OPERATION OVERLORD:Battle of Normandy or as its best known by its code name “Operation Overlord” was an operation that was launched the Allied invasion of German-Western Europe during World War II. The leaders in the Allied Powers were Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Bertram Ramsay, Omar Bradley, Sir Arthur Tedder, Walter Bedell Smith, Robert Haines, Simon Fraser, James M. Gavin, Harry Crerar, Guy Simonds, Charles Foulkes, Norman Cota, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Edwin P. Parker Jr., Alan G. Kirk. And in the Germany side: Gerd von Rundstedt, Erwin Rommel, Alfred Jodl, Hans Speidel, Max Pemsel, Erich Marcks, Wolfgang Hager, Hans von Salmuth, Günther von Kluge, Gunther Blumentritt
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The
battle started on June 6th, 1944 when the Allied forced landed on the Normandy
coast, the landing was known as D-day. It lasted for more than 2 months, it had
nearly 3 million men involved in 47 different divisions moved by 5,000 ships
and 11,000 airplanes, on the first 3 days of the invasion, Overlord planed on
moving 150,000 men and about 13,000 equipment. Most of the young men, most not
even 20 years old, carrying over 80 pounds of equipment, their practiced tactic
was to: as soon as the ramp goes down, jump, swim, run, and crawl on to the
cliffs. They had to crawl or run 200 yards of beach before even getting to the
first natural protective feature. Its purpose was to liberate Paris
and Western Europe from German power or the Nazis. There were 2 Phases to
Operation overlord:
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Phase 1 was to
capture CHERBOURG, and assault the initial lodgment area, which included the
airfield site area of CAEN.
Phase 2: was to capture more of the area in phase 1 which included all ports south of the Loire, the Brittany peninsula, and the area between the Loire and Seine.
Both of these phases were executed by American, British and Canadian Forces assigned and/or attached to the 21st Army Group.
The countries that participated and were part of Overlord were the Allied powers of United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Free French Forces, and other allied powers.
Phase 2: was to capture more of the area in phase 1 which included all ports south of the Loire, the Brittany peninsula, and the area between the Loire and Seine.
Both of these phases were executed by American, British and Canadian Forces assigned and/or attached to the 21st Army Group.
The countries that participated and were part of Overlord were the Allied powers of United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Free French Forces, and other allied powers.
The Allied commander chose the land of Normandy because although the
risks where way much higher the beaches were the best suitable for such a large
mass landing with the equipment and people. The logistic and planning behind
Overlord required that the Allies had to make sure none of the plan was to be
released.