D-Day
By Wyatt Earp | June 6, 2008
The greatest day of The Greatest Generation.
On this day in 1944, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the go-ahead for the 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. (H/T – History.com)
Thank you all for your service.
Topics: The Troops | 4 Comments »
June 6th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
It’s interesting how we all took a different perspective on D-Day… Thanks for posting about it.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
You’re welcome, and, as always, thank you for your service.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Nicely Done!
June 7th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Admiral – Thanks. I figured History.com would be able to say it better than I.