Quote:
Originally Posted by Gonzo
The greatest battle in millitary history IMO.
Several different branches of the millitary, not all Americans either, being able to coordinate a mass effort such as this is awe inspiring. Many things went wrong on that fateful day but in the end, the planned results proved true.
Whenever I meet a man who fought in this battle, whether he was in the infantry, a troop boat driver or a cook I am star struck.
My Grandfather was a Glider Pilot and he flew into Normandy on that morning. I was never able to meet him unfortuantely...
|
It is amazing what they accomplished. The landings were SNAFU on Utah and Omaha, with hundreds losing their lives before even making it to shore. The tanks which were supposed to land in support all sank. That left thousands of foot soldiers exposed on a 300+yard stretch of wet sand. They had to run to assault sheer cliff faces peppered with hardended bunkers and machine gun nests under constant withering fire.... and they did it; in less than a full day!
Serendipitous timing (Rommel was on vacation during the landing) and incompetence at the highest level of German command (Hitler refused to release the reserve Panzer divisions to counter) helped to ensure a strong foothold. From there, the war was won for us. It was only a matter of time.