist-deep in water, and this was filmed from the shore. We managed to find photographs of the landing sites that you see here. The soldiers land on a completely empty beach, where, apart from a few anti-tank hedgehogs, there are no defensive structures. So what exactly was the Atlantic Wall?
This name was first heard in the autumn of 1940, when four long-range batteries were quickly built on the coast of Pas-de-Calais. True, they were not intended to repel the landing, but to disrupt navigation in the strait. Only in 1942, after the unsuccessful landing of the Canadian Rangers near Dieppe, the construction of defensive structures began, mainly all there, on the English Channel coast (it was assumed that this was where the Allied landing would take place); for the remaining areas, labor and materials were allocated according to the residual principle. There wasn’t much left, especially after the intensification of raids on Allied Germany (they had to build bomb shelters for the population and industrial enterprises). As a result, the construction of the Atlantic Wall was generally 50 percent complete, and even less in Normandy itself. The only area that was more or less ready for defense was the one that later received the name Omaha bridgehead. However, he also looked completely different from how it is depicted in the game you know well.

Think for yourself, what is the point of placing concrete fortifications on the very shore? Of course, the guns installed there can fire at landing craft, and machine-gun fire can hit enemy soldiers as they wade through waist-deep water. But the bunkers standing right on the shore are perfectly visible to the enemy, so he can easily suppress them with naval artillery. Therefore, only passive defensive structures (minefields, concrete obstacles, anti-tank hedgehogs) are created directly at the water's edge. Behind them, preferably along the crests of dunes or hills, trenches are opened, and on the reverse slopes of the hills dugouts and other shelters are built where infantry can wait out an artillery attack or bombing. Well, even further, sometimes several kilometers from the coast, closed artillery positions are created (this is where you can see the powerful concrete casemates that we love to show in the movies).

The defense in Normandy was built approximately according to this plan, but, I repeat, the main part of it was created only on paper. For example, about three million mines were deployed, but according to the most conservative estimates, at least sixty million were needed. The artillery positions were mostly ready, but the guns were not installed everywhere. I’ll tell you this: long before the invasion, the French Resistance movement reported that the Germans had installed four naval 155-mm guns on the Merville battery. The firing range of these guns could reach 22 km, so there was a danger of shelling warships, so it was decided to destroy the battery at any cost. This task was assigned to the 9th Battalion of the 6th Parachute Division, which prepared for it for almost three months. A very accurate model of the battery was built, and the battalion's soldiers attacked it from all sides day after day. Finally, D-day arrived, with much noise and uproar, the battalion captured the battery and discovered there... four French 75-mm cannons on iron wheels (from the First World War). The positions were indeed made for 155-mm guns, but the Germans did not have the guns themselves, so they installed what was at hand.

It must be said that the arsenal of the Atlantic Wall generally consisted mainly of captured guns. Over the course of four years, the Germans methodically dragged there everything that they got from the defeated armies. There were Czech, Polish, French and even Soviet guns, and many of them had a very limited supply of shells. The situation was approximately the same with small arms; either captured weapons or those removed from service on the Eastern Front ended up in Normandy. In total, the 37th Army (namely, it bore the brunt of the battle) used 252 types of ammunition, and 47 of them were long out of production.

Personnel
Now let's talk about who exactly had to repel the Anglo-American invasion. Let's start with the command staff. Surely you remember the one-armed and one-eyed Colonel Stauffenberg, who made an unsuccessful attempt on Hitler's life. Have you ever wondered why such a disabled person was not outright dismissed, but continued to serve, albeit in the reserve army? Yes, because by 1944, the fitness requirements in Germany had been significantly reduced, in particular, loss of an eye, arm, severe concussion, etc. were no longer grounds for dismissal from service of senior and mid-level officers. Of course, such monsters would be of little use on the Eastern Front, but it would be possible to plug holes with them in units stationed on the Atlantic Wall. So approximately 50% of the command personnel there were classified as “limitedly fit.”

The Fuhrer did not ignore the rank and file either. Take for example the 70th Infantry Division, better known as the "White Bread Division." It consisted entirely of soldiers suffering from various types of stomach diseases, which is why they had to constantly be on a diet (naturally, with the beginning of the invasion, it became difficult to maintain a diet, so this division disappeared by itself). In other units there were entire battalions of soldiers suffering from flat feet, kidney disease, diabetes, etc. In a relatively calm environment, they could perform rear service, but their combat value was close to zero.

However, not all the soldiers on the Atlantic Wall were sick or crippled; there were quite a few who were quite healthy, but they were over 40 years old (and in the artillery, mostly fifty-year-olds served).

Well, the last, most amazing fact is that there were only about 50% of native Germans in the infantry divisions, the remaining half were all sorts of trash from all over Europe and Asia. It’s a shame to admit this, but there were quite a few of our compatriots there, for example, the 162nd Infantry Division consisted entirely of the so-called “eastern legions” (Turkmen, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, etc.). There were also Vlasovites on the Atlantic Wall, although the Germans themselves were not sure that they would be of any use. For example, the commander of the Cherbourg garrison, General Schlieben, said: “It is very doubtful that we will be able to persuade these Russians to fight for Germany on French territory against the Americans and the British.” He turned out to be right; most of the eastern troops surrendered to the Allies without a fight.

Bloody Omaha Beach
American troops landed in two areas, Utah and Omaha. On the first of them, the battle did not work out - in this sector there were only two strong points, each of which was defended by a reinforced platoon. Naturally, they were unable to provide any resistance to the 4th American Division, especially since both were practically destroyed by naval artillery fire even before the landing began.

By the way, there was an interesting incident that perfectly characterizes the fighting spirit of the Allies. A few hours before the start of the invasion, airborne troops were landed deep in the German defenses. Due to a mistake by the pilots, about three dozen paratroopers were dropped on the very shore near the W-5 bunker. The Germans destroyed some of them, while others were captured. And at 4.00 these prisoners began to beg the bunker commander to immediately send them to the rear. When the Germans asked why they were so impatient, the brave warriors immediately reported that in an hour artillery preparation from the ships would begin, followed by a landing. It is a pity that history has not preserved the names of these “fighters for freedom and democracy” who gave away the hour of the invasion in order to save their own skins.

Let us return, however, to the Omaha beachhead. In this area there is only one area accessible for landing, 6.5 km long (steep cliffs stretch for many kilometers to the east and west of it). Naturally, the Germans were able to prepare it well for defense; on the flanks of the site there were two powerful bunkers with guns and machine guns. However, their cannons could only fire at the beach and a small strip of water along it (from the sea, the bunkers were covered with rocks and a six-meter layer of concrete). Behind a relatively narrow strip of beach, hills began, up to 45 meters high, along the crest of which trenches were dug. This entire defensive system was well known to the Allies, but they hoped to suppress it before the landing began. Two battleships, three cruisers and six destroyers were to fire on the bridgehead. In addition, field artillery was supposed to fire from the landing ships, and eight landing barges were converted into installations for launching rockets. In just thirty minutes, more than 15 thousand shells of various calibers (up to 355 mm) were to be fired. And they were released... into the world like a pretty penny. Subsequently, the allies came up with many excuses for the low effectiveness of the shooting, such as heavy seas, pre-dawn fog, and something else, but one way or another, neither the bunkers nor even the trenches were damaged by the artillery shelling.

Allied aviation performed even worse. An armada of Liberator bombers dropped several hundred tons of bombs, but none of them hit not only enemy fortifications, but even the beach (and some bombs exploded five kilometers from the coast).

Thus, the infantry had to overcome a completely intact enemy defense line. However, troubles for the ground units began even before they reached the shore. For example, out of 32 floating (DD Sherman) 27 sank almost immediately after launching (two tanks reached the beach under their own power, three more were unloaded directly onto the shore). The commanders of some landing barges, not wanting to enter a sector shelled by German guns (Americans in general have a much better developed instinct for self-preservation than their sense of duty, and indeed all other feelings), folded back the ramps and began unloading at depths of about two meters, where most of the paratroopers successfully sank .

Finally, at the very least, the first wave of troops was landed. It included the 146th sapper battalion, whose fighters had to, first of all, destroy the concrete gouges so that the landing of tanks could begin. But that was not the case; behind each hole lay two or three brave American infantrymen who, to put it mildly, objected to the destruction of such a reliable shelter. The sappers had to plant explosives on the side facing the enemy (naturally, many of them died in the process; out of 272 sappers in total, 111 were killed). To assist the sappers in the first wave, 16 armored bulldozers were assigned. Only three reached the shore, and the sappers were able to use only two of them - the paratroopers took cover behind the third and, threatening the driver, forced him to remain in place. I think there are quite enough examples of “mass heroism”.

Well, then we begin to have complete mysteries. Any source devoted to the events at the Omaha Beachhead necessarily contains references to two “fire-breathing bunkers on the flanks,” but none of them says who, when and how the fire of these bunkers was suppressed. It seems that the Germans were shooting and shooting, and then stopped (perhaps this was the case, remember what I wrote above about ammunition). The situation is even more interesting with the machine guns firing along the front. When the American sappers smoked out their comrades from behind the concrete gouges, they had to seek refuge in the dead zone at the foot of the hills (in some ways this can be considered an offensive). One of the squads taking refuge there discovered a narrow path leading to the top.

Carefully moving along this path, the infantrymen reached the crest of the hill, and found completely empty trenches there! Where did the Germans who defended them go? But they weren’t there; in this sector the defense was occupied by one of the companies of the 1st battalion of the 726th Grenadier Regiment, which consisted mainly of Czechs forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht. Naturally, they dreamed of surrendering to the Americans as quickly as possible, but you must admit that throwing out the white flag even before the enemy attacks you is somehow undignified, even for the descendants of the brave soldier Schweik. The Czechs lay in their trenches, from time to time firing a burst or two towards the Americans. But after some time they realized that even such formal resistance was holding back the enemy’s advance, so they collected their belongings and retreated to the rear. There they were eventually captured to everyone's satisfaction.

In short, after digging through a pile of materials dedicated to the NDO, I managed to find one single story about the military clash at the Omaha bridgehead, and I quote it verbatim. "E Company, landing in front of Colleville, after a two-hour battle, captured a German bunker on the top of a hill and took 21 prisoners." All!

Main battle of World War II
In this brief review, I only talked about the first hours of the Normandy landing operation. In the days that followed, the Anglo-Americans had to face many difficulties. Then there was the storm, which practically destroyed one of the two artificial ports; and confusion with supplies (field hairdressers were delivered to the beachhead very late); and inconsistency in the actions of the allies (the British launched the offensive two weeks earlier than planned; obviously, they depended less on the availability of field hairdressers than the Americans). However, enemy opposition comes in very last place among these difficulties. So should we call all this a “battle”?”

Ctrl Enter

Noticed osh Y bku Select text and click Ctrl+Enter

Germany

Normandy Operation, or Operation Overlord(from the English overlord “overlord, lord”) - the Allied strategic operation to land troops in Normandy (France), which began early in the morning of June 6, 1944 and ended on August 25, 1944, after which the Allies crossed the Seine River, liberated Paris and continued the offensive to the French-German border.

The operation opened the Western (or so-called "second") front in Europe in World War II. Still the largest amphibious operation in history, it involved more than 3 million people who crossed the English Channel from England to Normandy.

The Normandy operation was carried out in two stages:

• Operation Neptune, the code name for the initial phase of Operation Overlord, began on June 6, 1944 (also known as D-Day) and ended on July 1, 1944. Its goal was to gain a bridgehead on the continent, which lasted until July 25;
• Operation Cobra, a breakthrough and offensive across French territory, was carried out by the Allies immediately after the end of the first operation (Neptune).

Together with this, from August 15 to the beginning of autumn, American and French troops successfully carried out the Southern French Operation, as a complement to the Normandy Operation. Further, having carried out these operations, the Allied troops, advancing from the north and south of France, united and continued their offensive towards the German border, liberating almost the entire territory of France.

In planning the landing operation, the Allied command used the experience gained in the Mediterranean theater during the landings in North Africa in November 1942, the landings in Sicily in July 1943 and the landings in Italy in September 1943 - which were the largest amphibious landings before the Normandy landings. operations, and the Allies also took into account the experience of some of the operations conducted by the US Navy in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

The operation was extremely secret. In the spring of 1944, for security reasons, transport links with Ireland were even temporarily suspended. All military personnel who received orders regarding a future operation were transferred to camps at the embarkation bases, where they were isolated and prohibited from leaving the base. The operation was preceded by a major operation to disinform the enemy about the time and place of the invasion of Allied troops in 1944 in Normandy (Operation Fortitude), Juan Pujol played a large role in its success.

The main Allied forces taking part in the operation were the armies of the United States, Great Britain, Canada and the French Resistance movement. In May and early June 1944, Allied troops were concentrated mainly in the southern regions of England near port cities. Just before the landings, the Allies moved their troops to military bases located on the south coast of England, the most important of which was Portsmouth. From June 3 to June 5, troops of the first echelon of the invasion took place on transport ships. On the night of June 5–6, landing ships were concentrated in the English Channel before the amphibious landing. The landing points were primarily the beaches of Normandy, codenamed "Omaha", "Sword", "Juneau", "Gold" and "Utah".

The invasion of Normandy began with massive night parachute and glider landings, air attacks and naval bombardment of German coastal positions, and early on the morning of June 6, naval landings began. The landing took place for several days, both during the day and at night.

The Battle of Normandy lasted over two months and involved the establishment, retention and expansion of coastal beachheads by Allied forces. It ended with the liberation of Paris and the fall of the Falaise Pocket at the end of August 1944.

Strengths of the parties

The coast of Northern France, Belgium and Holland was defended by the German Army Group B (commanded by Field Marshal Rommel) consisting of the 7th and 15th armies and the 88th separate corps (39 divisions in total). Its main forces were concentrated on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait, where the German command expected the enemy to land. On the coast of Senskaya Bay on a 100-km front from the base of the Cotentin Peninsula to the mouth of the river. Orne was defended by only 3 divisions. In total, the Germans had about 24,000 people in Normandy (by the end of July, the Germans had transferred reinforcements to Normandy, and their number had grown to 24,000 people), plus about 10,000 more in the rest of France.

The Allied Expeditionary Force (supreme commander General D. Eisenhower) consisted of the 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British, 1st Canadian Army) and the 3rd American Army - a total of 39 divisions and 12 brigades. The US and British navies and air forces had absolute superiority over the enemy (10,859 combat aircraft versus 160 for the Germans [ ] and over 6,000 combat, transport and landing ships). The total number of expeditionary forces was over 2,876,000 people. This number later increased to 3,000,000 and continued to increase as new divisions from the United States regularly arrived in Europe. The number of landing forces in the first echelon was 156,000 people and 10,000 units of equipment.

Allies

The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force is Dwight Eisenhower.

• 21st Army Group (Bernard Montgomery)
  • 1st Canadian Army (Harry Crerar)
  • British 2nd Army (Miles Dempsey)
  • 1st US Army (Omar Bradley)
  • US 3rd Army (George Patton)
• 1st Army Group (George Patton) - formed to misinform the enemy.

Other American units also arrived in England, which were later formed into the 3rd, 9th and 15th armies.

Polish units also took part in the battles in Normandy. In the cemetery in Normandy, where the remains of those killed in those battles are buried, approximately 600 Poles are buried.

Germany

The Supreme Commander of the German forces on the Western Front is Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.

• Army Group B - (commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel) - in northern France
  • 7th Army (Colonel General Friedrich Dollmann) - between the Seine and Loire; headquarters in Le Mans
    • 84th Army Corps (commanded by Artillery General Erich Marx) - from the mouth of the Seine to the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel
      • 716th Infantry Division - between Caen and Bayeux
      • 352nd Motorized Division - between Bayeux and Carentan
      • 709th Infantry Division - Cotentin Peninsula
      • 243rd Infantry Division - northern Cotentin
      • 319th Infantry Division - Guernsey and Jersey
      • 100th Tank Battalion (armed with obsolete French tanks) - near Carentan
      • 206th Tank Battalion - west of Cherbourg
      • 30th Mobile Brigade - Coutances, Cotentin Peninsula
  • 15th Army (Colonel General Hans von Salmuth, later Colonel General Gustav von Zangen)
    • 67th Army Corps
      • 344th Infantry Division
      • 348th Infantry Division
    • 81st Army Corps
      • 245th Infantry Division
      • 711th Infantry Division
      • 17th Air Field Division
    • 82nd Army Corps
      • 18th Air Field Division
      • 47th Infantry Division
      • 49th Infantry Division
    • 89th Army Corps
      • 48th Infantry Division
      • 712th Infantry Division
      • 165th Reserve Division
  • 88th Army Corps
    • 347th Infantry Division
    • 719th Infantry Division
    • 16th Air Field Division
• Army Group G (Colonel General Johannes von Blaskowitz) - in southern France
  • 1st Army (Infantry General Kurt von Chevalery)
    • 11th Infantry Division
    • 158th Infantry Division
    • 26th Motorized Division
  • 19th Army (General of Infantry Georg von Soderstern)
    • 148th Infantry Division
    • 242nd Infantry Division
    • 338th Infantry Division
    • 271st Motorized Division
    • 272nd Motorized Division
    • 277th Motorized Division

In January 1944, the Panzer Group West, subordinate directly to von Rundstedt, was formed (from January 24 to July 5, 1944 it was commanded by Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, from July 5 to August 5 - Heinrich Eberbach), transformed from August 5 into the 5th Panzer Army (Heinrich Eberbach, from August 23 - Joseph Dietrich). The number of modern German tanks and assault guns in the West reached its maximum level at the beginning of the Allied landings.

Allied plan

When developing the invasion plan, the Allies relied heavily on the belief that the enemy did not know two critical details - the place and time of Operation Overlord. To ensure secrecy and surprise of the landing, a series of major disinformation operations were developed and successfully carried out - Operation Bodyguard, Operation Fortitude and others. Much of the Allied landing plan was thought out by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

While developing a plan for the invasion of Western Europe, the Allied command studied its entire Atlantic coast. The choice of landing site was determined for various reasons: the strength of enemy coastal fortifications, distance from British ports, and the range of Allied fighters (since the Allied fleet and landing force required air support).

The areas most suitable for landing were Pas-de-Calais, Normandy and Brittany, since the remaining areas - the coast of Holland, Belgium and the Bay of Biscay - were too far from Great Britain and did not satisfy the requirement for supply by sea. At Pas-de-Calais, the Atlantic Wall fortifications were the strongest, as the German command believed that this was the most likely Allied landing site, since it was closest to Great Britain. The Allied command refused to land in Pas-de-Calais. Brittany was less fortified, although it was relatively far from England.

The best option, apparently, was the coast of Normandy - the fortifications there were more powerful than in Brittany, but not as deeply echeloned as in Pas-de-Calais. The distance from England was greater than to Pas-de-Calais, but less than to Brittany. An important factor was that Normandy was within range of Allied fighters, and the distance from English ports met the requirements necessary to supply troops by sea. Due to the fact that the operation was planned to involve the artificial harbors "Mulberry", at the initial stage the Allies did not need to capture the ports, contrary to the opinion of the German command. Thus, the choice was made in favor of Normandy.

The start time of the operation was determined by the relationship between high tide and sunrise. Landing should occur on a day at minimum tide shortly after sunrise. This was necessary so that the landing craft would not run aground and would not receive damage from German underwater barriers in the high tide zone. Such days occurred in early May and early June 1944. Initially, the Allies planned to begin the operation in May 1944, but due to the development of a plan for landing another landing on the Cotentin Peninsula (Utah sector), the landing date was postponed from May to June. In June there were only 3 such days - June 5, 6 and 7. The start date for the operation was June 5th. However, due to a sharp deterioration in the weather, Eisenhower scheduled the landing for June 6 - it was this day that went down in history as “D-Day”.

After landing and strengthening its positions, the troops were supposed to make a breakthrough on the eastern flank (in the Caen area). Enemy forces were to be concentrated in this zone, which would face a long battle and containment by the Canadian and British armies. Thus, having tied up the enemy armies in the east, Montgomery envisioned a breakthrough along the western flank of the American armies under the command of General Omar Bradley, which would rely on Caen. The attack would go as far south as the Loire, which would help turn in a wide arc towards the Seine near Paris in 90 days.

Montgomery communicated his plan to the field generals in March 1944 in London. In the summer of 1944, military operations were carried out and proceeded according to these instructions, but thanks to the breakthrough and rapid advance of American troops during Operation Cobra, the crossing of the Seine began by the 75th day of the operation.

Landing and creation of a bridgehead

Sord beach. Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, commander of the British 1st Commando Brigade, lands ashore with his soldiers.

American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach advance inland

Aerial photography of the area on the Cotentin Peninsula in western Normandy. The photograph shows “hedges” - bocage

On May 12, 1944, Allied aviation carried out massive bombings, as a result of which 90% of the factories producing synthetic fuel were destroyed. German mechanized units experienced an acute shortage of fuel, having lost the ability to maneuver widely.

On the night of June 6, the Allies, under the cover of massive air strikes, landed a parachute landing: northeast of Caen, the 6th British Airborne Division, and north of Carentan, two American (82nd and 101st) divisions.

British paratroopers were the first of the Allied troops to set foot on French soil during the Normandy operation - after midnight on June 6 they landed north-east of the city of Caen, capturing the bridge over the Orne River so that the enemy could not transfer reinforcements across it to the coast.

American paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Divisions landed on the Cotentin Peninsula in western Normandy and liberated the city of Sainte-Mère-Église, the first city in France to be liberated by the Allies.

By the end of June 12, a bridgehead with a length of 80 km along the front and 10-17 km in depth had been created; there were 16 allied divisions on it (12 infantry, 2 airborne and 2 tank). By this time, the German command had brought up to 12 divisions into battle (including 3 tank divisions), and 3 more divisions were on the way. German troops were brought into battle in parts and suffered heavy losses (in addition, it must be taken into account that the German divisions were smaller in number than the Allied ones). By the end of June, the Allies expanded the bridgehead to 100 km along the front and 20-40 km in depth. Over 25 divisions (including 4 tank divisions) were concentrated on it, which were opposed by 23 German divisions (including 9 tank divisions). On June 13, 1944, the Germans unsuccessfully counterattacked in the area of ​​​​the city of Carentan, the Allies repelled the attack, crossed the Merder River and continued their attack on the Cotentin Peninsula.

On June 18, troops of the 7th Corps of the 1st American Army, advancing to the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula, cut off and isolated German units on the peninsula. On June 29, the Allies captured the deep-sea port of Cherbourg, and thereby improved their supplies. Before this, the Allies did not control a single major port, and “artificial harbors” (“Mulberry”) operated in the Bay of the Seine, through which all the supply of troops took place. They were very vulnerable due to unstable weather, and the Allied command realized that they needed a deep-sea port. The capture of Cherbourg accelerated the arrival of reinforcements. The throughput capacity of this port was 15,000 tons per day.

Supply of Allied troops:

• By June 11, 326,547 people, 54,186 pieces of equipment and 104,428 tons of supply materials had arrived at the bridgehead.
• By June 30, more than 850,000 people, 148,000 pieces of equipment, and 570,000 tons of supplies.
• By July 4, the number of troops landed on the bridgehead exceeded 1,000,000 people.
• By July 25, the number of troops exceeded 1,452,000 people.

On July 16, Erwin Rommel was seriously wounded while riding in his staff car and came under fire from a British fighter. The driver of the car was killed and Rommel was seriously injured and was replaced as commander of Army Group B by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, who also had to replace the removed commander-in-chief of German forces in the west of Rundstedt. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt was removed because he demanded that the German General Staff conclude an armistice with the Allies.

By July 21, the troops of the 1st American Army advanced 10-15 km southward and occupied the city of Saint-Lo, British and Canadian troops, after fierce battles, captured the city of Caen. The Allied command at this time was developing a plan for a breakthrough from the bridgehead, since the bridgehead captured during the Normandy operation by July 25 (up to 110 km along the front and a depth of 30-50 km) was 2 times smaller than what was planned to be occupied according to the plan operations. However, in conditions of absolute air supremacy of allied aviation, it turned out to be possible to concentrate enough forces and means on the captured bridgehead to subsequently carry out a major offensive operation in Northwestern France. By July 25, the number of Allied troops was already more than 1,452,000 people and continued to increase continuously.

The advance of the troops was greatly hampered by “bocages” - hedges planted by local peasants, which over hundreds of years turned into insurmountable obstacles even for tanks, and the Allies had to come up with tricks to overcome these obstacles. For these purposes, the Allies used M4 Sherman tanks, which had sharp metal plates attached to the bottom that cut off the bocages. The German command counted on the qualitative superiority of their heavy tanks "Tiger" and "Panther" over the main tank of the Allied forces M4 "Sherman". But the tanks didn’t decide much here anymore - everything depended on the Air Force: the Wehrmacht tank forces became an easy target for the Allied aviation dominating the air. The vast majority of German tanks were destroyed by Allied P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt attack aircraft. Allied air superiority decided the outcome of the Battle of Normandy.

In England, the 1st Allied Army Group (commander J. Patton) was stationed in the area of ​​the city of Dover opposite the Pas de Calais, so that the German command would have the impression that the Allies were going to deliver the main blow there. For this reason, the German 15th Army was located in Pas-de-Calais, which could not help the 7th Army, which suffered heavy losses in Normandy. Even 5 weeks after D-Day, misinformed German generals believed that the Normandy landings were “sabotage” and were still waiting for Patton in Pas-de-Calais with his “army group”. Here the Germans made an irreparable mistake. When they realized that the allies had deceived them, it was already too late - the Americans began an offensive and a breakthrough from the bridgehead.

Allied breakthrough

The Normandy breakthrough plan, Operation Cobra, was developed by General Bradley in early July and presented to higher command on July 12. The Allies' goal was to break out of the bridgehead and reach open ground, where they could use their advantage in mobility (on the Normandy bridgehead, their advance was hampered by "hedges" - bocage, French bocage).

The vicinity of the city of Saint-Lo, which was liberated on July 23, became a springboard for the concentration of American troops before the breakthrough. On July 25, more than 1,000 American divisional and corps artillery guns rained down more than 140 thousand shells on the enemy. In addition to massive artillery shelling, the Americans also used air force support to break through. On July 25, German positions were subjected to “carpet” bombing by B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft. The advanced positions of German troops near Saint-Lo were almost completely destroyed by bombing. A gap appeared in the front, and through it on July 25, American troops, using their superiority in aviation, made a breakthrough near the city of Avranches (Operation Cobra) on a front 7,000 yards (6,400 m) wide. In an offensive on such a narrow front, the Americans committed more than 2,000 armored vehicles and quickly broke through the "strategic hole" created in the German front, advancing from Normandy to the Brittany peninsula and the Loire Country region. Here the advancing American troops were no longer as hampered by the bocages as they had been further north in the coastal areas of Normandy, and they took advantage of their superior mobility in this open area.

On August 1, the 12th Allied Army Group was formed under the command of General Omar Bradley, which included the 1st and 3rd American armies. General Patton's 3rd American Army made a breakthrough and in two weeks liberated the Brittany Peninsula and surrounded the German garrisons in the ports of Brest, Lorient and Saint-Nazaire. The 3rd Army reached the Loire River, reaching the city of Angers, captured the bridge over the Loire, and then headed east, where it reached the city of Argentana. Here the Germans could not stop the advance of the 3rd Army, so they decided to organize a counterattack, which also became a grave mistake for them.

Completion of the Normandy Operation

The defeat of a German armored column during Operation Lüttich

In response to the American breakthrough, the Germans attempted to cut off the 3rd Army from the rest of the Allies and cut off their supply lines by capturing Avranches. On August 7, they launched a counterattack known as Operation Lüttich (