Spanky's Place :: 61 Years Ago

Category History
Operation Overlord (D-Day) began.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

The Battle of Normandy (June-August 1944)

The landing operation began during the night of 5th to 6th June when three airborne divisions were dropped on either flank of the front. The paratroops' mission was to capture certain key points (the Merville battery, the bridge over the Caencanal, roads, locks etc.). A little later, several hundred Rangers managed to capture the fortified position at the Pointe du Hoc, after a particularly daring assault.

Meanwhile, between 0630 and 0730 hours, 135,000 men and roughly 20,000 vehicles were brought in by sea on five landing beaches as planned. Although the objectives fixed for the evening of D-Day (Caen, Bayeux, Isigny, Carentan), were not achieved, overall the operation was a success. Except at Omaha Beach (Colleville-Saint-Laurent-Vierville) where despite a show of extraordinary courage from the Americans the beachhead for long hung in the balance, casualties were lighter than expected. It then remained to link up the five assaults beaches and face the German counter-attack.

After joining up the five beaches and establishing a firm bridgehead covering 50 miles along the Channel coastline, the Allies proceeded to implement their plan. Whilst the British brought pressure to bear in the Caen direction, drawing the German tank divisions around the regional capital, the Americans broke out from Utah towards Barneville to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula.

Following the capture of the major continental port of Cherbourg in late June, they attempted to break through the German defenses southwards whilst at the other end of thefront the British made efforts to clear the Caen sector.

The second fortnight in July saw three great successes: the liberation of Caen, the capture of Saint-Lô and the breakthrough southwards towards Granville and Avranches. After a fruitless attempt at cutting off a section of Patton's army inthe Mortain counter-attack, the Germans, whose resistance was weakening, began their withdrawal to the Seine. However, in a great two-pronged attack by the British, Canadians and Poles in the north and the Americans and Lerclerc's French coming from Alençon in the south, part of two German armies were trapped in the Falaise-Chambois pocket (the "Corridor of Death"at Montormel).

This brought the battle of Normandy to a close, at Tournai-sur-Dives on 21st August 1944. The Allies had pulled off their first victory on the continent. Three days later, they crossed the Seine and entered Paris.

- Edward Palmer (The Joe Foss Institute)
For much more information go to the D-Day Factsheet

Thanks to Poison Pero for the history lesson.