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A seriously underrated aspect of D-Day and the Allied offensive in France
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:23 pm
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:23 pm
was the geographical challenges stacked against the Allies.
The first challenge goes without saying. Storming a beach littered with mines, then ascending a tall bluff manned with German machine guns.
Western France (and most of France in general) is mainly fields bordered by hedges or thin patches of woods. In other words, perfect for camping defenses to pick off advancing offensives.
The Germans not only manned the hiding spots; they also flooded every available floodplain which forced the Allies to use causeways, exposing them to artillery fire.
The fact that the Allies were able to push the Germans back so quickly is nothing short of amazing.
The first challenge goes without saying. Storming a beach littered with mines, then ascending a tall bluff manned with German machine guns.
Western France (and most of France in general) is mainly fields bordered by hedges or thin patches of woods. In other words, perfect for camping defenses to pick off advancing offensives.
The Germans not only manned the hiding spots; they also flooded every available floodplain which forced the Allies to use causeways, exposing them to artillery fire.
The fact that the Allies were able to push the Germans back so quickly is nothing short of amazing.
20
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:25 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
I don’t think this is underrated at all TBH. It is well documented in any reputable account of the invasion and breakout.
This post was edited on 6/6/19 at 12:26 pm
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:26 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
Can't recall anyone underrating it, well, ever
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:27 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
The greatest generation no doubt
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:30 pm to bullittmcqueen
Have stood on those beaches looking up at the cliffs........really makes you think hard about who had the idea of going that route. Likewise got inside the cliffside pill boxes looking down on the beach.
Very sobering visit
Very sobering visit
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:30 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
This latest generation of pansies we have produced would never be able to do this again.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:30 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
Ike was the GOAT.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:33 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
quote:
The fact that the Allies were able to push the Germans back so quickly is nothing short of amazing.
Not enough can he said about the pathfinders dropped in just after midnight to create confusion and hold critical bridges. All this while taking the brunt and slowing down German counter attcks
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:33 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
Pretty sure the breakout of Normandy has been one of the most studied and lauded military campaigns in the history of this country. It's been well documented.
The landings get more publicity, true, but taking the beaches and hedgerows was almost as impressive. People talk about the landings because of the enormous loss of life. That and the logistical planning to make it even come close to happening make it even more impressive.
The landings get more publicity, true, but taking the beaches and hedgerows was almost as impressive. People talk about the landings because of the enormous loss of life. That and the logistical planning to make it even come close to happening make it even more impressive.
This post was edited on 6/6/19 at 12:36 pm
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:37 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
quote:
The fact that the Allies were able to push the Germans back so quickly is nothing short of amazing.
I have three words for you
Total
Air
Supremacy
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:40 pm to Tigah D
Dudes had huge balls to get off the boats and storm the beach, can’t imagine the doors dropping and looking out and seeing what they saw.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:41 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
What are you talking about? This is probably the most covered aspect. Point du Hoc is still covered in basic high school history today.
An underrated aspect of D-day is what they did to General Patton and how they built a fake army to throw off the landing point. The terrain would not be.
An underrated aspect of D-day is what they did to General Patton and how they built a fake army to throw off the landing point. The terrain would not be.
This post was edited on 6/6/19 at 12:48 pm
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:43 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
WTF. The use of the word underrated has never been more misused. 
Posted on 6/6/19 at 12:44 pm to jscrims
Yep. The logistics coupled with fabrications and secrecy was astounding to me.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 1:11 pm to Tigah D
quote:
Have stood on those beaches looking up at the cliffs........really makes you think hard about who had the idea of going that route. Likewise got inside the cliffside pill boxes looking down on the beach.
Very sobering visit
I went there in '07. I've read about everything I could get my hands on pertaining to the invasion and D-day. Only when I stood on "Omaha" beach and looked at the land did I appreciate just how challenging that was. The fact those guys made it off of that beach is a testament to the absolute drive they had. The sheer concentration of machine gun "nests" they had for a given sector of the beach was insane.
Those guys did it somehow.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 1:13 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
I was told today by TD that D-Day was overrated. Now I am confused
Posted on 6/6/19 at 1:16 pm to Darth_Vader
quote:
I have three words for you
Total
Air
Supremacy
If you've not read it, there is a great book called "D-day through German eyes". It's a transcript of interviews that were done in the 50's with Germans that were on the beach. I think they did one person per beach.
To a man they said they knew the war was as good as lost by the end of the day. The general sentiment was that there was no way to defeat an army that was so well equipped and in such abundance. What most people don't realize was that all during the war a large portion of the German army was still "horse drawn". They didn't have vehicles for everything like we did.
To your point, one of the Germans fell back to a strong hold in a manor. They started getting hammered by rocket fire from P-47's. The German thought, this will let up in a minute. They got hit by sortie after sortie for 4 solid hours. He knew at the point it was over for Germany.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 1:16 pm to VolsOut4Harambe
by 2050, the history of WWII will be limited to the contributions of gays and women.
Posted on 6/6/19 at 1:21 pm to jscrims
quote:
An underrated aspect of D-day is what they did to General Patton and how they built a fake army to throw off the landing point. The terrain would not be.
One of the most fascinating and relatively unknown aspects of the invasion is that the fake army was only half of "operation fortitude".
The other half is the unknown part. It was the four spies sent by Germany that the Brits used to build a fictional spy network under. They knew they would only have one "move" with the spies. That one "move" was to convince German high command that the Allies would land at Pas de Callais and that the Normandy landings were a diversion.
That's why the Germans wouldn't commit their reserves to the Normandy push until it was too late.
This post was edited on 6/6/19 at 1:23 pm
Posted on 6/6/19 at 1:58 pm to BoxComboNoSlawXToast
quote:
Dudes had huge balls to get off the boats and storm the beach, can’t imagine the doors dropping and looking out and seeing what they saw.
If you were up front by the door you likely didn’t have time to see anything before a .50 cal round split your skull
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