64 years ago, the Allied landings in Normandy took place. Spears are regularly broken around this event, because it provides a basis for comparing the Soviet or, if you like, the Russian army, the Wehrmacht and the armies of the allies. On the one hand, self-esteem turns out to be wounded by the fact that the "pulling toilets" (c) Pindos (tm) still knocked the Germans on the head. A search begins for loopholes such as the division of stomachers defending the coast. On the other hand, there is the battle canvas Saving Private Ryan, where the creative intelligentsia in the person of Spielberg showed human waves and a sea of ​​blood during the landing.

The highlight of the operation developed by the allies was that the problem of supplying the landing force was solved in a radical way. Achieving a successful landing was unthinkable without the accumulation of a large number of troops on the bridgehead. However, all this horde of people and equipment had to be supplied somehow, which was an unsolvable task without a port. As the raid on Dieppe showed, the capture of the port is an almost impossible task. The port of Pas de Calais was heavily fortified by the Germans, and the 2nd Panzer Division, one of the most combat-ready German divisions in the West, was located nearby, in particular, it had a full-blooded Panther battalion. Another port, Cherbourg, was on the peninsula. The foundation of the peninsula could be blocked by the Germans. In addition, the terrain in the Cherbourg region was difficult, allowing it to be flooded. Generally unpromising.

One of the main advantages of the offensive is the ability to choose the point and direction of the strike. The Anglo-American command brilliantly took advantage of this. The Germans had almost 800 thousand people in the west, but this mass of people was scattered over a large area. It was problematic to quickly collect them to the landing point along the French road network, thoroughly battered by air strikes. It was a matter of small things. The Allies found an orthogonal solution to the port problem, allowing them to quickly create local superiority. They decided to land on a bare beach and build a port from scratch. For this, floating piers were invented, which received the code name "Mulberry". The principle of operation is shown in the figure:

The transports were supposed to be unloaded at the pier standing on piles, and the trucks along the floating part of the structure were supposed to deliver people, equipment, ammunition and food to the shore. The pop-up part of the pier was assembled from muddy concrete boxes. These are:

It was about them that I wrote in "Ten Myths". The Mulberry was protected from the violence of the elements by a breakwater, assembled, among other things, from sunken old ships.

This idea gave the Allies a great advantage and largely determined the success of the landing. In the landing area, the Germans had only the 21st Panzer Division, which did not even have Panthers. In addition, great controversy among the German commanders was caused by the choice of strategy for repelling the landing. Erwin Rommel, commander of Army Group B, who had extensive experience in the war with the allies, believed that the question of the success of the landing would be resolved in the first 24 hours of the battle. Therefore, he considered it necessary to maintain a strong defense on the coast and proposed creating a "pearl necklace" of tank units along it. A completely different opinion was held by the commander-in-chief of the German troops in the West, von Rundstedt, and the commander of the Panzer Group West, Geir von Schweppenburg. They proposed to keep the tanks in a fist in the depths of the continent, and in the event of a landing, defeat the enemy in a mobile battle. Geir pointed out that on the coast the tanks would come under fire from naval artillery. Rommel, in response, recalled the dominance of the allies in the air - fighter-bombers hanging overhead made it difficult for any movement of troops. As a result, Hitler made a compromise decision ("neither fish nor fowl"): Rommel received three tank divisions, three - Rundstedt and Geyr, and four more were in the reserve of the high command.

The situation shown by Spielberg in "Ryan" is still the implementation of the principle "more blood and violence, people love it." What happened on Omaha was atypical both for the landing as a whole and for the American sector. At the neighboring Utah site, things were much calmer. . "Utah" was at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, weaker fortified by the Germans because. landing on the peninsula and then making his way from it to the continent was pointless. However, to secure the flank and link up with the airborne assault, the extra section was useful. Only about a company of Germans defended themselves on the Utah, and the amphibious tanks that left the water quickly shot down the machine-gun nests of the defenders. In total, about 23 thousand people with 1,700 vehicles landed on D-Day at the Utah site. Losses amounted to only 197 people killed, wounded and missing. Soon, the units that landed on the Utah joined up with the airborne assault, and a few days later they cut off the German garrison of Cherbourg with a blow to the west. For comparison: on June 6, 34 thousand people landed on the Omaha, losing 694 killed, 331 missing and 1349 wounded.

On the British sites "Gold", "Juno" and "Sword" the landing was generally much more successful than that of the Americans. British and Canadian troops, reloaded from transport ships to landing ships much closer to land than the Americans, had to overcome a shorter distance to the coast. Therefore, far fewer people and equipment sank along the way. There were also rocks here, but they weren't overhanging cliffs like the Omaha site. The Churchill heavy tanks that supported the British landing showed greater resistance to German anti-tank gun fire than the Shermans. In addition, the enemy of the British was the weakest of the German divisions in Normandy - the 716th Infantry. Its number was 7771 people. The 352nd Infantry Division, which opposed the Americans, was much more numerous - 12,734 people. However, the backlog from the plan still took place. One of the important objectives of the first day of the English landing on the Sword sector was the road junction, the city of Caen. It was not captured, the Canadians moving towards it were met by a counterattack by the German 21st Panzer Division. Later, a bloody positional battle broke out for Caen. Nevertheless, the English sector attracted almost all the attention of the Germans and the Americans could calmly lick their wounds on their Omaha.

By the end of D-Day, 156,000 people had landed on the coast. Allied losses amounted to about 9 thousand people (about a third of them were killed). Of the total number of losses, about 2.5 thousand were accounted for by the airborne troops. In addition to the crowd of people, there were 700-800 tanks on the shore, which made the task of dropping troops into the sea almost unsolvable. Until the evening of June 6, the Germans did not even advance a single Panther against the bridgehead. Then, in July, the same principle of striking where it was not expected worked. The result was the Falaise "cauldron" and the loss of France.

The prospects for an Allied landing in Europe were especially actively discussed after the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941, when the overwhelming majority of combat-ready German divisions were transferred to the east. However, the opening of the second front had to wait three long years.

The landing in Europe became one of the main topics of debate between the leaders of the Anti-Hitler coalition - Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill in 1941-43. The leadership of the USSR spoke about the need to open a second front in Europe in the summer of 1941, however, at the same time Churchill replied that such an operation was impossible "in the near future."

The entire next period of time from July-August 1941 to June 6, 1944 can be called the period of preparation for this largest landing operation in history. The Allies were concentrating forces - more and more British, American, Canadian divisions, squadrons, landing ships were gathering on the British Isles; and gained experience - landing operations in Africa, in Sicily and in continental Italy, in the Pacific Islands.

On August 19, 1942, the Allies attempted a landing in Europe - Operation Jubilee, also known as the Dieppe Raid. 4963 infantry from the 2nd Canadian Division, 1075 British commandos and 50 American rangers were landed on the coast, supported by armored vehicles, aircraft and naval artillery. The operation, however, failed completely. More than 3,500 soldiers and officers from among those who landed on the shore were killed or captured, the rest managed to evacuate.

Regarding the raid on Dieppe, there are different versions. Some believe that the purpose of the operation was to demonstrate to the Soviet Union the impossibility of a successful large-scale landing operation in 1942, others that the goal was to accumulate the necessary experience, which would then come in handy when planning landings in Africa, Sicily, Italy, and, finally, in France.

In the autumn of 1943, at the Tehran Conference, the leaders of the allies came to a consensus: the landing in Western Europe should take place next spring. It must be said that the allies chose an almost ideal (for themselves) moment for the operation. If they hurry with a large-scale operation, and start it, say, in 1943, the risk of a major defeat would be too great. On the other hand, slowing down, and postponing the landing to the end of summer / early autumn of 1944 or even to the spring of 1945, would be fraught for the Allies with the fact that the USSR would move much further inland Western Europe, and the Anglo-American influence on the post-war reconstruction of Europe would be significantly weakened.

The scale of the operation is impressive: from June 6 to August 19, 1944 (the day the Seine was crossed, which is considered the formal end of the battle for Normandy), more than three million people crossed the English Channel by sea and by air (the size of the group by the beginning of the operation amounted to 2876 thousand people). The operation was supported from the air by 11,000 combat aircraft. The Allied fleet consisted of more than six thousand combat, transport and landing ships and boats.

These forces were opposed by about 380 thousand German soldiers and officers. The German divisions experienced an acute shortage of armored vehicles, transport, and trained personnel - the best parts of the Wehrmacht and the SS troops at that time were on the Eastern Front, which took the lion's share of German resources. The gap in the air was even more striking - the 11,000th Allied aviation armada, the Luftwaffe could oppose no more than 500 aircraft - the rest of the machines were involved in the air defense of the Reich (defense from strategic bombers) and, again, on the Eastern Front.

The main reason for the success of the operation was the error of the German leadership in determining the direction of the Allied strike. Adolf Hitler believed that the blow would be delivered through the Pas de Calais, which led to an incorrect placement German forces on TVD.

The battle for Normandy began on the night of June 5-6, 1944 with an airborne landing and air and artillery strikes on the German defensive fortifications. Two American airborne divisions (82nd and 101st) were landed near the city of Carentan, and one British (54th) near the city of Caen.

On the morning of June 6, the landing began amphibious assault. The coastal fortifications of the Germans on almost the entire landing front were suppressed, however, it was not possible to completely suppress the firing points in the Omaha sector, and there the Allies suffered significant losses - more than 3,000 people. However, these losses could not disrupt the landing. In general, by the evening of June 6, there were more than five divisions on the coast.

By the end of June, the Allies expanded the bridgehead to 100 km along the front and 20-40 km in depth. Over 25 divisions (including 4 tank divisions) were concentrated on it, which were opposed by 23 weakened German divisions (including 9 tank divisions). The Germans had no reserves - on the Eastern Front at that time, Soviet troops began the Belarusian strategic offensive operation. The date of the offensive between the allies was agreed in advance to facilitate the operation in Normandy.

Operation Bagration, launched on June 23, 1944, in which the 2.4 million Soviet grouping was opposed by 1.2 million Germans, diverted almost all the reserves that the German command could still find, and became the main guarantee of the success of the Allied offensive from the bridgehead in Normandy. On June 29, the Allies took Cherbourg. By July 21 - Saint-Lo. In August, the German front in Normandy collapsed completely. On August 19, Allied troops crossed the Seine, and on August 25 they liberated Paris. By this time, Soviet troops had reached the Vistula, occupying several bridgeheads on its western bank. The fall of the Nazi Reich was the matter of the coming months.

The landing of the allies in Normandy meets with conflicting assessments. In the West, it is considered almost the central event of the entire war, in Russia it is often called a secondary operation, arguing that at that time Germany was already doomed and the Allied landing "did not solve anything."

Both of these views are far from reality. Of course, the outcome of the war had already been decided by the summer of 1944, and it was decided precisely on the eastern front, where the best units of the Wehrmacht found their grave. At the same time, the landing of the allies, of course, brought victory closer by several months, and saved hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers who could have been killed or wounded in battles with German units not defeated on the western front.

The Soviet leadership was well aware of the significance of the second front in Europe, which was the reason for the insistent demands to open it as soon as possible. And what was finally done by the Allies on June 6, 1944, certainly deserves to be mentioned among the greatest and most significant battles of the Second World War, along with the battles of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, and others.

On June 6, 1944, the long-awaited landing of the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition on the northern coast of France began, which received the general name "Sovereign" ("Overlord" (from the English overlord "lord, lord")). The operation was prepared for a long time and carefully, it was preceded by difficult negotiations in Tehran. Millions of tons of military cargo were delivered to the British Isles. On the secret front, Abwehr was disinformed by the intelligence services of Britain and the United States regarding the landing area and many other activities that ensured a successful offensive. At different times, both here and abroad, the scale of this military operation, depending on the political situation, either increased or decreased. The time has come to give an objective assessment of both it and its consequences in the Western European theater of the Second World War.

photo: Allied troops after the landing. The arrival of reinforcements to the bridgehead.

As is known from films, Soviet soldiers, participants in the war of 1941-1945, called the "second front" American stew, condensed milk, egg powder and other food products that came to the USSR from the USA under the Lend-Lease program. This phrase was pronounced with a somewhat ironic intonation, expressing little hidden contempt for the "allies". The meaning was invested in it: while we are shedding blood here, they are delaying the start of the war against Hitler. They sit out, in general, wait to enter the war at the moment when both the Russians and the Germans weaken and exhaust their resources. That's when the Americans and the British will come to share the laurels of the winners. The opening of the Second Front in Europe was being postponed, the main burden of hostilities continued to be borne by the Red Army.

In a way, that's exactly what happened. Moreover, it would be unfair to reproach F. D. Roosevelt for not hastening to send the American army into battle, but waiting for the most opportune moment for this. After all, as the President of the United States, he was obliged to think about the good of his country and act in its interests. As for Britain, without American help, its armed forces were technically unable to carry out a massive invasion of the mainland. From 1939 to 1941, this country alone waged war with Hitler, she managed to survive, but there was not even a talk of the onset. So there is nothing particularly to reproach Churchill with. In a sense, the Second Front existed throughout the war and until D-Day (day of landing), it fettered significant forces of the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine. Most (about three-quarters) of the German navy and air fleet was engaged in operations against Britain.

Nevertheless, without detracting from the merits of the Allies, our participants in the Great Patriotic War it was always rightly believed that it was they who made a decisive contribution to the common victory over the enemy.

photo: Field Marshal Rommel inspects units of the 21st Panzer Division, which were stationed in the landing areas allied forces. May 30, 1944
A condescending and contemptuous attitude towards allied assistance was cultivated by the Soviet leadership throughout the post-war decades. The main argument was the ratio of Soviet and German losses on the Eastern Front with similar numbers of dead Americans, British, Canadians and the same Germans, but already in the West. Nine out of ten killed Wehrmacht soldiers laid down their lives in battles with the Red Army. Near Moscow, on the Volga, in the Kharkov region, in the Caucasus mountains, on thousands of nameless skyscrapers, near obscure villages, the back of the military machine was broken, which easily defeated almost all European armies and conquered countries in a matter of weeks, and sometimes even days.

Maybe the Second Front in Europe was not needed at all and could have been dispensed with? By the summer of 1944, the outcome of the war as a whole was a foregone conclusion. The Germans suffered monstrous losses, human and material resources were catastrophically lacking, while Soviet military production reached unprecedented speed in world history. The endless "leveling of the front" (as Goebbels' propaganda explained the constant retreat) was essentially a flight. Nevertheless, I. V. Stalin persistently reminded the allies of their promise to strike at Germany from the other side. In 1943, American troops landed in Italy, but this was clearly not enough.

photo: Allied troops land on the coast of Salerno under artillery fire. September 1943
The names of military operations are chosen in such a way as to put into one or two words the entire strategic essence of the upcoming action. At the same time, the enemy, even recognizing him, should not guess about the main elements of the plan. The direction of the main attack, the technical means involved, the timing, and similar details for the enemy necessarily remain a secret. The upcoming landing on the northern European coast was called "Overlord". The operation was divided into several stages, which also have their own code designations. It began on D-Day with the Neptune, and ended with the Cobra, which involves moving deep into the mainland.

The German General Staff had no doubts that the opening of the Second Front would take place. 1944 is the last date when this event could take place, and, knowing the basic American technical methods, it was difficult to assume that the allies of the USSR would launch an offensive in the unfavorable autumn or winter months. In the spring, an invasion was also considered unlikely due to erratic weather conditions. So, summer. The intelligence provided by the Abwehr confirmed the massive transportation of technical equipment. Disassembled B-17 and B-24 bombers were delivered to the islands by Liberty ships, like Sherman tanks, and in addition to these offensive weapons, other cargoes arrived from across the ocean: food, medicine, fuel and lubricants , ammunition, marine vehicles and much more. It is practically impossible to hide such a large-scale movement of military equipment and personnel. The German command had only two questions: "When?" and where?".

photo: Landing of British special armored vehicles on the beach "Gold"
The English Channel is the narrowest stretch of water between the British Mainland and Europe. Right here German generals they would start a landing if they decided on it. This is logical and follows all the rules military science. But that's why General Eisenhower ruled out the English Channel entirely when planning Overlord. The operation was supposed to come as a complete surprise to the German command, otherwise there was a considerable risk of a military fiasco. In any case, defending the coast is much easier than storming it.

The fortifications of the "Atlantic Wall" were created in advance throughout the previous war years, work began immediately after the occupation of the northern part of France and was carried out with the involvement of the population of the occupied countries. They acquired particular intensity after Hitler realized that the opening of the Second Front was inevitable. 1944 was marked by the arrival of General Field Marshal Rommel, whom the Fuhrer respectfully called either the "desert fox" or his "African lion", at the proposed landing site for the Allied troops. This military specialist spent a lot of energy on improving the fortifications, which, as time has shown, were almost not useful. This is a great merit of the American and British intelligence services and other soldiers of the "invisible front" of the allied forces.

a photo: Supreme Commander Allied forces in Europe, General Eisenhower talks to the paratroopers of the company "E"
Any success military operation depends to a greater extent on the factor of surprise and the timely created military concentration than on the balance of forces of the opposing sides. The second front was to be opened on that part of the coast where the invasion was least expected. The possibilities of the Wehrmacht in France were limited. Most of the German armed forces fighting against the Red Army, trying to hold back its advance.

The war was transferred from the territory of the USSR to the spaces of Eastern Europe, the oil supply system from Romania was under threat, and without gasoline, the whole Combat vehicles turned into a pile of useless metal. The situation was reminiscent of a chess zuntzwang, when almost any move led to irreparable consequences, and even more so wrong. It was impossible to make a mistake, but the German headquarters nevertheless drew the wrong conclusions. This was facilitated by many actions of allied intelligence, including the planned "leak" of disinformation, and various measures to mislead agents of the Abwehr and aerial reconnaissance. Models of transport ships were even made, located in ports far from places of real loading.

photo: German anti-amphibious installations on the northern coast of France
Not a single battle in the entire history of mankind has gone according to plan, there have always been unexpected circumstances that prevent this. "Overlord" - an operation that was planned for a long time and carefully, repeatedly postponed for various reasons, which was also no exception. However, the two main components that determined its overall success were still managed to be preserved: the landing site remained unknown to the enemy until D-Day itself, and the balance of forces developed in favor of the attackers.

In the landing and subsequent hostilities on the continent, 1,600,000 soldiers of the Allied forces took part. Against 6 thousand 700 German guns, the Anglo-American units could use 15 thousand of their own. They had 6 thousand tanks, and the Germans only 2000. It was extremely difficult for one hundred and sixty Luftwaffe aircraft to intercept almost eleven thousand Allied aircraft, among which, in fairness, it should be noted that most of them were Douglas transports (but there were many " Flying Fortresses, and Liberators, and Mustangs, and Spitfires). An armada of 112 ships could only resist five German cruisers and destroyers. Only German submarines had a quantitative advantage, but by that time the Americans' means of combating them had reached a high level.

photo: Landing of the first echelon troops. Sector "Omaha", June 6, 1944
use french geographical concepts the US military did not, they seemed unpronounceable. Like the names of military operations, sections of the coast called beaches were coded. Four of them were singled out: Gold, Omaha, Juno and Sword. Many soldiers of the allied forces died on their sand, although the command did everything to minimize losses. On July 6, eighteen thousand paratroopers (two divisions of the Airborne Forces) were landed from DC-3 aircraft and by means of gliders. Previous wars, like the entire Second World War, did not know such a scale.

The opening of the Second Front was accompanied by powerful artillery preparation and air bombardment of defensive structures, infrastructure and locations of German troops. The actions of paratroopers in some cases were not very successful, during the landing there was a dispersion of forces, but this is already of great importance didn't have. Ships were coming to the shore, they were covered by naval artillery, by the end of the day there were already 156,000 soldiers and 20,000 military vehicles of various types on the shore. The captured bridgehead measured 70 by 15 kilometers (on average). As of June 10, more than 100,000 tons of military cargo had already been unloaded onto this runway, and the concentration of troops had reached almost a third of a million people. Despite the huge losses (for the first day they amounted to about ten thousand), after three days the Second Front was opened. This has become an obvious and indisputable fact.

photo: American soldiers landed on Omaha beach, moving deep into the continent
In order to continue the liberation of the territories occupied by the Nazis, not only soldiers and equipment were required. War devours hundreds of tons of fuel, ammunition, food and medicine every day. It gives the warring countries hundreds and thousands of wounded who need to be treated. The expeditionary corps, deprived of supplies, is doomed.

After the Second Front was opened, the advantage of a developed American economy became obvious. The allied forces had no problems with the timely supply of everything they needed, but this required ports. They were captured very quickly, the first was the French Cherbourg, it was occupied on June 27th.

Having recovered from the first sudden blow, the Germans, however, were in no hurry to admit defeat. Already in the middle of the month, they first used the V-1 - the prototype of cruise missiles. For all the scarcity of the Reich's capabilities, Hitler found the resources to mass-produce ballistic V-2s. London was shelled (1100 missile strikes), as well as the ports of Antwerp and Liege located on the mainland and used by the allies to supply troops (almost 1700 FAAs of two types). Meanwhile, the Normandy bridgehead expanded (up to 100 km) and deepened (up to 40 km). It deployed 23 air bases capable of receiving all types of aircraft. The number of personnel increased to 875 thousand. Conditions were created for the development of the offensive already towards the German border, for which the Second Front was opened. The date of victory was approaching.

photo: British troops in the French countryside, June 6, 1944.
Anglo-American aircraft carried out massive raids on the territory Nazi Germany, dropping tens of thousands of tons of bomb loads on cities, factories, railway junctions and other objects. The Luftwaffe pilots could no longer resist this avalanche in the second half of 1944. Over the entire period of the liberation of France, the Wehrmacht suffered half a million losses, and the Allied forces - only 40 thousand killed (plus more than 160 thousand wounded). The tank troops of the Nazis numbered only a hundred combat-ready tanks (the Americans and the British had 2,000). For every German aircraft, there were 25 Allied aircraft. And there were no more reserves. The 200,000th group of Nazis was blocked in the west of France. In the conditions of the overwhelming superiority of the invading army, the German units often hung out a white flag even before the start of the artillery preparation. But there were frequent cases of stubborn resistance, as a result of which dozens, even hundreds of Allied tanks were destroyed.

On July 18-25, the English (8th) and Canadian (2nd) corps ran into well-fortified German positions, their attack bogged down, prompting Marshal Montgomery to further argue that the blow was a false and distracting one.

An unfortunate incidental consequence of the high firepower of the American troops was the losses from the so-called "friendly fire", when the troops suffered from their own shells and bombs.

In December, the Wehrmacht launched a serious counter-offensive in the Ardennes salient, which was crowned with partial success, but strategically there was little to solve.

The result of the operation and the war
After the Second World War began, the participating countries changed from time to time. Some stopped armed actions, others started them. Some took the side of their former enemies (like Romania, for example), others simply capitulated. There were even states that formally supported Hitler, but never opposed the USSR (like Bulgaria or Turkey). The main participants in the war of 1941-1945, the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Britain (they fought even longer, from 1939). France was also among the winners, although Field Marshal Keitel, signing the capitulation, could not resist making an ironic remark about this ... "What, did we lose to the French too?"

There is no doubt that the Normandy landing of the allied troops and the subsequent actions of the armies of the United States, Britain, France and other countries contributed to the defeat of Nazism and the destruction of the criminal political regime, which did not hide its inhuman nature. However, it is very difficult to compare these efforts, which certainly deserve respect, with the battles of the Eastern Front. It was against the USSR that Hitlerism waged total war, the purpose of which was the complete destruction of the population, which was also declared by the official documents of the Third Reich. All the more respect and blessed memory deserve our participants in the Great Patriotic War, who performed their duty in much more difficult conditions than their Anglo-American brothers in arms.

"Second front". For three years it was opened by our soldiers. That's what the American stew was called. And yet the "second front" existed in the form of aircraft, tanks, trucks, non-ferrous metals. But the real opening of the second front, the landing in Normandy, took place only on June 6, 1944.

Europe as one impregnable fortress

In December 1941, Adolf Hitler announced that he would create a belt of giant fortifications from Norway to Spain and this would be an insurmountable front for any enemy. This was the Führer's first reaction to the US entry into World War II. Not knowing where the landing of the allied troops would take place, in Normandy or elsewhere, he promised to turn all of Europe into an impregnable fortress.

It was absolutely impossible to do this, however, for another year no fortifications were built along the coastline. And why was it done? The Wehrmacht was advancing on all fronts, and the victory of the Germans by themselves seemed simply inevitable.

Start of construction

At the end of 1942, Hitler now seriously ordered the construction of a belt of structures on the western coast of Europe, which he called the Atlantic Wall, in a year. Nearly 600,000 people worked on the construction. All of Europe was left without cement. Even materials from the old French Maginot line were used, but it was not possible to meet the deadline. The main thing was missing - well-trained and armed troops. The Eastern Front literally devoured the German divisions. So many units in the west had to be formed from the elderly, children and women. The combat readiness of such troops did not inspire any optimism in the commander-in-chief on Western front Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt. He repeatedly asked the Fuhrer for reinforcements. Hitler eventually sent Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to help him.

New curator

The aged Gerd von Rundstedt and the energetic Erwin Rommel did not get along right away. Rommel did not like that the Atlantic Wall was only half built, there were not enough large-caliber guns, and despondency reigned among the troops. In private conversations, Gerd von Rundstedt called the defenses a bluff. He believed that his units should be withdrawn from the coast and attack the Allied landing site in Normandy after. Erwin Rommel strongly disagreed with this. He intended to defeat the British and Americans right on the shore, where they could not bring reinforcements.

To do this, it was necessary to concentrate tank and motorized divisions off the coast. Erwin Rommel declared: “The war will be won or lost on these sands. The first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive. The landing of troops in Normandy will be included in military history as one of the most unfortunate thanks to the valiant German army." In general, Adolf Hitler approved of Erwin Rommel's plan, but left the panzer divisions under his control.

The coastline is getting stronger

Even under these conditions, Erwin Rommel did a lot. Almost the entire coast of French Normandy was mined, and tens of thousands of metal and wooden slingshots were installed below the water level at low tide. It seemed that an amphibious landing in Normandy was impossible. The barrier structures were supposed to stop the landing craft so that the coastal artillery had time to shoot at enemy targets. The troops were engaged in combat training without interruption. There was not a single part of the coast left that Erwin Rommel would not have visited.

Everything is ready for defense, you can rest

In April 1944, he would say to his adjutant: "Today I have only one enemy, and that enemy is time." All these worries so exhausted Erwin Rommel that in early June he went on a short vacation, however, like many German military commanders on the west coast. Those who did not go on vacation, by a strange coincidence, ended up on business trips far from the coast. The generals and officers who remained on the ground were calm and relaxed. The weather forecast until mid-June was the most unsuitable for the landing. Therefore, the Allied landing in Normandy seemed something unrealistic and fantastic. Heavy seas, squally winds and low clouds. No one guessed that an unprecedented armada of ships had already left English ports.

Great battles. Landing in Normandy

The Normandy landings were called "Overlord" by the Allies. Literally translated, it means "ruler". It became the largest landing operation in the history of mankind. The landing of the allied forces in Normandy took place with the participation of 5,000 warships and landing craft. The commander-in-chief of the allied forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, could not postpone the landing because of the weather. Only three days - from June 5 to June 7 - there was a late moon, and immediately after dawn - low water. The condition for the transfer of paratroopers and landing on gliders was a dark sky and moonrise during landing. The low tide was necessary for the amphibious assault to see the coastal barriers. In stormy seas, thousands of paratroopers suffered from seasickness in the cramped holds of boats and barges. Several dozen ships could not withstand the assault and sank. But nothing could stop the operation. The landing in Normandy begins. The troops were to land at five places along the coast.

Beginning of Operation Overlord

At 0:15 on June 6, 1944, the sovereign entered the land of Europe. The operation was started by paratroopers. Eighteen thousand paratroopers scattered across the lands of Normandy. However, not everyone is lucky. About half ended up in swamps and minefields, but the other half completed their tasks. Panic broke out in the German rear. Communication lines were destroyed, and, most importantly, undamaged strategically important bridges were captured. By this time, the marines were already fighting on the coast.

The landing of American troops in Normandy was on the sandy beaches of Omaha and Utah, the British and Canadians landed on the sites of Sword, June and Gold. warships fought a duel with coastal artillery, trying, if not to suppress, then at least to distract it from the paratroopers. Thousands of allied aircraft simultaneously bombed and stormed German positions. One English pilot recalled that the main task was not to collide with each other in the sky. The advantage of the Allies in the air was 72:1.

Memories of a German ace

On the morning and afternoon of June 6, the Luftwaffe offered no resistance to the coalition troops. Only two German pilots appeared in the landing area, this is the commander of the 26th Fighter Squadron - the famous ace Josef Priller, and his wingman.

Josef Priller (1915-1961) got tired of listening to confusing explanations of what was happening on the shore, and he flew out on reconnaissance. Seeing thousands of ships at sea and thousands of aircraft in the air, he ironically exclaimed: "Today is truly a great day for the pilots of the Luftwaffe." Indeed, never before have the Reich Air Force been so powerless. Two planes swept low over the beach, firing cannons and machine guns, and disappeared into the clouds. That's all they could do. When the mechanics examined the plane of the German ace, it turned out that there were more than two hundred bullet holes in it.

Allied assault continues

The Nazi navy did a little better. Three torpedo boats in a suicide attack by the invasion fleet managed to sink one American destroyer. The landing of the Allied troops in Normandy, namely the British and Canadians, did not meet with serious resistance in their areas. In addition, they managed to safely transport tanks and guns ashore. The Americans, especially in the Omaha section, were much less fortunate. Here the defense of the Germans was held by the 352nd division, which consisted of veterans fired on different fronts.

The Germans let the paratroopers to four hundred meters and opened heavy fire. Almost all the American boats approached the shore east of the given places. They were swept away by a strong current, and thick smoke from fires made it difficult to navigate. The sapper platoons were almost destroyed, so there was no one to make passes in the minefields. The panic began. Then several destroyers came close to the shore and began to hit the German positions with direct fire. The 352nd Division did not remain in debt to the sailors, the ships were seriously damaged, but the paratroopers under their cover were able to break through the German defenses. Thanks to this, in all areas of the landing, the Americans and the British were able to move several miles forward.

Trouble for the Fuhrer

A few hours later, when Adolf Hitler woke up, Field Marshals Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl cautiously reported to him that the Allied landings seemed to have begun. Since there were no exact data, the Fuhrer did not believe them. Panzer divisions remained in their places. At this time, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was sitting at home and also did not really know anything. The German military leaders lost their time. The attacks of the following days and weeks yielded nothing. The Atlantic Wall collapsed. The allies entered the operational space. Everything was decided in the first twenty-four hours. The Allied landing in Normandy took place.

Historic D-Day

A huge army crossed the English Channel and landed in France. The first day of the offensive was called D-day. The task is to gain a foothold on the coast and drive the Nazis out of Normandy. But bad weather in the strait could lead to disaster. The English Channel is famous for its storms. In a matter of minutes, visibility could drop to 50 meters. Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower required a minute-by-minute weather report. All responsibility fell on the chief meteorologist and his team.

Allied military assistance in the fight against the Nazis

1944 World War II has been going on for four years now. The Germans occupied all of Europe. British allied forces Soviet Union and the US needs a decisive blow. Intelligence reported that the Germans would soon begin to use guided missiles and atomic bombs. An energetic offensive was supposed to interrupt the plans of the Nazis. The easiest way is to go through the occupied territories, for example through France. The secret name of the operation is "Overlord".

The landing in Normandy of 150,000 Allied soldiers was scheduled for May 1944. They were supported by transport aircraft, bombers, fighters and a flotilla of 6,000 ships. The offensive was commanded by Dwight Eisenhower. The date of the landing was kept in the strictest confidence. At the first stage, the landing in Normandy in 1944 was to capture more than 70 kilometers of the French coast. The exact areas of the assault on the German troops were kept a closely guarded secret. The Allies chose five beaches from east to west.

Commander-in-Chief's Alerts

May 1, 1944 could potentially become the start date for Operation Overlord, but this day was abandoned due to the unavailability of the troops. For military and political reasons, the operation was postponed to the beginning of June.

In his memoirs, Dwight Eisenhower wrote: "If this operation, the landing of the Americans in Normandy, does not take place, then only I will be to blame." At midnight on June 6, Operation Overlord begins. Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower personally visits the 101st Air Division just before the flight. Everyone understood that up to 80% of the soldiers would not survive this assault.

"Overlord": a chronicle of events

The airborne landing in Normandy was to be the first to take place on the shores of France. However, everything went wrong. The pilots of the two divisions needed good visibility, they were not supposed to drop troops into the sea, but they did not see anything. The paratroopers disappeared into the clouds and landed a few kilometers from the collection point. Then the bombers had to clear the way for the amphibious assault. But they did not fix their goals.

12,000 bombs were to be dropped on Omaha Beach to destroy all obstacles. But when the bombers reached the coast of France, the pilots found themselves in a difficult situation. There were clouds all around. The bulk of the bombs fell ten kilometers south of the beach. Allied gliders were ineffective.

At 3.30 in the morning the flotilla headed for the shores of Normandy. A few hours later, the soldiers boarded small wooden boats to finally get to the beach. Huge waves rocked small boats like matchboxes in the cold waters of the English Channel. Only at dawn did the Allied amphibious landing in Normandy begin (see photo below).

Death awaited the soldiers on the shore. There were obstacles around, anti-tank hedgehogs, everything around was mined. The Allied fleet bombarded the German positions, but strong storm waves interfered with aimed fire.

The first landed soldiers were waiting for the furious fire of German machine guns and cannons. Soldiers died by the hundreds. But they continued to fight. It seemed like a real miracle. Despite the most powerful German barriers and bad weather, the largest landing force in history began its offensive. Allied soldiers continued to land on the 70-kilometer coast of Normandy. In the afternoon, the clouds over Normandy began to dissipate. The main obstacle for the allies was the Atlantic Wall, a system of permanent fortifications and rocks that protect the coast of Normandy.

The soldiers began to climb the coastal cliffs. The Germans fired on them from above. By the middle of the day, the Allied troops began to outnumber the fascist garrison of Normandy.

An old soldier remembers

Private american army Harold Gaumbert, 65 years later, recalls that closer to midnight all the machine guns fell silent. All Nazis were killed. D-Day is over. The landing in Normandy, the date of which is June 6, 1944, took place. The Allies lost almost 10,000 soldiers, but they captured all the beaches. It seemed that the beach was flooded with bright red paint and scattered bodies. Wounded soldiers were dying under the starry sky, while thousands of others moved forward to continue the fight against the enemy.

Continuation of the assault

Operation Overlord has entered its next phase. The task is to liberate France. On the morning of June 7, a new obstacle appeared before the Allies. Impenetrable forests have become another obstacle to attack. The intertwined roots of the Norman forests were stronger than the English ones on which the soldiers trained. The troops had to bypass them. The allies continued to pursue the retreating German troops. The Nazis fought desperately. They used these forests because they learned to hide in them.

D-Day was just a battle won, the war was just beginning for the Allies. The troops the Allies encountered on the beaches of Normandy were not the elite of the Nazi army. The days of heavy fighting began.

The scattered divisions could be defeated by the Nazis at any moment. They had time to regroup and replenish their ranks. On June 8, 1944, the battle for Carentan began, this city opens the way to Cherbourg. It took more than four days to break the resistance of the German army.

On June 15, the Utah and Omaha forces finally united. They took several cities and continued their offensive on the Cotentin Peninsula. The forces united and moved in the direction of Cherbourg. For two weeks, the German troops offered the most severe resistance to the Allied. On June 27, 1944, Allied troops entered Cherbourg. Now their ships had their own port.

Last attack

At the end of the month, the next phase of the Allied offensive in Normandy, Operation Cobra, began. This time the target was Cannes and Saint Lo. The troops began to advance deep into France. But the Allied offensive was opposed by serious resistance from the Nazis.

A French resistance movement led by General Philippe Leclerc helped the Allies enter Paris. Happy Parisians welcomed the liberators with joy.

On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his own bunker. Seven days later, the German government signed an unconditional surrender pact. The war in Europe was over.