D-Day

Normandy Beach Perhaps the most well-known battle in World War II happened in Normandy, France, the codename for where the battle took place was Omaha beach. The battle was known as D-Day. This location was the final resting place for many young, brave soldiers that where fighting for a good cause, and their sacrifice did not go unnoticed. D-Day would go down in history as one of the most ferocious, and chaos filled days in World War II. That day a normally beautiful venue was turned into a war torn battlefield, which took many years to re-do the effects of what happened. But what was that harsh day really like for the soldiers in the battle?


 * What was D-Day? **

“D-day is the term for a secret date on which a military operation is to begin.” The term D-Day became very widely used in World War II when it defined dates set for the allied landing on enemy coasts, Normandy beach, France (“D-Day”). “The battle began on June 6, 1944 with the largest seaborne invasion in history” (“Normandy”). There were many things that the allies had to achieve in the battle, “To discover what the Allied invaders faced, American, British, and French operatives risked their lives in the process of filing in the BIGOT maps” (“Untold Stories”).  Thousands upon thousands of troops were release onto Normandy beach only to be swiftly killed by the Axis forces that were set up all around the coast of the beach.

 There were many countries that aided U.S.A in the battle of D-Day, “The vast majority of the invading Allied troops were from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Soldiers from other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Poland also participated.” The countries helping Germany in the war where Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Japan (“Normandy”).
 * What countries where involved in the battle. **


 * How many soldiers were involved in the battle? **

‘Early on the morning of June 6, about 23,000 American and British troops dropped by parachute and glider into Normandy, while more than 130,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel in boats from bases in southern England” (“D-Day”), “By July 1944, over 1 million Allied troops were ashore in Normandy, with nearly 3 million soldiers, sailors, and aviators participating throughout the preparation and course of the battle.”. The axis forces had many more casualties and men captured than the allies. In 1944 the battle ended with the encirclement of over 50,000 Axis soldiers that were captured. The axis forces had many more casualties and men captured than the allies. “ The Allies suffered over 209,000 casualties…German killed and wounded are estimated at well over 200,000, with another 200,000 captured. In late August Today the war cemeteries around Normandy carry over 110 thousand dead from both sides (“Normandy”).

 The structured, well thought out plan that the allies had to conflict with the axis defenses fell apart and the battle turned into complete chaos. When they came in contact with the axis forces, “The invading Allies met heavy machine gun and rifle fire, artillery fire, land mines, tanks, barbed wire, and fortified bunkers.” Former President Eisenhower knew that the battle would be very costly, and wrote that, “Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.” (“D-Day”)  Works Cited
 * What resistance did the allied forced meet? **
 * Allen, Thomas B. “Untold Stories of D-Day.” //National Geographic.// National Geographic Society. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. []
 * Zapotoczny, Jr., Walter S. “D-day.” //World Book Advanced.// World Book, 2010. Web. 22 April 2010.
 * Zapotoczny, Jr., Walter S. “Normandy, Battle of.” //World Book Advanced.// World Book, 2010. Web. 14 April 2010.