And I’m sure Russia scoffs at any mention of Lend/Lease. ........................ Yes, it was canned “Spam” that won the war on the eastern front. We helped a little with the massive supply of equipment sent to our allies. By the time we hit the beaches, the Germans were pretty much ground down. Not to say they didn’t fight, but what good are mechanized forces without fuel and little food. They lacked the man power they had in 39-41’, by the time we got to France we already had a good portion of their army 10+(?) divisions in PW camps. The Volk Divisions we had to fight weren’t the Waffen SS. Germany was running out of warriors, and was sending the 4F’s in by the time we got there. (This was told to me many years ago by a German WW II veteran. If they could surrender without being shot On the western front), many did so. Once the Allies (Americans) landed he said most knew the war was over.) 43 to 45 also resulted in bad crops in Germany, and the Russians were busy grinding down the best German divisions after Stalingrad, thanks to a huge amount of made in the USA equipment and their endless supply of conscripts. The worst fighting was on the eastern front, neither side was willing to give quarter. We took losses too, most were USAAF casualties. Our greatest contribution to victory was material and the bombing of the communications and industry. I’m not poo-pooing the ground troops, you don’t take the land with without the fighting men.
By the time we landed in Normandy we were drafting High school kids, that tells you what kind of shape we were in, when we were only fighting 42-44. What shape were the Germans in after 39-44, all one had to do is look at the 14 yr olds in the PW camps in 45. We get there in time, had we waited another year, the USSR could have had all of Europe. Makes one wonder about iffy history.
The real hard fighting would come in the hedgerow country.