In 1942, to relieve Stalin who faced the III th Reich in the East, the Allies attempt to open a second front by landing in Dieppe. But faced with the "Atlantic Wall" (built on Hitler's orders by the German engineer Todt then the architect Speer and directed by Rommel) which lined the beaches with barbed wire, bunkers with machine guns and cannons, the failure is hot. However, on the strength of the liberation of North Africa (May 13, 1943), the Allies attempted Operation "Husky" in Sicily (July 9/10-August 17, 1943) which was a success. Italy capitulates, the III th Reich finds himself alone. Three conferences in 1943 bringing together all the Allies led to the creation of a structure to liberate France:the Supreme Headquarter Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).
June 6, 1944
Characters
Omar Bradley
Winston Churchill
Conrad Eisenhower
Adolf Hitler
Rodney Keller
Hans Günther von Kluge
Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Bernard Law Montgomery
Walter Model
George Patton
Bertram Ramsay
Gerd von Rundstedt
Erwin Rommel
Arthur Tedder
Procedure
The American Eisenhower directs the SHAEF, and therefore, with his British deputy Tedder, the operations scheduled for June 4. The Germans Rundstedt and Rommel expect a landing in Pas-de-Calais. Indeed, thanks to the dupe operation, “Fortitude”, Patton positioned in England, facing Pas-de-Calais, fake armored vehicles to deceive the enemy. The real operation, called "Neptune", namely the crossing of the English Channel by American, British and Canadian troops is part of the great operation "Overlord".
The weather being terrible, the operation, airborne at first, began on June 6, 1944 after midnight. It is baptized D-Day, "the longest day". After the scouts marked out the areas, thousands of paratroopers rained down on the hinterland to protect the lines of communication and thwart the German defense. The 101 e and 82 e American divisions cover the West while the 6 th British division occupies the east. Due to the winds, many paratroopers landed in the wrong place, and while many were killed, their disorganized arrival confused the Germans. Then, the air force (led by British commander Leigh-Mallory) bombarded the German defenses before the start of the amphibious operation (led by British Admiral Ramsay) on the Normandy beaches coded Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword, located between the south-east of the Cotentin peninsula and the mouth of the Orne.
More than 150,000 men and 20,000 vehicles took part in the landing. If the one on Utah Beach is relatively easy, on Omaha Beach, the colossal losses cast doubt on the American General Bradley who supervises the arrival of the troops. The Canadians, led by Major-General Keller, are surprised by the tide on Juno; the British, led by General Montgomery, land on Gold and Sword (there is a French contingent among them). The latter reached Bayeux on the evening of the 6th. Inside the country, the French resistance organized sabotage operations – prevented by the broadcast of “Chant d’Automne” by Verlaine on the BBC. Cherbourg fell on June 27. But the troops, hampered by the groves and swamps, got bogged down against the Wehrmacht, which resisted. Caen gives in at the end of July, the German marshals von Kluge and Model ask Hitler to withdraw. The so-called Battle of Normandy ended with the Liberation of Paris on August 25 and that of Le Havre on September 12, 1944.
Consequences
If the landing does not sign the end of the war, it is considered one of the greatest battles in history and the key to the final assault. Indeed, with the symbolic liberation of the capital, the Germans know that hope is gone. This landing as well as that of Provence will lead to the capitulation of Nazi Germany by the signing of the armistice on May 8, 1945.