Lesson 19: D-Day June 6th

Question 1

• Role of paratroopers on D-Day

Answer 1

British paratroops were given the
task of destroying German guns that
threatened the landing beaches to
the east, as well as destroying bridges
around Caen that the Germans could
use to bring reinforcements to the
Normandy coastline.
American paratroopers were given
the task of taking control of the
important logistical town of SainteMere-Eglise and securing causeways
near Utah beach that would be used
by US troops to advance inland.

Question 2

Aim of the beach landings on D-Day

Answer 2

The aim was to break through the Atlantic
Wall and establish a beachhead whilst
more Allied soldiers landed.

5 beaches were designated as the sites of
the Allied landing zones.

Question 3

Problems with the Omaha Beach landings

Answer 3

Unlike the other landing beaches, the terrain at Omaha
was perfectly suited to the defender. The beach was long,
flat and strewn with anti-invasion obstacles and mines. The
end of the beach also had high ridges and cliffs which gave
the defenders a dominant view of the beach.
* Strong currents meant the men often arrived in the wrong
landing locations and a higher tide than expected meant
that many anti-invasion obstacles were hidden beneath the
waves. This meant that the landing craft had to offload
their men in deeper waters.
* To make matters worse, 27 of the 29 Amphibious DD Tanks,
which were meant to support the troops landing at
Omaha, sank before they reached the beach. This meant
the men were not provided with any close armour support.

Question 4

Reasons for the ineffective German response

Answer 4

It took four hours after the first Allied troops had landed for the German High Command to realise they needed to act.
* Local reserves were moved closer to the beaches and orders for counterattacks were given.
* However, these orders were often slow to be transmitted amongst the chaos or were disrupted by the Allied paratroopers.
* German Panzer Divisions, which had the potential to significantly boost the German defences, were still sat to the north of
the landing zone. There were two reasons for this:
* Many in German High Command still believed that the attack on Normandy was a diversionary one and a second larger attack would
still be coming in the Pas de Calais region.
* The only person who could authorise the mobilisation of these units was Hitler. However, Hitler had been watching movies until the
early hours and slept in until 10am. Nobody dared to wake him up.
* Hitler was ecstatic when he heard the news of the landing and he eventually allowed for the release of the Panzer Divisions. However,
they wouldn’t arrive in Normandy until the 7th June.

Question 5

Outcomes of Operation Overlord

Answer 5

Out of approximately 650,000 Germans who fought in the Battle for Normandy,
over 400,000 were casualties.

the Allies had approximately 1.5 million men involved in the
fighting for Normandy and only 230,000 were casualties

Stalin was incredibly happy that a second major front had now been opened in
Europe and he was full of praise for the Allied offensive.
* “One cannot but acknowledge that the history of war knows no other
similar undertaking as regards breadth of design, vastness of scale and high
skill of execution.”

Question 6

Significance of Operation Overlord

Answer 6

By the end of August, the Allies had liberated Paris and by September they had
liberated Belgium.
* By early 1945, they had reached the German border where they began their
preparations for the final offensives of the war.
* By this point 4.5 million Allied troops were ready to attack
USSR had finally been liberated

G lost 400K men and not able to replace resources
retreat of germans back into germany
Allies could now retake france and belgium

One of the main reasons for these heavy losses was Hitler’s refusal to allow
his commanders freedom to give up ground, and his insistence on
reinforcing failed counterattacks. This led to some of Hitler’s best units being
sucked into unnecessary battles where they were destroyed.