Posted on 06/06/2005 4:03:16 PM PDT by kellynla
On this day in 1944, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the go-ahead for largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord, code named D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France.
By daybreak, 18,000 British and American parachutists were already on the ground. At 6:30 a.m., American troops came ashore at Utah and Omaha beaches. At Omaha, the U.S. First Division battled high seas, mist, mines, burning vehicles-and German coastal batteries, including an elite infantry division, which spewed heavy fire. Many wounded Americans ultimately drowned in the high tide. British divisions, which landed at Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, and Canadian troops also met with heavy German fire, but by the end of the day they were able to push inland.
Despite the German resistance, Allied casualties overall were relatively light. The United States and Britain each lost about 1,000 men, and Canada 355. Before the day was over, 155,000 Allied troops would be in Normandy. However, the United States managed to get only half of the 14,000 vehicles and a quarter of the 14,500 tons of supplies they intended on shore.
Three factors were decisive in the success of the Allied invasion. First, German counterattacks were firm but sparse, enabling the Allies to create a broad bridgehead, or advanced position, from which they were able to build up enormous troop strength. Second, Allied air cover, which destroyed bridges over the Seine, forced the Germans to suffer long detours, and naval gunfire proved decisive in protecting the invasion troops. And third, division and confusion within the German ranks as to where the invasion would start and how best to defend their position helped the Allies.
(Excerpt) Read more at historychannel.com ...
ping to #2
GMCLRHUZGTSMI
Can you break the coded message above?
If the code breakers at Bletchly Park had not broken the Enigma code, the deaths on the D-Day beaches would have been vastly greater.
To break the code above go to: -
http://www.ugrad.cs.jhu.edu/~russell/classes/enigma/enigma.html
The rotor settings and patches are the defaults (to make it very easy for you).
Type in the coded message on the grey keys and see what you get.
Have fun.
David (KHSZW)
While other's memory may fade, we will never forget. Their honor is written forever in the history of freedom.
If anyone has XM Radio, the 40s on 4 is commemorating the D-Day anniversary by having radio broadcasts from 61 years ago. It began at 12:41 AM (ET) last night (or early this morning) with the first bulletin and will run until 6 PM (ET) on Tuesday. They did this last year and it is amazing.
Freedom is not free...
And one of these days the French will realize that if not for the USA,
they would all be speaking German today!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Bump to commerorate D-Day....
More D-Day info on this Freeper Foxhole thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1417249/posts
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
The thing that strikes me about D-Day is that it would not be possible today, with all the advanced telecommunications, intelligence, radar, satellites, etc. that kind of attack just isn't possible, at least as a surprise.
"Freedom is not free... "
No truer word was ever spoken.
A German round hit his boat right in the little office area. His jacket, draped over a chair, was filled with holes, and several cartons of cigarettes were 'Turned to snuff'. Lucky he wasn't there when it hit. He was busy out on the deck getting things done.
I often think about that, what he went through, because it took me all the way to age 24 before I ended up on Parris Island.
The Guy right between Ike and the Lt. was M.SGT Billy Boyle my dads Platoon Sgt. for B Co. 502/PIR 101st ABN. I can't remember the Lt.s name offhand but he knew him too and I have it written down somewhere.
Wow
My heart aches for these fine brave and very young men who gave their lives for the rotten, cowardly, nose-up-in-the-air, smelly, egotistical French slime.
We were at Pointe du Hoc a year ago today -- for the 60th anniversary of D-Day last year. Right about the time the ceremony was over, two Blackhawks put down near the Memorial out on the Pointe. I had occasion to talk to the crew, in addition to the Rangers -- past and present, including a small contingent of D-Day veterans from the 2nd Rangers.
Those old guys were still full of fight, not the least of which was Bud Lomell, who was in attendance. He took one look at those choppers and mentioned that if we had air assault capabilities back then, their little hill climb could have been cancelled.
All the same, those men were and remain giants of history, hill climb or not.
RLTW!
God Bless all of those who fought, those who were wounded, and those who died for us and our liberty - especially this weekend, those of the Midway and Normandy battles - but also throughout the history of our nation.
Today is also the anniversary of the Battle of Belleau Wood, in in which the US Marines halted Germany's spring offensive of 1918. This action may have saved France. In retrospect, I wonder if that was such a good thing?
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