The beginning of the alleged second front in Western Europe is called the largest landing organization in the past of the world, and on June 6, 1944, the first day of operation is referred to as the longest day of war, for example due to long preparations for D-Day. However, despite these plans and preparations, from the beginning of the invasion, the first violin played the case.
Allied landing in Normandy
After respective years of intense discussions, planning, interview games and gathering forces, yet – on the night of 5 to 6 June – from the English ports to the coast of Normandy a immense fleet of ships and Allied ships emerged. It was preceded by a fighter and bomb fleet, and thousands of transport aircraft carried air-desant divisions, which were the first to capture targets behind the Atlantic Wall in "Festung Europa", as German propaganda called the Wehrmacht occupied part of the old continent. This part of Operation Overlord, in which allied Navys (also Polish) played a leading role, was baptized with the code name “Neptun”, as if they wanted to tame the god of the seas, who had been sending a storm after the storm for respective days.
May 1944 it was beautiful – sunny and windless, and the water on the canal of La Manche smooth as a mirror. Unfortunately, from the first day of June, the weather changed dramatically, and on 4 June a storm raged for good. In the sky and in the water, rains and storms began to reign – dense clouds, gust winds and advanced waves exceeded all standards, calculated as acceptable in sea and air landings. Meanwhile, the largest air-sea landing in past was planned for... June 5, 1944. This day was originally in the plans referred to as D-Day (the first day of surgery). On June 4, at dawn, a dramatic briefing was held in the Southwick Allied headquarters. Her most crucial associate was Colonel Joseph Stagg, head of meteorological service. The Colonel reported at 4.15 that on June 5, any air action would be impossible, and crossing the English Channel almost impossible.
One minute to decide the destiny of the world
Chief Commander of the General Command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), General Dwight Eisenhower then ordered the day of “D” to be moved by 24 hours, or June 6. For thousands soldiers already boarded in ports This meant that for an additional 24 hours they would be stuck in a stormy wave of ships and landing barges relentlessly wet, cold and suffering from sea sickness. In addition, the command of the war fleet had to immediately return those units that had been ordered to leave ports – these were e.g. trawlers squadrons to make corridors in mine lanes around the Normandy coast.
U.S. assault troops are heading for Utah Beach. In the background you can see a landing ship
The next briefing took place the same day at 8:00 p.m. The storm raged with all its might behind the quarters, and they all turned their eyes on the colonel again. Stagga. Fortunately, this had more optimistic news than before: from the south hours of June 5 the weather was expected to improve adequate that it would be possible to send in both the air force and the fleet. The favourable weather conditions were to last until the evening of June 6, which situation would continue, it is unknown. After 15 minutes of discussion, the chief of staff addressed General Eisenhower: "You have a general minute to make a final decision". For a moment, Eisenhower looked silently at the officers gathered around him, after which he gave the lapid order, “OK. Go”. Although the storm was inactive raging – the invasive device was already moving irrevocably. The following night (from 5 to 6 June) the first American and British paratroopers on French dirt began to land, and the canal waters swarmed with all kinds of ships and ships.
However, this evil aura was not precisely a misfortune for the Allies. On the other bank of the La Manche canal, German meteorologists convinced their command that due to the weather, a landing operation in the B Army Group's defensive belt was excluded for at least 2 weeks. Calmed by this report, her commanding officer Field Marshal Erwin Rommel went to Germany to meet his household and Hitler, who was convinced that the invasion would take place in the Cannes area at all times. On the another hand, the 7th Army Command, which defended the delicate Normandy as it was expected to prove, left a section of the Atlantic Wall on June 6 to Rennes for a war game (except for the 84th Corps commander, General Erich Marcks, who had a hunch, remained in his unit).
‘Case General’
According to “Overlord” planners, invasive forces in D-Day were expected to hit a 80-kilometre-long coast strip, which was divided into 5 sectors. The Americans fell to the western part, on beaches with code names "Utah" and "Omaha". The British and Canadians, on the another hand, were to land on the east belt with 3 beaches called “Gold”, “Juno” and “Sword”. The full region has been locked in ticks by 3 air-desanant divisions, which were dropped overnight from June 5 to June 6. Paratroopers despite the unfavourable weather, the large spread of the landing and many blunders of transport aircraft pilots signaling jumps in the incorrect area, performed most of their tasks and captured bridges and roads around the invasion zone.
The biggest fortunate people of the full D-Day turned out to be soldiers from the American 4th Infantry Division, who fell into winning "Utah Beach". Their LCVP amphibiously arrived on 6 June at 6.30 p.m. at about 100 m from the beach and the soldiers reached it immersed into a belt in the water, not disturbed by the Germans! It turned out that as a consequence of a navigational error, they were landed about 1800 m south of the intended landing site, outside the enemy's main line of defense. fewer Germans here were rapidly driven, and the Americans were curiously watching “Goliaty” spinning wheels on the beach like any toys. It turned out that these self-propelled mines filled with 10 kg of explosives completely failed their operators and only 1 of them exploded and killed respective American soldiers (unfortunately, they threw grenades at this Goliath). From the beach “Utah” Americans rapidly moved inland.
British troops land on land in Jig Green Sector, Gold Beach
How different it was at Omaha Beach. Here, “The General Case” supported her defenders. Not only him, but the terrain. Omaha beach was surrounded on 2 sides by a stone about 30 m high, and on the 3rd side by a steep wall lying on the dunes. The beach itself was teeming with mines and vertically lined steel rails (called "Rommla shparagus"). The mutilating rocks were filled with 88 and 75 mm cannons and cecaem nests operated by the combated 352 Infantry Division soldiers.
The acquisition of Omaha Beach was entrusted in the first pitch of the American 1st Infantry Division reinforced by the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division and 35 floating Sherman DD tanks. By the time the Americans arrived at Omaha beach, most of these tanks were consumed by the element, with 29 crews drowning in the storm of the sea. The two-foot waves 1 by 1 flooded the landing barges. The pumps couldn't keep pumping water out of them, so the soldiers took the helmets off their heads and turned them into spoils. Therefore, they did not have time to observe the prior landing of the bombing of German positions by the air force, followed by fire from the dense battleship “Texas” and “Arkansas”. Both the first and the second turned out to be completely missed. At 6.45, the landing barges sailed close adequate to the coast to launch the landing action, and at this point, hell was unleashed, which was so suggestive of being released in the first minutes of "Ryan's Sheriff" Steven Spielberg.
The beaches flow blood
As the bulkheads of the landing barges opened, a crowd of American soldiers virtually struck the lead rain. Many of them, overcome by panic, began to jump into the water – loaded with weapons and equipment immediately went down. Those who miraculously made it to shore mostly died in the fire of a device weapon before they could shelter themselves behind a saving tomb. The first toss on the Omaha was almost to the leg, the second also, only another managed to get through further, but inactive at the expense of immense losses. By the evening of June 6, the attack had gone by only 1,500 m for the price of about 3,000 killed, wounded and missing soldiers.
If German tanks were to appear on Omaha Beach at this point The Americans would be pushed back to the sea. For a moment, the U.S. Command was investigating the evacuation of this base, but fortunately, advancement began in their sectors by the British and Canadians. But they didn't have it easy. The British of the 50th Infantry Division, landing on “Gold Beach” after clearing it with German soldiers, were pinned to the ground with fire from successive defensive positions, intact in earlier raids. The goal of the 50th Division was to scope Bayeux and this was not achieved until the next day. A akin situation arose on the beach "Juno", which was won by 2 Canadian brigades from the 3rd Infantry Division. Here too, the coast was filled with minefields and obstacles, and the air bombing barely broke many bunkers in the close Courseulles-sur-Mer. Royal Winnipeg Rifles soldiers became celebrated in their capture. On the another hand, British soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division landing on Sword Beach were tasked with capturing Caen and they just met in the fight against the formation that was most feared during the planning of the invasion – the German 21st Armoured Division.
A branch of the Canadian Navy “W” lands on an episode in Juno Beach, 6 June 1944.
When the British moved towards Caen after the landing battles before noon on 6 June, it seemed that the road was clean and the business of the city would be “formal”. possibly this would have been the case if it had not been for the cautionous command of the South Lancashire Regiment that opened the assault column. erstwhile his soldiers were yet picked up to march after a long stop, German tanks abruptly appeared on the road! The 21st Armoured Division counterattacked, and any of its tanks reached the sea close Luc-sur-Mer. They turned back to the threat of attacks by Allied aviation, but the Caen allies themselves won only after a period of dense street fighting, during which this beautiful historical city changed into a sea of ruins. Combating the 21st Armoured Division besides showed what might have happened if the remainder of the German armored divisions had been on this front long alternatively than waiting for orders from Berlin at Calais.
After a fewer days from D-Day – June 10, 1944 – the SHAEF Command could announce that her 21st Army Group had heavy “attached” on the Normandy coast. On the combined sectors – landingheads were able to make 15 divisions supported by powerful aviation (Polish squadrons, among others) and ship artillery (also Polish ships). The first step towards the western borders of the 3rd Reich was taken, in subsequent campaigns of this conflict there were besides Poles. Apart from sailors and airmen on the front appeared battleships with 1st Armoured Division and Paratroopers from 1st Paratrooper Brigade.
Bibliography
Antony Beevor, D-Day. conflict of Normandy, by Magdalena Komorowska, Kraków 2010
Omar N. Bradley, Żołnierska epopeja, by Emil Niemirska, Warsaw 1963
James Holland, Normandy 44. A communicative told again, Oświęcim 2022
