Custom Search

10 Facts About D-Day That Everyone Should Know

AAN

2019-06-06

Source: AAN

by: AAN Staff

Today is the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and there are many facts about this battle that many simply don’t know. Most people know that Operation Overlord was the codename for the invasion of Normandy and almost everybody could tell you the name of the 5 landing sites, but not many could tell you what Hitler was doing while the invasion was going on. Facts like these are not trivial, they are small things that when added up had a serious impact on Operation Overlord. Here are 10 facts about D-Day that everyone should know:

1.) The Blunder of Erwin Rommel

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

The US Army via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

The weather has a big impact on how and when battles go down in war and this was especially true in WWII. The forecast for D-Day was terrible, storms and clouds were supposed to dominate the day and render any attempted invasion impossible, or so the Nazi’s thought. Erwin Rommel, the German Commander in Normandy, believed that the weather was going to be so bad he decided to go back to Germany for his wife’s birthday so he could gift her a pair of shoes. The nasty weather subsided just long enough for Operation Overlord to begin and Rommel was unable to lead his troops during the invasion because of his poor judgment.

http://americanactionnews.com/articles/1-the-blunder-of-erwin-rommel

2.) Operation Fortitude and the Phantom Army

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

The US Army via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

In order to guarantee success for Operation Overlord, the allies had to devise a plan that could fool the German army into looking in a different direction, this is where Operation Fortitude and the allies Phantom Army come into play. The allies began setting up props and fake war equipment near Calais, these props included things like blow up tanks and dummies in gear. The Germans were fooled and kept their eyes locked on Calais instead of Normany. The Phantom Army at Calais was as scary as the real thing to the Germans.

3.) Domination in the Skies

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

The US Army via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

Many focus on the ground fight when discussing the D-Day invasion but the work of allied airmen were admirable as well. The allied planes outnumbered the German Luftwaffe by 30 to 1 and not a single allied plane was shot down. This domination of the skies helped lead the day to victory and without it many more would have perished on those beaches. On the 75th Anniversary of D-day make sure to thank all WWII veterans that you know especially if they are airmen.

4.) Fire Power and Broken Porcelain

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

Dickbauch via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) Wikipedia Commons

The HMS Belfast, a British ship, was one of the vessels that assisted the allies during the invasion on D-Day. The Belfast’s guns were massive and constantly hammered the German troops the whole time. The guns were almost too powerful though, they shook the vessel so much that many of the toilets on board shattered.

5.) Paratrooper Landings

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

The US Army via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

Despite the weather clearing enough for the invasion to begin there were still issues. The winds were strong and the clouds practically blacked out the sky. This resulted in many of the paratroopers missing their mark. By the time all were deployed only 15% actually made it to where they were supposed to be. Some were able to scramble to the correct areas but others were just too far off their respective landing sites.

6.) Bedford, Virginia

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

David Wilson via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

The losses in WWII were enormous and not a single soul can be allowed to be forgotten, but this small town in Virginia took a massive hit. Bedford, Virginia is home to the national D-Day memorial and they earned this honor through the valiant actions and sacrifice of its residents. At the time it had a population of only a meager 7,000 and 30 residents were deployed to the beaches of Normandy. The group was well known, they were the “Bedford Boys”. 19 out of the 30 would perish in combat at the hands of the Germans, for their sacrifice the memorial was built in their hometown.

7.) Asleep at the Wheel

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

Recuerdos de Pandora via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) Flickr

One would expect the leader of a nation in the midst of war to be alert and ready to go at any time, Adolf Hitler was not this kind of leader. While the D-Day invasion was taking place Hitler was asleep and his advisors were too scared to wake him up due to his cruelty. Hitler’s reaction to invasion when he woke only painted a worse picture, at 10 am when he finally woke up he was glad the allies invaded and declared it was going to be an easy victory. History tells us a very different story of Operation Overlord.

8.) Churchill and King George

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

Winston Churchill decided that he wanted to watch the invasion of D-Day from the HMS Belfast. Objections rose throughout the British government and the allies, they did not want to see Churchill risk his life with such a reckless display. He ignored all but one objection, that objection was the one raised by King George VI. King George VI told Churchill that if he was going to be on the Belfast during the invasion than so would he. This finally made Churchill step down.

9.) Misinformation Campaign

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff

The US Army via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

The allies led a brilliant misinformation campaign against the Germans. The British were the main asset in this operation, they paid people to be double agents and give false information to the Germans for which they received large sums of money. All this money went to bolster the allied forces while the phony information led the Germans down the wrong road. This came into play during D-Day,

10.) Allies in the Media

2019-06-06
Source: AAN
by: AAN Staff 0 0 5

the US Army via (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Flickr

The British media ran a brilliant campaign to get intelligence that went undetected. The BBC ran a contest where people were supposed to take photos of beaches in France for an article about the best vacation spots. This allowed the allies to pick a suitable landing site for their invasion.

Four Winds 10 - News