Source:Reading&QuestionsadaptedfromGeorgeLee.DecisionstheShapedAmerica1865– 1976/MarkTwainMedia,1993
andGeorgeLee.WorldWarII/MarkTwainMedia,1995
D-Day Invasion
Everyone knew in 1944 that the attack was coming,
but when, where, and how, and who would lead it? The
job would require a quick grasp of changing situations,
diplomacy in dealing with difficult political and military
leaders, and a clear concept of modern war. The
selection of the commanding officer was up to
Roosevelt, and even though he knew that the Army
Chief of Staff George Marshall wanted the position and
could do it well, the president felt that Marshall was too
valuable in Washington, so he selected Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
When the United States had entered the war
Marshall had passed on many senior officers to put
Eisenhower in command of the European forces due to
his wide knowledge. A lieutenant colonel when the war
began Eisenhower had risen slowly in the peacetime
army.
While his jobs were routine, they added up to his understanding of many phases of the army. He
had trained tank commanders, served in an infantry battalion, had traveled to France twice, and
wrote a book on French WWI battlefields. He had served on the Asst. Secretary of War’s staff and
on MacArthur’s staff in the Philippines. He had learned to fly and wore an aviator’s wings. As
important as all of that was his ability to get along with his peers and to keep the common touch.
Often called “Ike,” his big smile and outgoing manner gave his men feelings of optimism and trust.
As the head of operations, Eisenhower selected his commanders and began working on the
game plan. “Operation Overlord,” the invasion of France, would become the most extensive, most
complex landing ever to take place. It would involve 3 million men from many nations, 11,000
airplanes, 500 warships, and 4,000 support craft. They were to hit the Germans by surprise. The
plan involved tying down German reserve forces so they would not reinforce the troops dug in
along the French coast. This would be accomplished by creating two phony armies to make the
German commanders believe that the real landing at Normandy was only a diversion.
It was important that the Germans be misled as to where the real landing would take place. Of
the two phony armies, the most effective was “Operation Fortitude.” This plan was designed to
make the Germans believe that the allies would strike at Calais and not Normandy. Its leader was
General George S. Patton, who had recently been removed from command for slapping two
soldiers suffering from shell shock and ordering them back to the front. The German commanders
viewed Patton as the most qualified general in the Allied forces and felt that the slapping incident
was an effort to mislead them. Patton’s ‘army’ was equipped with inflatable rubber tanks, actors
dressed as soldiers, fake radio communications, and ammunition dumps, camps, guns, and tanks
all made of canvas. The Germans took the bait and focused on Calais. The time had come for the
invasion.
At Calais, German radar began picking fake signals produced by clever British engineers.
Echoes of troop transports were made by reflector balloons and strips of aluminum foil dropped
from RAF bombers simulated more planes. Most of the Luftwaffe in the region were rushed to
Calais to stop the nonexistent invaders.
June 5, 1944, was a stormy, sleepless night for those on the coast of Normandy, France. In fact,
the weather had been so bad that the German defenders had relaxed, thinking that even if the
Allies did invade alone the beaches of Normandy no attack would come in such miserable weather.
The beaches of Normandy had been given codenames by
the planers: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Utah and
Omaha were to be taken by U.S. troops, the others by
British and Canadian troops. U.S. parachute and glider
drops behind enemy lines at Utah Beach were to proceed to
the landing zone; British drops behind the lines at Sword
were given the difficult job of taking out enemy guns.
Despite many obstacles, they succeeded, and saved many
lives as a result.
The slow German reaction time was critical to the
success of the invasion at “Operation Overlord.” By the
time the Germans concluded that Normandy was the
invasion site and the order for reserves was placed,
hundreds of Allied ships and landing craft could be seen on
the horizon. Then the naval barrage began, and the ground
shook along the fifty mile invasion front. By the time the
reserves arrived the Allies were already on the beaches.
Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., a veteran of
three other landings, went with the men landing at Utah
Beach. Fortunately for them, they were 2,000 yards away
from the assigned landing site. Their beach was deserted,
and they moved quickly inland. Omaha beach was much more dangerous and casualties
were high. Defensive positions were on bluffs that were hard to reach and Germans
machine gun nests sprayed fire down upon the beach. When Brigadier General Norman
“Dutch” Cotta arrived at Omaha Beach, he found that his men were terrified and struggling
to break through. Finding a group of Army Rangers, he said: “If you’re Rangers, get up
and lead the way.” They took this challenge and advanced on the bluff. Through fierce
fighting they began to force gaps in the German lines. More U.S. troops, in groups ranging
from company size to just a few men, followed the Rangers to the top of the bluff and soon
began their advance inland. The British and the Canadians struggled on their beaches as
well, but once that broke through the German defenses they moved forward to meet up
with U.S. troops. In one day, the Allies had cracked the Atlantic Wall of the German forces.
It was fortunate for the Allies that D-Day, as it came to be known, was a success. Three
months later German scientists developed the V-2 rocket, which was an extremely
sophisticated weapon. They flew up to an altitude of 120 miles, then dropped on a target
at 2,000 mph. No antiaircraft defense system could stop them and British cities could be
targeted from German soil.
If the invasion had been delayed or defeated, these attacks would have changed the war
and given Germany time to develop other weapons The Germans would go on to have
some success against the advancing Allies that winter in the Battle of the Bulge; , but
eventually the German offensive stalled and the Allies moved closer to Berlin. It was the
beginning of the end for Hitler and the Nazis.
Name _________________________
Challenges
1.
Why did Franklin Roosevelt pick General Dwight D. Eisenhower to lead the invasion of France
instead of Army Chief of Staff George Marshall?
2.
What rank had Eisenhower held at the beginning of the war?
3.
What were Eisenhower’s experiences and skills that gave him a wide range of knowledge on the many
phases of the military? (2 points)
4. What personal characteristics made Eisenhower a good commander?
5.
By what nickname was Eisenhower best known?
6.
What was the military code name for the invasion of France?
7.
How large was the force assembled for the invasion?
5.
How did Eisenhower and his staff decide to keep the Germans from throwing their entire army at the invasion force
landing at Normandy?
5.
Who was put in “command” of “Operation Fortitude?”
6.
What effect did the storm have on the German soldiers at Normandy?
5.
What phony items and simple devices made the Germans believe the landing was going to occur at Calais? (2 points)
6.
What does Luftwaffe mean? (You may need to look this up in a book or on the computer)
5.
What made Omaha Beach the most dangerous landing site?
5.
Explain how the U.S. troops at Omaha Beach finally able to force a gap through the German lines? (2 points)
6.
What other (2) nations were involved in the invasion at Normandy and met up with the American troops behind the
German lines?
5.
What nickname was given to the invasion of Normandy?
6.
How did the development of the V-2 rocket make the success of D-Day even more important?
5.
Do you believe that the success at Normandy came more from good planning by the Allies or more from German
mistakes and luck? Support your answer with two examples from the reading. (2 points)