THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Many
months and much secrecy went into planning maneuvers of the Normandy
Beach
Invasion of France. D-Day, June 6, 1944,
has been termed “the longest day” as well as D-Day, the day on which a
planned
operation of warfare was to be implemented.
Some like to call it “debarkation day,” the day when the actual
offensive was launched.
General Dwight Eisenhower had been made Allied Supreme
Commander of the forces planning for D-Day.
Allies were lined up and included Great Britain, Canada, the
United
States, Free France and Poland. Parts of
France had already capitulated to the Germans in 1940 and were occupied
by the
enemy. At least six months of intensive
training, assimilation of forces and war materials, planning and top
secrecy
went into the preparation of this massive invasion of the Normandy
Beachhead of
France. The English Channel was the
division line that had to be crossed from England to the beach on the
French
coast.
Operation Overlord was the overall name for the offensive
attack. Two major phases were planned.
The airborne assault was to land 24,000 British, Canadian,
American and
Free French troops shortly after midnight by parachute.
The amphibious divisions were to land 195,700
naval and merchant naval personnel from over 5,000 ships.
These soldiers and sailors were to cross the
English Channel from the United Kingdom and were assigned specifically
to a
fifty-mile stretch of Normandy Beach.
Due to inclement weather the assault had to be delayed, but
still the
weather played an important role.
General Eisenhower’s message sent to all the Allied
Expeditionary Forces stated: “You are
about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven
these many
months.” In his pocket was another note
to be read if the invasion failed. Fortunately
for the allies, that note did not have to be read.
June 6, 1944 arrived, and early in the
morning airborne troops were the first wave, followed by seaborne
troops at
6:30 a. m.
June 4 had been set as the launch day, but weather and
tides delayed the operation two days. A
full moon was needed for illumination and a spring tide was necessary
for
landing along Normandy Beach. The
Germans thought the weather would prevent any invasion and had let down
their
guard somewhat, but chief allied meteorologist Captain J. M. Stagg, General Bernard Montgomery and Chief of Staff
Walter Bedelle advised General Eisenhower to proceed on June 6. The German army was scattered and was only
about 50% strong at the time of the invasion.
This did not mean that the enemy was not still formidable; they
were. But weather conditions, surprise
and strength of the offensive contributed to the victory at Normandy.
The British Second Army with 83,000 troops landed at
Sword, Juno and Gold. The US First Army
with 73,000 soldiers, including 15,600 paratroopers, landed at Omaha
Beach and
Utah Beach. Omaha Beach was the most
strongly fortified of any of those attacked.
General Omar Bradley thought of abandoning the attack, but
decided to
stick with it, reinforce and expand operations, and struggled for
survival and
rescue.
At Utah Beach, the troop landing was off course and
instead of debarking at Tare Green as planned, they went westward to
Uncle Red
and went ashore at a place they called the Victor sector.
Maybe the name was prophetic, for we lost
fewer troops at Utah Beach than any of the Normandy offensives. Only 197 Americans lost their lives
there. Brigadier General Theodore
Roosevelt, Jr. said, upon finding
they
were not at their targeted landing: “We
will start the war from right here.” And
that they did. They had great success in
conquering the Utah Beach section of Normandy.
The story was somewhat sadder for Americans at a place
called Pointe du Hoc. German gun
placements were atop 100-feet high cliffs there. They
had to scale the cliffs in the dark with
ropes and ladders at 5:30 in the morning.
After two days of hard fighting, 60% of the men who had landed
were
among the dead.
The fighting from June 6, 1944 through June 30, 1944
required great bravery. In 24 days the allies gained a firm foothold in
Normandy. In all the annals of war
history, the Normandy Beachhead landing was the largest amphibious and
air
landing before or since in history.
The casualties were extremely heavy for Americans and Allied
troops. Many tourists now visit the
beaches of Normandy to view the cemeteries with white crosses marking
the
graves of those who lost their lives and noted battlefields where
thousands
fell. Streets in towns are named for
battles. A Museum of Peace is located at
Coen. And in memory we recall the ultimate
price
for freedom thousands paid at the invasion of Normandy on D-Day in
Operation
Overlord.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Back To Union County, GAGenWeb
Site