Operation Overlord: The Allied Invasion of Europe

In three months, it will be the 67th anniversary of D-Day, or as it was known to SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces), Operation Overlord. Many Americans know the generic details of the invasion: it took place June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the Normandy beach in five section, and Omaha beach was a bloodbath, as documented in "Saving Private Ryan".

However, there are many facets of the invasion, before, during and after, that are less known. For example, can you name all five beaches of the invasion, and if so, which beach had which nation's troops? For those who don't know, the five beaches were named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The Americans stormed Utah and Omaha beaches, the British stormed Gold and Sword beaches, and Canadian troops stormed Juno beach.

There was much preparation to do by the Allies before the invasion, though. As documented in the feature film "Patton", General George S. Patton, having been severely reprimanded for his inappropriate conduct in Sicily, was not only respected by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command-OKW), but his exploits were closely followed by Adolf Hitler, making him very valuable to SHAEF, though not in a fighting sense.

Before the invasion was to happen, the Allies set about a comprehensive campaign of misdirection, known as Operations Fortitude and Bodyguard. Operation Fortitude was meant to divert German troops away from Normandy by leaking fake intelligence that the invasion would come at the Pas de Calais. The Allies accomplished this by building a fake army around Patton, and since Hitler followed his actions so closely, this left the other Allied generals to set about planning the real invasion. This campaign of misdirection worked so well, that when the invasion of Normandy actually happened, the German 15th Army was ordered by Hitler to stay at the Pas de Calais in anticipation of the 'real' invasion.

Operation Bodyguard, though in pursuit of the same goals as Fortitude, was intended to keep the OKW in doubt of the exact time of the invasion. Besides this, the Germans' pessimism played a part in their general unpreparedness in the invasion. As mentioned in the book-turned-movie "The Longest Day", the Germans did not believe the Allies would invade on June 6 due to the fact that the Allies hadn't done an invasion in rough weather, plus they had always chosen the shortest route for an ocean cross, in this case the Pas de Calais.

These actions led to the successful establishment of a European beachhead, and with the start of Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout from Normandy, the Allies could begin their long trek through France, and into Germany itself, creating a two front war in Europe for Hitler and the beginning of the end for World War II in Europe. Until next time, take care, and thank you.