The second front is the front of the armed struggle of the USA, Great Britain and Canada against Nazi Germany in 1944-45. in Western Europe. It was opened on June 6, 1944 by the landing of the Anglo-American Expeditionary Force in Normandy (North-West France).
This landing was called "Operation Overlord" and became the largest landing operation in the history of wars. The 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies) was involved in it, consisting of 66 combined arms divisions, including 39 invasion divisions, three airborne divisions. A total of 2 million 876 thousand people, about 10.9 thousand combat and 2.3 thousand transport aircraft, about 7 thousand ships and vessels. The overall command of these forces was carried out by American General Dwight Eisenhower.
The allied expeditionary forces were opposed by the German Army Group "B" as part of the 7th and 15th armies under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (a total of 38 divisions, of which only 3 divisions were in the invasion sector, about 500 aircraft). In addition, the southern coast of France and the Bay of Biscay was covered by Army Group G (1st and 19th armies - a total of 17 divisions). The troops relied on a system of coastal fortifications, which received the name "Atlantic Wall".
The general landing front was divided into two zones: the western one, where the American troops were to land, and the eastern one, for the British troops. The western zone included two, and the eastern - three sites, each of which was supposed to land one reinforced infantry division. In the second echelon, one Canadian and three American armies remained.
World War II. 1939–1945 History of the Great War Shefov Nikolay Aleksandrovich
Allied landings in France
Allied landings in France
On June 6, 1944, the landing of allied troops began on the northwestern coast of France, in Normandy. The impending invasion was impossible to hide. Therefore, the main question was where the landing would begin. The line of the French coast, which was over 2 thousand km, gave ample opportunities for choosing a landing area. This forced the Germans to disperse their limited forces on a broad front.
The time and place of the landing were kept in deep secrecy. For example, in coastal areas where troops were ready to invade, access was closed to the civilian population. Active work was carried out on disinformation regarding the invasion area. German intelligence failed to obtain the necessary information about the time and place of the landing. As a result, the German leadership did not have accurate information. It expected the Allied landings in the area of the Pas de Calais, where the distance between England and the mainland was minimal. The main forces were concentrated here, as well as the most fortified part of the so-called "Atlantic Wall" - a system of defensive structures on the French coast. Other areas were much weaker protected.
The coast of Northern France, Belgium and Holland was defended by the German Army Group "B" under the command of Field Marshal Rommel as part of the 7th and 15th armies and the 88th separate corps. The general command of the German troops in the West was carried out by Field Marshal K. von Rundstedt. The Allied expeditionary forces under the command of General G. Montgomery were united in the 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British, 1st Canadian armies).
The balance of forces and means of the parties on the eve of the Allied landing in Normandy
The table shows that the allies had an overwhelming superiority in forces. The table takes into account German troops that could be brought in to repel the landing, including from other regions of France. But with the dominance of the Allied aviation in the air and the active operations of the French partisans, this was extremely difficult to do. However, the Allied troops were not landed in France at the same time.
The Allied landing in Normandy (Operation Overlord) came as a complete surprise to the German command. On the night of June 6, under the cover of massive air strikes north of Carentan and northeast of Cannes, two large airborne assault forces (up to 18 thousand people) were landed, which tried to block German communications.
With the onset of dawn, aircraft and Allied ships bombarded the northern coast of Normandy with a hail of bombs and shells. They suppressed German batteries, destroyed defenses, swept away wire obstacles, destroyed minefields and damaged communication lines. Under the cover of this powerful fire, landing craft approached the shore.
On the morning of June 6, amphibious assaults were landed on the 100-kilometer stretch between the Orne River and the eastern part of the Cotentin Peninsula. They captured 3 large bridgeheads with a depth of 2 to 9 km. Over 6,000 warships, transport and landing craft were used for the landing. Thanks to the successful actions of surface ships and aircraft, the Germans were unable to use their superiority in submarines to interfere with the delivery of troops and supplies. By the end of June 6, the Allies landed 156 thousand soldiers on the coast, and also delivered more than 20 thousand pieces of equipment to the captured bridgeheads. It was the largest landing operation of World War II.
The German forces in the area were far from sufficient to offer serious resistance to the numerically superior Allied formations. In addition, the German command did not immediately understand the situation, continuing to consider the landing in Normandy a diversionary maneuver. Hitler, convinced that the main landing force would soon land in the Pas de Calais, forbade at first the advance of large reserves into Normandy.
This preconceived notion was firmly held by the German high command for several days. When it finally became clear that it was a serious large-scale operation, precious time was lost. The Allies entrenched themselves in the bridgeheads, and the Germans had very little chance of knocking them out of there with the existing balance of forces and means.
Nevertheless, thanks to the gradual pulling up of reinforcements, the number of German troops was brought in the next few days to three infantry and one tank division. This allowed them to put up a stubborn resistance. But it could not hold back the superior forces of the Allies, who, with the support of naval artillery and aviation, managed to establish a connection between the bridgeheads. By June 10, one bridgehead was created from them, which had over 70 km along the front and 10-17 km in depth. By June 12, the number of troops on it reached 327 thousand people, 5400 aircraft, 104 thousand tons of military equipment and equipment. It was almost impossible for the Germans, who did not have serious support from tanks, aviation and artillery, to drop such a mass of people and equipment into the sea. The main efforts of the German troops were now aimed at delaying the Allied advance as long as possible and preventing them from breaking out into the operational space.
The bridgehead, meanwhile, expanded. On June 18, the US 7th Corps reached the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. As a result of this operation, the port of Cherbourg, located on the northern tip of the peninsula, was isolated. By June 21, the Americans approached Cherbourg and, after powerful air preparation, began an assault on the fortress. On June 27, its garrison laid down their arms.
Shortly after the Allied landings in Normandy, the Germans began bombarding England with their new weapon, the V-1 cruise missiles. Hitler went to great expense for three years developing a long-range missile program to target London and southern English ports. In mid-June 1944, the first shelling of London took place. At the end of the summer, an even more powerful V-2 rocket appeared. In seven months, the Germans fired 1,100 V-2 rockets at London, and 1,675 rockets at Liege and Antwerp. However, the new weapon did not give the effect that the leaders of the Reich had hoped for, and could not seriously affect the course of the war.
By the end of June, the bridgehead on the coast of Normandy reached 40 km in depth and 100 km in width. There were 875 thousand soldiers and 23 airfields on it, where a significant part of the allied aviation was relocated. The bridgehead now had the large port of Cherbourg, which, after restoration (in the first half of July), began to play a significant role in supplying the allied forces in France.
18 German divisions operated against the bridgehead on a front of 100 km. It was a very high defense density. However, these German divisions were short of personnel and combat equipment, and also suffered serious damage from powerful artillery and air strikes. Still, Hitler did not dare to sharply increase his forces in Normandy because of the fear of a second landing in the Pas de Calais. The Germans did not have large reserves in France. The main forces of the Wehrmacht fought on the Eastern Front, where at that time a powerful offensive of Soviet troops in Belarus began. By July 1, the German command was forced to state that it had not been possible and would not succeed in coping with the enemy grouping in Normandy.
However, the attempts of the allies to expand the bridgehead in July ran into stubborn resistance from the German units. From June 25 to July 25, the front in Normandy moved only 10-15 km. The most fierce battles in July turned around the road junctions - the towns of Saint-Lo and Cannes. The complete superiority of the allies in the air was combined with a clear interaction between the army and aviation. Here is how General Arnold describes the advance of American troops on Saint-Lo: “Fighters and fighter-bombers, maintaining the most direct communication and operating under general command, flew ahead, hitting military targets. Maintaining direct radio contact with the tanks, the fighters patrolled over our tank columns in constant combat readiness. Officers from the ground called in fighter planes to bombard or fire on artillery or tanks that got in the way. The pilots warned tank commanders about anti-tank traps."
Lacking air support, the German troops nevertheless were not going to retreat and fought steadfastly. They created a defense in depth, provided with a large number of anti-tank weapons. Despite the air support of 2000-2200 bombers, it was possible to take this resistance center only after numerous attacks. Saint Lo fell on 18 July.
On the same day, the most powerful tank attack was carried out near Cannes. Three Allied armored divisions took part in it at once. They went on the offensive after intense bombing attacks by 2,000 bombers. These blows were so powerful that most of the prisoners, stunned by explosions, could not even answer questions for almost a day. It seemed that the allies were doomed to the success of a breakthrough and access to the operational space. However, the defense of the Germans turned out to be much more deeply echeloned than the allied command assumed. Cannes held out for another three days and fell on 21 July after heavy fighting. By July 25, the allies reached the line of Saint-Lo, Caumont, Cannes.
This ended Operation Overlord. The Allies lost about 122 thousand people in it, the Germans - about 117 thousand people. The slow advance of the allied armies in July did not justify the high hopes that arose after the successful landing. The bridgehead captured during the operation in Normandy (up to 110 km along the front and a depth of 30-50 km) was 2 times smaller than that which was planned to be taken according to the plan of the operation. However, in conditions of absolute air supremacy, the Allies were able to freely concentrate sufficient forces and means on it to conduct a major offensive operation.
The difficult position of the Germans at the front was exacerbated by the disorganization of their high command. The landing of the allies in Normandy and the defeat of the German troops in Belarus caused a political crisis in Germany. He expressed himself in an attempted coup d'état, which was organized by the military dissatisfied with Hitler. The conspirators intended to physically eliminate the Fuhrer, seize power, and then make peace with all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
The assassination of the head of the Third Reich was assigned to Colonel Staufenberg. On July 20, he left a briefcase with a time bomb in the room where Hitler held a meeting. But the explosion caused only minor damage, and the Fuhrer survived. The plot failed. Its organizers were captured and shot. The Stauffenberg case had a negative impact on the morale of the German officer corps, giving rise to fear of reprisals in its ranks.
Meanwhile, the allies were preparing to go on a decisive offensive. To do this, they had 32 divisions, 2.5 thousand tanks and 11 thousand aircraft. They were opposed by 24 German divisions, which had about 900 tanks, which had weak air cover. The offensive began on the morning of July 25 with powerful air preparation. 4,700 tons of bombs were dropped on the area of the alleged breakthrough (8 km deep and 1.5 km wide). Using this knockout bombing strike, the allied divisions rushed forward. By the end of the third day of fighting, the German defense was broken through to the entire tactical depth (15–20 km).
Pursuing the retreating German units, the Allied forces entered the operational space. In an effort to stop this breakthrough, the Germans threw their last reserves into battle. But in vain. An attempt by a German counterattack on August 8 in the area of Mortain with the aim of cutting the advancing troops in two failed. A significant role in the failure of the Germans was played by their lack of fuel and massive Allied air strikes on tank columns. Not having reached its goals, the counterattack near Marten turned into a serious problem for the German troops. He delayed their withdrawal while the Allied forces flanked the counterattacking German units.
After the failure of the counterattack near Mortain, a significant part of the German troops stuck west of the Seine was cut off from the main forces and landed in a bag in the Falaise area. Meanwhile, since the beginning of July, Field Marshal Kluge, commander of the German troops in France, was withdrawing his surviving armies beyond the Seine. He sought to quickly escape from the trap in which they found themselves as a result of Hitler's prohibition to move away from their positions. Due to insufficient coordination of the actions of the allies, the main forces of the encircled managed to break through to the east through the corridor between Argentan and Falaise. Although the bulk of the Falaise escaped by August 19, about 50 thousand Germans were still captured, and 10 thousand died in battle.
As a result of the Allied breakthrough from Normandy, the German front in northern France was split in two. Its eastern part continued to withdraw to the borders of Germany, while the western group (up to 200 thousand people) was cut off and pressed against the western coast of France. Most of the cut off troops settled in the garrisons of coastal fortress cities. Some of them (in Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, etc.) continued to resist until the end of the war.
On August 16, Hitler removed Kluge from command and appointed Field Marshal Model in his place. But the new commander was unable to improve the situation in any significant way. On August 25, the Allied troops reached the Seine and entered the capital of France, Paris, liberated the day before during a popular uprising. On the eastern bank of the river, a bridgehead was captured in the Evreux region.
On August 15, 1944, during the attack on Paris, the Allies landed a large landing in southern France, between Cannes and Toulon. The US 7th Army landed there under the command of General A. Patch. It consisted of tested units with combat experience in North Africa and Italy. The landing was provided by about 700 warships.
By August 19, the allied forces had created a bridgehead up to 90 km along the front and up to 60 km in depth. Up to 160 thousand people, 2500 thousand guns and 600 tanks were concentrated on it. The Americans learned from their previous landing operations and abandoned the principle of attacking from a systematically prepared bridgehead. Now all the landing troops, wasting no time, moved as far forward as possible.
Located in the south of France, the German 19th Army (10 divisions) was poorly manned and had low combat capability. Its troops, which suffered heavy losses from artillery and air strikes, were nowhere able to offer any significant resistance. They began a hasty retreat to the north, seeking to avoid encirclement and defeat.
Overcoming little resistance, the Allies occupied Marseille and began to advance along the Rhone valley. In 8 days they moved forward 225 km. The German 19th Army retreated to Belfort. By September 10, units of the Allies advancing from the south united in the Dijon area with units of the 3rd American Army. As a result, a united front of the allied forces was formed in the west.
Model's original plan to defend the north bank of the Seine proved unworkable. Having lingered a little at this line, the German army, which retained its combat capability, retreated to a new line of defense near the borders of Germany.
In early September, Field Marshal Rundstedt again took command of the German troops in the west. Field Marshal Model became only the commander of Army Group B. At the same time, General D. Eisenhower headed all the allied ground operations in the west. On the left flank of the Allies, the 21st Army Group under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery (1st Canadian and 2nd British armies) advanced. In the center is the 12th Army Group under the command of General D. Bradley (1st, 3rd and 9th American armies). On the right flank is the 6th Army Group under the command of General D. Divers (7th American and 1st French armies).
Pursuing the retreating German units, the Allies entered Belgian territory. On September 3, they occupied Brussels, and the next day, almost without a fight, they entered Antwerp, where they got completely preserved port facilities. The liberation of France as a whole was completed. The total number of allied troops on its territory by that time exceeded 2 million people. Hitler's dream of an impregnable "fortress Europe" was crumbling before our eyes. The war was approaching the frontiers from where it had come four years ago.
Having received bases in France, the Allies continued their air offensive against Germany. Thus, in June-August, British bomber aircraft dropped about 32,000 tons of bombs on targets in Germany. During the same time, the US 8th Air Force dropped about 67,000 tons of bombs on targets in Germany. These powerful bombardments led to a reduction in industrial production in Germany and its satellite countries. Thus, the production of fuel in Germany and its allied states in September amounted to 32 percent of the level of the beginning of the summer of 1944.
During the battle for France, the German troops suffered a crushing defeat. They lost almost half a million people. Allied losses amounted to about 40 thousand people. killed, 164 thousand wounded and 20 thousand missing. By mid-September, the German command had only 100 combat-ready tanks on the western front against 2000 operating in the first echelons of the allied forces, and 570 aircraft (the allies had 14 thousand of them). Thus, the Allied armies outnumbered the Germans 20 times in tanks and almost 25 times in aircraft.
Montgomery was so impressed by these stunning successes that he approached Eisenhower with a request to provide him with enough equipment for a breakthrough all the way to Berlin. There was good reason for such optimism. According to the memoirs of the German General Blumentritt, at the end of August 1944, the German front in the west was actually opened. When the Allies approached the German borders in early September, the Germans did not have large troops beyond the Rhine, and nothing could delay the Allied advance deep into Germany.
However, when victory seemed very close, the pace of advance of the allied forces fell sharply. A significant reason for their slowdown was interruptions in the supply of fuel. Allied communications stretched out, and combat units were far removed from the logistics bases. The troops were severely short of fuel.
No less serious brake was the resistance of the German troops. In a critical situation in the first half of September, a thin line of Wehrmacht units remaining in service, at the cost of incredible efforts, covered the path to the Rhine and continued to hold positions until the necessary reserves arrived. As a result of the throw for the Rhine did not work. The Allies had to overcome the last hundred kilometers on the way to this river for almost half a year with great effort and losses.
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Landing in Normandy: 70 years later
On June 6, 1944, the landing of Allied troops in northern France began - a strategically important operation that became one of the most significant events in the history of World War II. The main Allied forces that took part in the operation were the armies of the United States, Great Britain, Canada and the French resistance movement. They crossed the Seine River, liberated Paris and continued their advance towards the French-German border. The operation opened the Western Front in Europe in World War II. So far, it is the largest landing operation in history - more than 3 million people took part in it. The shores of Normandy 70 years later - in the photo project "Kommersant".
Operation Neptune, the first part of the great Normandy operation, began from Omaha Beach. It is the code name for one of the five Allied invasion sectors along the coast of Nazi-occupied France. Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan opens with a landing scene in the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach. Today, the beach is visited both for recreation and to see the historically important area. Omaha is located in the immediate vicinity of the city of Colleville-sur-Mer. The beach has a rather large length, there are always high waves, so the coast was chosen by surfers.
British Army tanks heading down the Golden Beach Road after landing. According to the official records of the reports, "... the tanks had a hard time ... they saved the day by giving a hell of a bombardment to the Germans and getting a hell of a shell from them." As the day began, the defense of the beach was gradually reduced, often thanks to tanks. 70 years later, this is one of the most popular places for tourists with a developed infrastructure for recreation.
On the beach "Juno" - one of the 5 landing sectors - on June 6, an American fighter crashed. It was an eight-kilometer strip of coast, which overlooked Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer, Courcelles-sur-Mer and Gray-sur-Mer. The landing on this stretch of coast was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, under the command of Major General Rod Keller, and the 2nd Armored Brigade. In total, the Allies lost 340 killed and 574 wounded on the day of landing on Juno Beach. In peacetime, thousands of tourists rest here every year.
Canadian military patrolling Rue Saint-Pierre after German troops were forced out of Caen in July 1944. The Allied goal was to capture the French city of Caen, one of the largest cities in Normandy. The city is an important transport hub: it was built on the Orne River, later the Kansky Canal was built; as a consequence, the city became a junction of important roads. The Battle of Caen in the summer of 1944 left the ancient city in ruins. Now more than 100 thousand people live here, St. Pierre Street is one of the main centers for tourists shopping.
The body of a dead German soldier lies in Rouen's main square after the city was taken by US troops who landed at nearby Omaha Beach. Rouen is the historical capital of Normandy, most of all this place is known for the fact that Joan of Arc was burned here. The French Ministry of Culture ranked Rouen among the cities of art and history. The French writer Stendhal called Rouen "Athens of the Gothic style." Although various civil and religious buildings Rouen was heavily damaged during the bombing and fires during the Second World War, fortunately, most of the most iconic historical monuments of the city were reconstructed or rebuilt, making Rouen in the top six French cities in terms of the number of classified historical monuments, and in the top five in antiquity of its historical heritage.
The American parachute landing in Normandy was the first US combat operation of Operation Overlord (the Western Allied invasion of Normandy) on June 6, 1944. About 13,100 paratroopers from the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions landed on the night of June 6, and almost 4,000 glider soldiers also landed during the day. Their specific mission was to block the approaches to the amphibious landing area in the Utah-bi sector, seize beach exits via dikes, and establish crossings across the Douve River at Carentan. They pushed back the German 6th Parachute Regiment and on 9 July tied up their lines. The command of the 7th Corps ordered the division to capture Carentan. The 506th Parachute Regiment came to the aid of the exhausted 502nd Regiment and attacked Carentan on June 12, breaking the rearguard left by the Germans during the retreat.
U.S. Army soldiers climb the high ground where a German bunker is located in the Omaha Beach area. The landing was completely classified. All military personnel who received an order regarding a future operation were transferred to camps at the loading bases, where they isolated themselves and were forbidden to leave the base. Today, excursions are regularly held in these places, telling about the events of 70 years ago.
Captured Germans walk along the beach "Juno" - the landing site of Canadian troops during the Normandy landing operation. Some of the fiercest battles took place here. After the end of the war, when the infrastructure of the territory was restored, a tourist flow poured here. Today, for visitors, there are dozens of excursion programs around the battlefields of 1944.
The US military examines a captured German bunker on Omaha Beach. The units that landed at the extreme ends of Omaha Beach suffered the heaviest losses. To the east, in the Fox Green sector and the adjoining part of the Easy Red sector, the scattered units of the three companies lost half their men before they reached the pebbles, where they found themselves in relative safety. Many of them had to crawl 270 meters along the beach ahead of the oncoming tide. Now there is a memorial museum on the landing site. On an area of 1.2 thousand square meters. m presents an extensive collection of military uniforms, weapons, personal items, vehicles used in those days. The archives of the museum contain photographs, maps, thematic posters. The exhibition also features a 155 mm Long Tom gun, a Sherman tank, a landing craft and much more.
A US Army battalion walks along the coastline in the city of Dorset, located in the southwestern part of England on the coast of the English Channel. During the Second World War, Dorset took an active part in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy: landing rehearsals were held near Studland and Weymouth, and the village of Tinyham was used for army training. After the war, the county saw a steady increase in the number of vacationers. Weymouth's coastline, which first became famous as a holiday destination under King George III, as well as the sparsely populated rural areas of the county, attracted millions of tourists every year. The role of agriculture in the region's economy has gradually declined, while tourism has become increasingly important.
Soldiers disembark from ships and make their way to the shore, Omaha Beach. "I was the first to land. The seventh soldier, just like me, jumped ashore without receiving any damage to himself. But everyone between us was shot: two were killed, three were wounded. That's how lucky you had to be" - recalls Captain Richard Merrill, of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Today, sailing competitions are often held here.
A bulldozer clears a path next to the tower of a ruined church, the only structure left standing after the Allied bombing, Onet-sur-Odon (commune in France, located in the Lower Normandy region). The church was later restored. Onet-sur-Odon has always been considered a small settlement, now 3-4 thousand people live here.
The US military prepares a battle plan, stopping at a farm where livestock died from artillery strikes, Utah Beach. By the end of the day on June 6, the Americans had lost about 3 thousand soldiers at Omaha, while only 197 were killed at the Utah sector. Farmer Raymond Berto was 19 years old when the Allied forces came ashore in 1944.
Photo: Chris Helgren/Reuters, U.S. National Archives, National Archives of Canada, U.K. National Archives
"Many battles claim to be the main battle of the Second World War. Someone believes that this is the battle near Moscow, in which the fascist troops suffered their first defeat. Others believe that the Battle of Stalingrad should be considered as such, the third one thinks that the main battle was the Battle of Kursk In America (and more recently in Western Europe) no one doubts that the main battle was the Normandy landing operation and the battles that followed it.It seems to me that Western historians are right, although not in everything.
Let's think about what would happen if the Western allies once again hesitated and did not land troops in 1944? It is clear that Germany would have been defeated anyway, only the Red Army would have ended the war not near Berlin and on the Oder, but in Paris and on the banks of the Loire. It is clear that it would not have been General de Gaulle, who arrived in the train of the Allies, who would have come to power in France, but one of the leaders of the Comintern. Similar figures could be found for Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and all other large and small countries of Western Europe (as they were found for the countries of Eastern Europe). Naturally, Germany would not have been divided into four occupation zones, therefore, a single German state would have been formed not in the 90s, but in the 40s, and it would not be called the FRG, but the GDR. In this hypothetical world, there would be no place for NATO (who would enter it except the USA and England?), but the Warsaw Pact would unite all of Europe. Ultimately, the Cold War, if it had ever taken place, would have had a very different character, and would have had a very different outcome. However, I am not at all going to prove that everything would have been exactly this way and not otherwise. But there is no doubt that the results of World War II would have been different. Well, the battle, which largely determined the course of post-war development, should rightfully be considered the main battle of the war. That's just a battle to call it a stretch.
atlantic wall
This was the name of the German defense system in the west. According to films and computer games, this shaft seems to be something very powerful - rows of anti-tank hedgehogs, followed by concrete pillboxes with machine guns and guns, bunkers for manpower, etc. However, remember, have you ever seen a photograph somewhere in which all this could be seen? The NDO's best-known and widely replicated photograph shows landing barges and American soldiers plodding waist-deep in water, taken from the shore. We were able to track down the photos of the landing sites you see here. Soldiers land on a completely empty shore, where, apart from a few anti-tank hedgehogs, there are no defensive structures. So what was the Atlantic Wall anyway?
For the first time this name sounded in the autumn of 1940, when four long-range batteries were built on the Pas de Calais coast in a short time. True, they were intended not to repulse the landing, but to disrupt navigation in the strait. Only in 1942, after the unsuccessful landing of the Canadian Rangers near Dieppe, the construction of defensive structures began, mainly all in the same place, on the English Channel coast (it was assumed that this was where the Allies would land), while for the rest of the sections, labor and materials were allocated according to the residual principle. There was not so much left, especially after the intensification of raids on Allied Germany (it was necessary to build bomb shelters for the population and industrial enterprises). As a result, the construction of the Atlantic Wall was completed in general by 50 percent, and even less directly in Normandy. The only sector more or less ready for defense was the one that later received the name of the Omaha bridgehead. However, he did not look at all like it is depicted in a game well known to you.
Think for yourself, what is the point of placing concrete fortifications on the very shore? Of course, the guns installed there can fire on landing craft, and machine-gun fire can hit enemy soldiers as they trudge waist-deep in water. But the bunkers standing right on the shore are perfectly visible to the enemy, so that he can easily suppress them with naval artillery. Therefore, only passive defensive structures are created directly at the water's edge (minefields, concrete gouges, anti-tank hedgehogs). Behind them, preferably along the crests of dunes or hills, trenches are torn off, and dugouts and other shelters are built on the reverse slopes of the hills, where the infantry can wait out the artillery attack or bombardment. Well, even further, sometimes a few kilometers from the coast, closed artillery positions are created (this is where you can see the powerful concrete casemates that we love to show in the movies).
Approximately according to this plan, the defense in Normandy was built, but, I repeat, its main part was created only on paper. For example, about three million mines were put up, but according to the most conservative estimates, at least sixty million were needed. The artillery positions were mostly ready, but the guns were far from being installed everywhere. I'll tell you this: long before the start of the invasion, the French Resistance movement reported that the Germans had installed four 155-mm naval guns on the Merville battery. The firing range of these guns could reach 22 km, so that there was a danger of shelling warships, so it was decided to destroy the battery at any cost. This task was entrusted to the 9th Battalion of the 6th Parachute Division, which had been preparing for it for almost three months. A very accurate model of the battery was built, and the battalion fighters attacked it from all sides day after day. Finally, D-Day came, with great noise and din, the battalion captured the battery and found there ... four French 75-mm cannons on iron wheels (from the First World War). Positions were indeed made for 155-mm guns, but the Germans themselves did not have guns, so they put what was at hand.
It must be said that the arsenal of the Atlantic Wall generally consisted mainly of captured cannons. For four years, the Germans methodically dragged there everything that they got from the defeated armies. There were Czech, Polish, French and even Soviet guns, and many of them had a very limited supply of shells. The situation was approximately the same with small arms, either captured or decommissioned on the Eastern Front got into Normandy. In total, the 37th Army (namely, it had the brunt of the battle) used 252 types of ammunition, and 47 of them were long out of production.
Personnel
Now let's talk about who exactly had to repel the invasion of the Anglo-Americans. Let's start with the command staff. Surely you remember the one-armed and one-eyed Colonel Staufenberg, who made an unsuccessful attempt on Hitler. Have you ever wondered why such a disabled person was not fired outright, but continued to serve, albeit in the reserve army? Yes, because by the 44th year, the requirements for fitness in Germany were significantly reduced, in particular, the loss of an eye, a hand, severe concussion, etc. were no longer grounds for dismissal from the service of senior and middle officers. Of course, there would be little use for such monsters on the Eastern Front, but it was possible to plug holes with them in the units stationed on the Atlantic Wall. So about 50% of the command staff there belonged to the category of "limited fit."
The Fuhrer did not bypass his attention and the rank and file. Take, for example, the 70th Infantry Division, better known as the "White Bread Division". It consisted entirely of soldiers suffering from various kinds of stomach diseases, because of which they had to constantly be on a diet (naturally, with the beginning of the invasion, it became difficult to follow a diet, so this division disappeared by itself). In other units, there were entire battalions of soldiers suffering from flat feet, kidney disease, diabetes, and so on. In a relatively calm environment, they could carry out rear service, but their combat value was close to zero.
However, not all the soldiers on the Atlantic Wall were sick or crippled, there were quite a few quite healthy ones there, only they were over 40 years old (and the fifty-year-olds served in the artillery at all).
Well, the last, most amazing fact - there were only about 50% of native Germans in infantry divisions, while the remaining half was all trash from all over Europe and Asia. It is a shame to admit it, but there were also many of our compatriots there, for example, the 162nd Infantry Division consisted entirely of the so-called "Eastern legions" (Turkmen, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, etc.). The Vlasovites were also on the Atlantic Wall, although the Germans themselves were not sure that they would be of any use. For example, the commander of the Cherbourg garrison, General Schlieben, said: "It is very doubtful that we will be able to persuade these Russians to fight for Germany in France against the Americans and the British." He was right, most of the eastern troops surrendered to the allies without a fight.
Bloody Omaha Beach
American troops landed on two sites, "Utah" and "Omaha". On the first of them, the battle did not work out - in this sector there were only two strong points, each of which was defended by a reinforced platoon. Naturally, they could not offer any resistance to the 4th American division, especially since both were practically destroyed by naval artillery fire even before the landing began.
By the way, there was an interesting incident that perfectly characterizes the fighting spirit of the Allies. A few hours before the start of the invasion, airborne assault forces were landed in the depths of the German defenses. Due to pilot error, about three dozen paratroopers were dropped on the very shore near the W-5 bunker. The Germans destroyed some of them, while others were taken prisoner. And at 4.00 these prisoners began to beg the commander of the bunker to immediately send them to the rear. When the Germans asked what was so impatient for them, the brave warriors immediately reported that in an hour artillery preparation from the ships would begin, followed by a landing. It is a pity that history has not preserved the names of these "fighters for freedom and democracy" who gave the hour for the beginning of the invasion in order to save their own skins.
Let us return, however, to the Omaha bridgehead. There is only one landing area in this area, 6.5 km long (steep cliffs stretch for many kilometers to the east and west of it). Naturally, the Germans were able to prepare it well for defense; on the flanks of the site there were two powerful bunkers with guns and machine guns. However, the cannons from them could only fire at the beach and a small strip of water along it (from the sea side, the bunkers were covered with rocks and a six-meter layer of concrete). Behind a relatively narrow strip of the beach, hills began, up to 45 meters high, along the crest of which trenches were dug. This whole system of defense was well known to the Allies, but they hoped to suppress it before the landings began. Fire on the bridgehead was to be carried out by two battleships, three cruisers and six destroyers. In addition, field artillery was supposed to fire from the landing craft, and eight landing barges were converted into rocket launchers. In just thirty minutes, more than 15 thousand shells of various calibers (up to 355 mm) were to be fired. And they were released ... into the world like a pretty penny. Subsequently, the allies came up with many excuses for the low effectiveness of shooting, here there was heavy seas, and predawn fog, and something else, but one way or another, neither the bunkers, nor even the trenches were damaged by shelling.
Allied aviation acted even worse. An armada of Liberator bombers dropped several hundred tons of bombs, but none of them hit not only the enemy fortifications, but even the beach (and some bombs exploded five kilometers from the coast).
Thus, the infantry had to overcome a completely undamaged enemy defense line. However, the troubles for the ground units began even before they were on the shore. For example, out of 32 floating (DD Sherman) 27 sank almost immediately after launching (two tanks reached the beach under their own power, three more were unloaded directly onto the shore). The commanders of some landing barges, not wanting to enter the sector shelled by German guns (the Americans in general have a much better sense of duty, and indeed all other feelings, have a much better instinct for self-preservation), threw back the ramps and proceeded to unload at depths of about two meters, where most of the paratroopers successfully drowned .
Finally, at the very least, the first wave of troops was landed. It included the 146th sapper battalion, whose fighters were supposed, first of all, to destroy concrete gouges so that they could start landing tanks. But it wasn’t there, behind every gouge lay two or three brave American infantrymen, who, to put it mildly, objected to the destruction of such a reliable shelter. The sappers had to lay explosives from the side facing the enemy (naturally, many of them died in the process, out of 272 sappers 111 were killed). To help the sappers in the first wave, 16 armored bulldozers were attached. Only three reached the shore, and only two of them were able to use the sappers - paratroopers hid behind the third and, threatening the driver, forced him to stay in place. It seems that there are quite enough examples of "mass heroism".
Well, then we begin solid riddles. In any source devoted to the events at the Omaha bridgehead, there are necessarily references to two "fire-breathing bunkers on the flanks", but none of them say who, when and how suppressed the fire of these bunkers. It seems that the Germans fired, fired, and then stopped (perhaps this was the case, remember what I wrote above about ammunition). Even more interesting is the situation with machine guns firing at the front. When the American sappers smoked out their comrades because of the concrete gouges, they had to seek refuge in the dead zone at the foot of the hills (in some ways this can be considered an offensive). One of the squads hiding there discovered a narrow path leading to the summit.
Cautiously advancing along this path, the foot soldiers reached the crest of the hill, and found completely empty trenches there! Where did the Germans defending them go? But they were not there, in this area the defense was occupied by one of the companies of the 1st battalion of the 726th grenadier regiment, which consisted mainly of Czechs, forcibly drafted into the Wehrmacht. Naturally, they dreamed of surrendering to the Americans as soon as possible, but you must admit, throwing out a white flag even before the enemy attacks you is somehow undignified even for the descendants of the good soldier Schweik. The Czechs lay in their trenches, from time to time firing a line or two towards the Americans. But after a while, they realized that even such formal resistance was holding back the enemy’s offensive, so they collected their belongings and retreated to the rear. There they were finally taken prisoner to the general pleasure.
In short, having shoveled through a pile of materials devoted to the NDO, I managed to find one single story about a military clash at the Omaha bridgehead, I quote it verbatim. "E Company, which landed in front of Colleville, after a two-hour battle, captured a German bunker on a hilltop and took 21 people prisoner." All!
The main battle of World War II
In this brief review, I have only covered the first hours of the Normandy landing operation. In the days that followed, the Anglo-Americans had to face many difficulties. There is also a storm that practically destroyed one of the two artificial ports; and supply confusion (field hairdressers were delivered to the beachhead very late); and the inconsistency of the actions of the allies (the British launched an offensive two weeks earlier than planned, obviously, they were less dependent on the presence of field hairdressers than the Americans). However, the opposition of the enemy among these difficulties is in the very last place. So should this be called a "battle"?"
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Both the flight from the European continent () and the landing in Normandy ("Overlod") are very different from their mythological interpretation ...
Original taken from jeteraconte in Allied landings in Normandy... Myths and reality.
I I think that every educated person knows that on June 6, 1944, there was an allied landing in Normandy, and finally, a full-fledged opening of a second front. T Only the assessment of this event has different interpretations.
Same beach now:
Why did the Allies last until 1944? What goals were pursued? Why was the operation carried out so incompetently and with such sensitive losses, with the overwhelming superiority of the allies?
This topic was raised by many and at different times, I will try to tell in the most understandable language about the events that took place.
When you watch American movies like: "Saving Private Ryan", games " Call of Duty 2" or you read an article on Wikipedia, it seems that the greatest event of all times and peoples is described, and it was here that the whole second world war was decided ...
Propaganda has always been the most powerful weapon. ..
By 1944, it was clear to all politicians that the war was lost by Germany and its allies, and in 1943, during the Tehran Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill roughly divided the world among themselves. A little more and Europe, and most importantly France, could become communist if they were liberated by Soviet troops, so the allies were forced to rush in order to catch the pie and fulfill their promises to contribute to the common victory.
(I recommend reading the "Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with the Presidents of the United States and Prime Ministers of Great Britain during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" released in 1957, in response to the memoirs of Winston Churchill.)
Now let's try to figure out what really happened and how. First of all, I decided to go and see with my own eyes the terrain, and assess what kind of difficulties the troops landing under fire had to overcome. The landing zone occupies about 80 km, but this does not mean that paratroopers landed on every meter throughout these 80 km, in fact it was concentrated in several places: "Sord", "Juno", "Gold", "Omaha Beach" and Pointe d'oc.
I walked this territory along the sea, studying the fortifications that have survived to this day, visited two local museums, shoveled a lot of different literature about these events and talked with residents in Bayeux, Caen, Saumur, Fécamp, Rouen and others.
It is very difficult to imagine a more mediocre landing operation, with the complete connivance of the enemy. Yes, critics will say that the scale of the landing is unprecedented, but the mess is the same. Even according to official sources, non-combat losses! accounted for 35%!!! from total losses!
We read "Wiki", wow, how many Germans opposed, how many German units, tanks, guns! By what miracle did the landing succeed?
German troops on the Western Front were smeared in a thin layer across the territory of France, and these units performed mainly security functions, and many of them could only be called combat. What is the division nicknamed the "White Bread Division" worth. An eyewitness, the English author M. Shulman, says: “After the invasion of France, the Germans decided to replace Fr. Walcheren an ordinary infantry division, division, personnel, which suffered from stomach diseases. Bunkers on about. Walcheren was now occupied by soldiers with chronic ulcers, acute ulcers, wounded stomachs, nervous stomachs, sensitive stomachs, inflamed stomachs - in general, all known gastritises. The soldiers vowed to stand to the end. Here, in the richest part of Holland, where white bread, fresh vegetables, eggs and milk abounded, the soldiers of the 70th Division, nicknamed the "White Bread Division", expected the imminent Allied offensive and were nervous, for their attention was equally divided between the problematic threat and side of the enemy and real stomach upsets. The elderly, good-natured Lieutenant-General Wilhelm Deiser led this division of invalids into battle ... Terrifying losses among senior officers in Russia and North Africa were the reason that he was returned from retirement in February 1944 and was appointed commander of a stationary division in Holland. His active service ended in 1941 when he was discharged due to heart attacks. Now, being 60 years old, he did not burn with enthusiasm and did not have the ability to turn the defense about. Walcheren in the heroic epic of German weapons.
In the German "troops" on the Western Front there were invalids and cripples, to perform security functions in good old France, you do not need to have two eyes, two arms or legs. Yes, there were full-fledged parts. And there were also, collected from various rabble, like the Vlasovites and the like, who only dreamed of surrendering.
On the one hand, the allies gathered a monstrously powerful group, on the other hand, the Germans still had the opportunity to inflict unacceptable damage on their opponents, but ...
Personally, I got the impression that the command of the German troops simply did not prevent the Allies from landing. But at the same time, he could not order the troops to raise their hands or go home.
Why do I think so? Let me remind you that this is the time when a conspiracy of the generals against Hitler is being prepared, secret negotiations are underway, the German elite about a separate peace, behind the back of the USSR. Allegedly due to bad weather, aerial reconnaissance was stopped, torpedo boats curtailed reconnaissance operations,
(More recently before this, the Germans sank 2 landing ships, damaged one during exercises in preparation for the landing and another was killed by "friendly fire"),
command flies to Berlin. And this at a time when the same Rommel knows very well from intelligence about the impending invasion. Yes, he might not have known about the exact time and place, but it was impossible not to notice the gathering of thousands of ships!!!, preparations, mountains of equipment, training of paratroopers! What more than two people know, the pig knows - this old saying clearly captures the essence of the impossibility of hiding the preparations for such a large-scale operation as the invasion of the English Channel.
Let me tell you some interesting things. Zone landings Pointe du Hoc. It is very famous, a new German coastal battery was supposed to be located here, but old French 155 mm guns, 1917, were installed. Bombs were dropped on this very small area, 250 pieces of 356 mm shells were fired from the American battleship Texas, as well as a lot of shells of smaller calibers. Two destroyers supported the landings with continuous fire. And then a group of rangers on landing barges approached the coast and climbed the sheer cliffs under the command of Colonel James E. Rudder, captured the battery and fortifications on the coast. True, the battery turned out to be made of wood, and the sounds of shots were imitated by explosives! The real one was moved when one of the guns was destroyed during a successful air raid a few days ago, and it is his photo that can be seen on the sites under the guise of a gun destroyed by the Rangers. There is a claim that the rangers still found this moved battery and ammunition depot, oddly not guarded! Then they blew it up.
If you ever find yourself on Pointe du Hoc , you will see what used to be a "lunar" landscape.
Roskill (Roskill S. Fleet and War. M .: Military Publishing House, 1974. Vol. 3. S. 348) wrote:
“More than 5,000 tons of bombs were dropped, and although there were few direct hits on the gun casemates, we managed to seriously disrupt enemy communications and undermine his morale. With the onset of dawn, defensive positions were attacked by 1630 “liberators”, “flying fortresses” and medium bombers of the 8th and 9th air formations of the US Air Force ... Finally, in the last 20 minutes before the approach of the assault waves, fighter-bombers and medium bombardiers bombed directly on the defensive fortifications on the coast ...
Shortly after 05.30, naval artillery brought down a hail of shells on the coast of the entire 50-mile front; such a powerful artillery strike from the sea had never been delivered before. Then the light guns of the advanced landing ships entered into action, and, finally, just before the hour "H", tank landing ships armed with rocket launchers moved to the shore; conducting intense fire with 127-mm rockets into the depths of defense. The enemy practically did not respond to the approach of the assault waves. There was no aviation, and the coastal batteries did not cause any harm, although they fired several volleys at the transports.
A total of 10 kilotons of TNT, this is equivalent in power to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima!
Yes, the guys who landed under fire, at night on wet rocks and pebbles, climbed a steep cliff, are heroes, but ... The big question is how many Germans survived, who were able to resist them, after such air and art processing? Rangers advancing in the first wave 225 people ... Losses killed and wounded 135 people. Data on the losses of the Germans: more than 120 killed and 70 captured. Hmm... Great battle?
From 18 to 20 guns from the German side with a caliber of more than 120 mm fired against the landing allies ... In total!
With the absolute dominance of the allies in the air! With the support of 6 battleships, 23 cruisers, 135 destroyers and destroyers, 508 other warships. 4798 ships participated in the attack. In total, the Allied fleet included: 6,939 ships for various purposes (1213 - combat, 4126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - merchant ships (some were in reserve)). Can you imagine a volley of this armada along the coast in a section of 80 km?
Here's a quote for you:
In all sectors, the Allies suffered relatively small losses, except ...
Omaha Beach, American Landing Zone. Here the losses were catastrophic. Many drowned paratroopers. When 25-30 kg of equipment is hung on a person, and then they are forced to land into the water, where it is 2.5-3 meters to the bottom, fearing to come closer to the shore, then instead of a fighter, you get a corpse. At best, a demoralized person without a weapon... The commanders of the barges carrying amphibious tanks forced them to land at depth, being afraid to come close to the coast. In total, out of 32 tanks, 2 floated ashore, plus 3, which, the only captain who was not afraid, landed directly on the shore. The rest drowned due to rough seas and the cowardice of individual commanders. On the shore and in the water there was complete chaos, the soldiers were confusedly rushing along the beach. The officers lost control of their subordinates. But still, there were those who were able to organize the survivors and begin to successfully resist the Nazis.
It was here that Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt, fell heroically., who, like the deceased Yakov, the son of Stalin, did not want to hide in headquarters in the capital ...
Losses killed in this area are estimated at 2,500 Americans. The German corporal machine gunner Heinrich Severlo, later nicknamed "The Omaha Monster", applied his talents to this. He is from his heavy machine gun, as well as two rifles, being in a strong pointWiderstantnest62 killed and wounded over 2,000 Americans! Such data make you think, if he hadn’t run out of ammunition, would he have shot everyone there ??? Despite huge losses, the Americans captured the empty casemates and continued the offensive. There is evidence that certain sections of the defense were handed over to them without a fight, and the number of prisoners captured in all areas of the landing was surprisingly large. But why is it surprising? The war was coming to an end and only the most fanatical followers of Hitler did not want to admit it ...
Mini museum between drop zones :
View of Pont d'Oc from above, funnels, remains of fortifications, casemates.
View of the sea and rocks in the same place:
Omaha Beach sea view and landing area: 
