What happened on June 6, 1944. Enter personal account

"Second front". For three years, our soldiers opened it. That is the so called american stew. And the "second front" existed in the form of aircraft, tanks, trucks, non-ferrous metals. But the present opening of the second front, landing in Normandy, occurred only on June 6, 1944.

Europe as one impregnable fortress

In December 1941, Adolf Hitler said that it would create a belt from giant fortification from Norway to Spain and it will be an irresistible front for any opponent. This was the first reaction of the Fuhrer for the US Entrance to the Second World War. Not knowing where the allied troops will occur, in Normandy or another place, he promised all of Europe to turn into an impregnable fortress.

This was absolutely impossible to do, however, whole year No fortification structures along the coastline have not been built. And why was it to do it? Wehrmacht came on all fronts, and the victory of the Germans themselves seemed simply inevitable.

Start of construction

At the end of 1942, Hitler has now seriously ordered the year the belt of structures on the West Coast of Europe, named by the Atlantic shaft. Almost 600,000 people worked on construction. All Europe was left without cement. Even materials with the old French line Mazhino were used, but it was not possible for a deadline. Lack of the main thing - well trained and armed forces. Eastern Front literally devoured German divisions. So many parts in the West had to form from old people, children and women. The combat capability of such troops did not inspire any optimism commander-in-chief on West Front General Feldmarshalu Gerdu von Rundstedta. He repeatedly asked the Fuhrera on reinforcement. Hitler eventually sent him to help General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

New curator

Elderly Herd von Rundstedt and energetic Erwin Rommel did not work immediately. Rommel did not like that the Atlantic shaft was built only half, the guns of large caliber is missing, and despondency reigns in the troops. In private conversations, Herd von Rundstedt called protective structures bluff. He believed that his parts need to be removed from the coast and attack the place of landing in Normandy Allies after. Erwin Rommel with this categorically disagree. He intended to break the British and Americans right on the shore, where they would not be able to pull up reinforcements.

To do this, it was necessary to focus on the coast of tank and motorized divisions. Erwin Rommel said: "War will be won or lost on these sands. The first 24 hours of invasion will be decisive. The landing of troops in Normandy will enter military history as one of the most unsuccessful thanks to the valiant German army. " In general, Adolf Hitler approved the Erwin Rommel plan, but left the tank divisions in his subordination.

The coastline is strengthened more and more

Even in these conditions, Erwin Rommel did a lot. Almost all the French Normandy coast was mined, and tens of thousands of metal and wooden slingshots were installed below the water level. It seemed that the landing of the landing in Normandy was impossible. Barrification facilities were supposed to stop the landing vessels so that the coastal artillery would have time to shoot on the objects of the enemy. Troops without a break were engaged in combat training. There was not a single part on the coast, where Erwin Rommel would not have visited.

Everything is ready for defense, you can relax

In April 1944 he will tell his adjutant: "Today I have only one enemy, and this enemy is time." All these worries were so exhausted by Erwin Rommel that in early June he went to a short vacation, however, like many German military heads of the west coast. Those who did not go on vacation, along a strange coincidence of circumstances, were on business trips far from the coast. The generals and officers remaining on the ground were calm and relaxed. Weather forecast until mid-June was the most inappropriate for the landing. Therefore, the landing of allies in Normandy seemed to be something unreal and fantastic. Strong excitement on the sea, squalky wind and low clouds. No one guessed that the unprecedented Armada ships had already left the English ports.

Great battles. Landing in Normandy

Operation on landing in Normandy Allies called Overlord. In the literal translation, this means "Lord". She became the largest landing operation in the history of mankind. The allied troops in Normandy occurred with the participation of 5,000 warships and landing vessels. The commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces General Dwight Eisenhower could not postpone the landing due to the weather. Only three days - from 5 to 7 June - there was a late moon, and immediately after dawn - small water. The condition for the transmission of parachutes and the landing the glider was the dark sky and the sunrise of the moon during landing. The sump was necessary that the naval landing of the coastal barriers. In the Storm Sea, thousands of paratroopers suffered from seaside disease in the cramped holds of boats and barges. Several dozen ships did not stand the assault and drowned. But nothing could stop the operation. The landing in Normandy begins. The troops were to land in five places of the coast.

Start Operation "Overlord"

At 0 hours and 15 minutes on June 6, 1944, the Lord entered the land of Europe. The operation began parachutists. Eighteen thousand paratroopers crumbled on the lands of Normandy. However, not everyone is lucky. Approximately half fell into the swamps and on the mine fields, but the other half has completed its tasks. Panic began in the German rear. Communication lines were destroyed, and, most importantly, intact strategically important bridges were captured. By this time, marine paratroopers have already fought on the coast.

The landing for American troops in Normandy was on the sandy beaches of Omaha and Utah, the British and Canadians planted on the sections of Svet, Jun and Gold. Martial vehicles He was a duel with coastal artillery, striving if not to suppress, then at least distract her from paratroopers. Thousands of union aircraft simultaneously bombed and stormed German positions. One English pilot recalled that the main task was not to face each other in the sky. The advantage of allies in the air was 72: 1.

Memories of the German ACA

In the morning and in the afternoon on June 6, the Luftwaffe did not make any resistance coalition troops. Only two German pilots seemed in the landing area, this is the commander of the 26th Fighter Squadron - the famous AP Josef Priller, and his slave.

Josef Priller (1915-1961) was tired of listening to confusion explanations of what was happening on the shore, and flew to intelligence. Seeing thousands of ships on the sea and thousands of airplanes in the air, he ironically exclaimed: "Today, a truly great day for Luftwaffe pilots." Indeed, the Riha Air Forces Never have never been so powerless. Two aircraft swept on a shaking flight over the beach, shooting from guns and machine guns, and disappeared in the clouds. That's all they could do. When the mechanics examined the aircraft of the German ACA, it turned out that it was more than two hundred bullery spacing.

The assault of the union troops continues

Nazi naval forces have achieved a little more. Three torpedo boats in the suicidal attack of the invasion fleet were able to sink one American destroyer. The landing of allied troops in Normandy, namely the British and Canadians, did not meet serious resistance in their sites. In addition, they managed to ship the tanks and guns in the integrity. Americans, especially on the Omaha plot, lucky less. Here, the defenses of the Germans held the 352nd Division, which consisted of veterans fired at different fronts.

The Germans submitted paratroopers on four hundred meters and opened a hurricane fire. Almost all the Americans boats approached the banks of east of the specified places. They were demolished by a strong course, and a thick smoke interfered from fires to navigate. The sapper platforms were almost destroyed, so there were no one to do the passages in mine fields. The panic began. Then several destroyers approached close to the shore and began to beat the direct vendor at the positions of the Germans. The 352th division in debt before the sailors was left, the ships received serious damage, but the paratroopers were able to break through German defense under their cover. Due to this, at all landing sites, the Americans and the British were able to move a few miles forward.

Trouble for Furera

A few hours later, when Adolf Hitler woke up, Field Marshals Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Yodell carefully reported to him that the allied landing seems to begin. Because no exact data was, the Fuhrer did not believe them. Tank divisions remained in their places. At this time, Feldmarshal Erwin Rommel sat at home and did not really know anything else. German military bosses missed time. Attacks of subsequent days and weeks did not give anything. The Atlantic shaft collapsed. Allies went on operational expanses. Everything was decided for the first twenty-four hours. The allied landing in Normandy took place.

Historical day "D"

The huge army crossed La Mans and landed in France. The first day of the offensive was named Day "D". The task is to strengthen the coast and knock out the Nazis from Normandy. But bad weather in the strait could lead to a catastrophe. La Mans is famous for his storms. In a matter of minutes, visibility could decrease to 50 meters. The commander-in-chief Duight Eisenhuer demanded a daily report on the weather. All responsibility lay down on the main meteorologist and his team.

Military allies in the fight against the Nazis

1944 year. The Second World War is already four years. The Germans occupied the whole of Europe. The forces of the United Kingdom Allies, the Soviet Union and the United States need a decisive blow. Intelligence reported that the Germans will soon begin to apply managed rockets and atomic bombs. Energetic offensive was 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 150 thousand soldiers allied was scheduled in May 1944. They were supported by transport aircraft, bombers, fighters and flotilla in 6 thousand ships. The onset commanded Dwight Eisenhuer. The date of landing was kept in the strictest secrecy. 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 storming of German troops were kept in strict secrecy. Allies chose five beaches from East to West.

Commander's Alarms

On May 1, 1944, it could potentially become the date of commencement of the Overlord operation, but from this day they refused due to the unpretentiousness of the troops. For military-political reasons, the operation was transferred to the beginning of June.

In his memoirs, Dwight Eisenhower wrote: "If this operation, the landing of Americans in Normandy will not take place, I will only blame." At midnight, on June 6, the Overlord operation begins. The commander-in-chief Duight Eisenhower personally visits the 101 air division in front of the departure. Everyone understood that up to 80% of soldiers would not survive in this storm.

Overlord: Chronicle of Events

The landing in Normandy aircraft should be the first to happen on the shores of France. However, everything went wrong. The pilots of two divisions needed good visibility, they should not have discarded the landing in the sea, but they did not see anything. Parachutists disappeared in the clouds and landed a few kilometers from the collection point. Then the bombers had to clear the path for the marine assault. But they did not record their goals.

Omaha's Beach had to lie down 12 thousand bombs to destroy all obstacles. But when the bombers reached the shores of France, the pilots were in a difficult situation. Circle were clouds. The main part of the bombs fell in ten kilometers of south of the beach. The planners of allies turned out to be ineffective.

At 3.30 am, flotilla went to the shores of Normandy. In a few hours, the soldiers moved to small wooden boats to get to finally to the beach. Huge waves swayed small boats like match boxes, in the cold waters of La Mansha. Only at the dawn began the landing landing of allies in Normandy (see photo below).

On the banks of the soldier expected death. There were barriers, anti-tank hedgehogs, all around was mined. The Allied Fleet fired a German position, but strong storm waves interfered with sighting fire.

The first landed soldiers waited for the fierce fire of German machine guns and guns. Soldiers swaying hundreds. But they continued to fight. It seemed a real miracle. Despite the most powerful German bours and bad weather, the largest landing in history began his offensive. Allied soldiers continued to land at the 70-kilometer coast of Normandy. During the day, the clouds over Normania began to dissipate. The main obstacle to the allies was the Atlantic shaft, a system of long-term fortification and rocks that protect the coast of Normandy.

The soldiers began climbing the coastal cliffs. The Germans were fired from above. By the middle of the day, the allied troops became numerically exceeded by the Normandy Fascist garrison.

Old soldier remembers

The ordinary American army Harold Gaumbert after 65 years recalls that it is closer to midnight all the machine guns were silent. All the Nazis were killed. Day "D" is over. The landing in Normandy, the date of which - June 6, 1944, took place. 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 the body. The wounded soldiers were dying under the starry sky, and thousands of others moved forward to continue the fight against the enemy.

Continuation of the assault

Operation "Overlord" switched to the next phase. The task is to free France. On the morning of June 7, a new obstacle appeared before the allies. The impassable forests became another obstacle to the attack. The woven roots of the Norman forests were the stronger English on which soldiers trained. The troops had to bypass them. The allies continued to pursue the retreating German troops. Fascists fought desperately. They used these forests because they learned to hide them.

The day "d" was just a battle won, the war for the allies just began. The troops faced by the allies on the beaches of Normandy were not the elite of the Nazi army. The days of the hardest battles began.

Scattered divisions at any time could smash the Nazis. They had time to have time to regroup and replenish their ranks. On June 8, 1944, the battle for quarantan began, this city opens the way to Sherbur. It took more than four days to break the resistance of the German army.

On June 15, Utah and Omaha strength finally united. They took several cities and continued the offensive on the Cotanen Peninsula. Forces united and moved to the direction of Cherbour. Two weeks, German troops had the most severe resistance to the Allied. On June 27, 1944, allied troops entered Cherbourg. Now their ships had his own port.

Last Attack

At the end of the month, the next phase of the offensive of the allies in Normandy began, this is the operation of Cobra. This time the goal was Cannes and Saint-Lo. The troops began to move deep into the depths of France. But the offensive of the Allies opposed the serious resistance of the Nazis.

The French resistance movement led by General Philippe led the Allies to enter Paris. Happy Parisian happily met the liberators.

On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his own bunker. Seven days later, the German government signed a pact of unconditional surrender. War in Europe was finished.

Operation "Neptune"

Allied landing in Normandy

date	June 6, 1944.
A place	Normandy, France
Cause	The need to open the second front on the European TV
Outcome	Successful landing of allies in Normandy
Change	Opening of the second front

Opponents

Commander

Forces side

Operation "Neptune" (English Operation Neptune), Day "d" (eng. d-day) or landing in Normandy (eng. Normandy Landings) - Sea landing operation, conducted from June 6 to July 25, 1944 in Normandy during World War II War forces by the USA, Great Britain, Canada and their allies against Germany. He was the first part of the strategic operation "Overlord" (English Operation Overlord) or the Norman surgery, which envisaged the seizure of the Allies of North-West France.

common data

Operation "Neptune" was the first phase of the Overlord operation, and was to force the La Mansha and the seizure of the bridgehead on the coast of France. To ensure the operation, the naval forces of the Allies were collected under the command of English Admiral Bertram Ramsey, who had the experience of such large-scale marine operations on the transfer of live strength and military equipment (See Evacuation of the Allied Troops from Dunkirk, 1940).

Characteristic of participating Parties

German side

Ground parts

In June 1944, the Germans had 58 divisions in the West, eight of which were stationed in Holland and Belgium, and the rest are in France. About half of these divisions were divisions of coastal defense or training, and from 27 field divisions only ten were tank, three of them were in the south of France and one - in the Antwerp area. For the cover of a two hundred miles of the Norman coast, six divisions were deployed, four of which were divisions of coastal defense. Of the four divisions of the coastal defense, three were covered with a forty-coastline of the coast between Cherbource and Kan, and one division was deployed between the rivers of the Orn and Sen.

Air Force

The 3rd air fleet (Luftwaffe III) under the command of Field Marshal Hugo Schlelele, intended for the defense of the West, nominally numbered 500 aircraft, but the qualifications of pilots remained below average. By the beginning of June 1944, in a state of operational readiness in the West, the Luftwaffe had 90 bombers and 70 fighters.

Coastal defense

Coastal defense included the artillery guns of all calibers, ranging from 406 mm tower toeners of coastal defense, and ending with French 75-mm field cannons of the First World War. On the coast of Normandy between Cape Barfler and Gavr there was one battery of three 380-mm implements, located 2.5 miles north of the Garara. At the 20-mile section of the coast of the eastern side of the Cotane peninsula, four incapable batteries of 155-mm guns were installed, as well as 10 leading batteries consisting of twenty-four 152-mm and twenty 104-mm guns.

Along the northern coast of the Cove of the Seine, at a distance of 35 miles between Izinyi and Wistreham there were only three income batteries of 155-mm guns and one battery 104-mm guns. In addition, there were two more open-type batteries of 104-mm guns and two batteries of 100-mm tools.

At the seventeenthime sect of the coast, three incident batteries of 155-mm guns and two open batteries of 150-mm guns were installed between the Whistreham and the mouth of the Seine. The coastal defense in the area consisted of a system of supporting points at intervals of about a mile from each other with an echelonized depth of 90-180 m. The income guns were installed in concrete shelters whose roofs and facing the walls of the wall reached the thickness of 2.1 meters. Smaller artillery concreted shelters, in which there were 50mm anti-tank guns, were located in such a way as to keep the coast under the longitudinal fire. A complex system of messages associated artillery positions, machine-gun nests, mortar positions and a system of infantry trenches with each other and with residential premises of personnel. All this was protected by anti-tank hedgehogs, wire borders, mines and anti-bodies.

Naval

The structure of the command of the German navy in France was closed on the commander-in-chief of the Naval Group "West" Admiral Kranke, whose headquarters was in Paris. The "West" group included Admiral naval forces, Commander on the territory of the coast of La Mansha with headquarters in Ruang. He was obeyed by three commander of the districts: the commander of the Paa de Calad plot, stretched from the Belgian border to the south to the mouth of the Somma River; The commander of the village of Seine-Somma, the boundaries of which were determined by the coast between the mouths of the specified rivers; The commander of the Norman coast from the mouth of the Seine to the west to Saint-little. There was also an admiral, commander of the area of \u200b\u200bthe Atlantic coast, whose headquarters was in Anger. Three commander of the districts of Brittany, Loire and Gasconi obeyed the last commander.

The borders of the naval districts did not coincide with the borders of military districts, there was no direct interaction between the military, the maritime and aviation administration necessary for actions in the conditions of a rapidly changing environment as a result of the allied landing.

The grouping of the German Navy, which is in the immediate disposal of the command of the channel zone (La Mansha), consisted of five destroyers (base in the Gavre); 23 torpedo boats (8 of which were in Buloni and 15 - in Cherbur); 116 trawls (distributed between Dunkirk and Saint-little); 24 watchdogs (21 - in Havre and 23 - in Saint-Little) and 42 artillery barges (16 were in Buloni, 15 - in Fekane and 11 - in Uistream). According to the Atlantic coast, between Brest and Bayonna, there were five destroyers, 146 trawls, 59 guard ships and one torpedo boat. In addition, 49 submarines were intended for an anti-aircraft service. These boats were based in Brest (24), Loriana (2), in Saint-Node (19) and in La Palliace (4). There were also 130 large ocean submarines in the base of the bay bay, but they were not adapted to the actions in the small waters of La Mans and the plans of reflection of the landing were not taken into account.

In addition to the listed forces, 47 trawls, 6 torpedo boats and 13 watchdogs were based in various ports of Belgium and Holland. Other German naval forces consisting of linear ships Tirpitz. and Scharnhorst. , "pocket battleships" Admiral Scheer. and Lützow. Heavy cruisers PRINZ EUGEN. and Admiral Hipper. as well as four light cruisers Nürnberg. , Köln. and Emden. Together with 37 destroyers and 83 torpedo boats were either in Norwegian or in the Baltic waters.

The few sea forces who were subordinate to the commander of the Naval Group "West" could not constantly be in the sea in readiness for action in case of possible extortions of the enemy. Since March 1944, the enemy radar stations were killed by our ships, as soon as they came out of the bases ... Losses and damage became so tangible that if we did not want to lose our few sea forces even before it comes to the enemy landing , we did not have to carry a permanent guarding, not to mention the reconnaissance raids to the opponent's coast. " commander-in-Chief of the German fleet Gross Admiral Denitz

In general, the planned anti-infrase events of the German fleet consisted of the following:

• use of submarines, torpedo boats and coastal artillery for hitting the landing courts;
• staging a large number of mines of all types, including new and simple types known as Mina KMA (contact mine for coastal areas), throughout the length of the European coast;
• the use of ultra-low submarines and man-torpedoes for ships in the invasion area;
• intensification of shocks on union conversions in the ocean using new types of ocean submarines.

Allies

Naval

The task of the Allied Navy was to organize the safe and timely arrival of Korvayev with troops to the opponent coast, ensuring uninterrupted landing landing and fire support. The threat from the Navy enemy was particularly big not considered.

The command system for invasion and subsequent conservoi wiring was as follows:

Eastern sector:

• Eastern Naval Operational Connection: Commander Contrast Admiral Sir Philip Wayen. Flagship Ship "Szill".
• Forces "S" (Svet): Commander of the counter-admiral Arthur Talbot. Flagship Ship "Largs" (3rd English Infantry Division and 27th Tank Brigade).
• Forces "G" (Gold): Commander Commodor Douglas Pennant. Flagship ship "Bulolo" (50th English Infantry Division and 8th Tank Brigade).
• Forces "J" (Juno): Commander Commodore Oliver. Flagship Ship, Hilary (3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Tank Brigade).
• Forces of the second echelon "L": Commander of Contracks Parry. Flagship Ship Albatrosé (7th English Tank Division and 49th Infantry Division; 4th Tank Brigade and 51st Scottish Infantry Division).

Western Sector:

• Western Naval Operational Connection: Commander of the Council Admiral Navy USA Alan Kerk. Flagship Ship American Heavy Cruiser Augusta. .
• Forces "O" (Omaha): Commander of the Council Admiral Navy D. Hall. The flagship ship "Ancon" (1st American Infantry Division and part of the 29th Infantry Division).
• Forces "U" (Utah): Commander of the Council Admiral Navy D. Moon. Flagship ship argument-military transport "Befield" (4th American Infantry Division).
• Forces of the second echelon "B": Commander Commoder Navy S. Edgar. Flagship ship "Small" (2nd, 9th, 79th and 90th American divisions and the remainder of the 29th division).

The naval communities of operational compounds and landing forces were supposed to remain senior chiefs at the respective sites until the army parts are firmly enshrined at the bridgehead.

Among the ships allocated for the shelling of the Eastern Sector were the 2nd and 10th cruisers squadron, which were under the command of the counter-admirals F. Delrympl Hamilton and W. Petterson. Being older by the rank of commander of the operational connection, both admiral agreed to abandon their seniority and act according to the instructions of the command of the operational compound. Similarly, this problem has been solved in the Western sector. Counter-Admiral Navy Free France Zhozhhar, who kept his flag on the cruiser Georges Leygues. Also agreed with such a command system.

Composition and distribution of naval forces

All the fleet of allies included: 6,939 vehicles of various purposes (1213 - combat, 4126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - commercial vessels).

For artillery support, 106 ships were allocated, including artillery and mortar landing vessels. From these ships 73 were in the eastern sector and 33 in Western. When planning artillery support, a large consumption of ammunition was envisaged, therefore measures were taken to use lighters loaded by ammunition. Upon returning to the port, the lighters had to be put under the loading immediately, which provided artillery support ships to return to the bombardment position with minimal delays. In addition, it was envisaged that artillery support ships may be required to change guns due to the wear of the trunks due to the intensity of their use. Therefore, in the ports of southern England, the reserve of gun stems by a caliber from 6-inches and below was created. However, ships needed to replace 15-inch guns (battleships and monitors) were to be sent to the ports of North England.

Course of operation

Neptune operation began on June 6, 1944 (the date is also known as "day d"), ended on July 1, 1944. Her goal was to conquer a deccent on the continent, which continued until July 25.

40 minutes before landing, the planned direct artillery preparation began. The fire was conducted by 7 battleships, 2 monitors, 23 cruisers, 74 squadded destroyers. The heavy guns of the combined fleet led the fire on the discovered batteries and reinforced concrete structures of the enemy, the breaks of their shells, in addition, were very strongly acted on the psyche of German soldiers. As the distance cuts, a lighter ship artillery has joined the battle. When the first wave of the landing began to approach the shore, the landing places were put by a fixed barrier fire, which ceased immediately, as soon as the troops reached the shore.

Approximately 5 minutes before the start of the landing on the shore of the assault detachments to increase the fire density opened the fire reactive mortars installed on the barges. When running a fire with neighboring distances, one such barge, according to the participant of the captain of the 3rd rank of K. Edwards, was replaced by more than 80 light cruisers or almost 200 destroyers. About 20 thousand shells were released in the landing sites of the British troops and about 18 thousand shells at the landing areas of American troops. Artillery fire of ships, blows of reactive artillery that covered the entire coast, were, according to the participants of the disembarkation, more effective than the blows of aviation.

The following timing plan was adopted:

• for each of the invasion forces through a mine barrier, two channels must be prolonged; The trawling of each channel is carried out by flotilla of squadrous travelers;
• carrying the coastal fairway trawling for shelling the ships of the coast and other operations;
• if possible, faster than the prolonged channel must be expanded to create a larger maneuvering space;
• after disembarking, continue to monitor the mining operations of the enemy and trawling the new mines.

date	Event	Note
On the night of June 5-16	Training suitable fairway
5-10, June 6	The fighting ships of the wrapped Farvaters arrived in their districts and got anchors, covering the flank deployment of the landing from possible counterdashers of the enemy from the sea
June 6, morning	Artillery preparation	7 linkers, 2 monitors, 24 cruisers, 74 squadrons participated in the shore shelling
6-30, June 6	Beginning of the seaside landing	First in the western zone, and an hour later in the eastern zone, the first troops of the seaside landed ashore landed
June 10th	Completed assembly of artificial port facilities	2 sets of artificial ports "Malberry" and 5 artificial waveleranes "Guzberry" to protect ports
June 17	American troops came out on the west coast of Cotanne Peninsula in the Carter Area	German parts on the peninsula turned out to be cut off from the rest of Normandy
June 25-26.	The offensive of the Anglo Canadian troops on the Kan	Objectives are not achieved, the Germans provided stubborn resistance
27th of June	Cherbourg takes	By the end of June, the allies in Normandy reached 100 km on the front and from 20 to 40 km deep
July 1	Cotanne Peninsula fully cleaned from German troops
the first half of July	Restored port in Cherbour	The port in Sherbur played a significant role in the supply of allies in France
July 25.	Allies went on line south of Saint-Lo, Comon, Kan	Norman landing operation ended

Losses and results

In the period from June 6 to July 24, the US-English command was able to carry out the disembarking of the Expeditionary Forces in Normandy and to take a bridgehead of about 100 km on the front and up to 50 km deep. The dimensions of the bridgehead were about 2 times less than the planned operation plan. However, the absolute domination of allies in the air and the sea allowed to focus here a large amount of forces and means. The landing of the Union Expeditionary Forces in Normandy was the largest landing operation of strategic importance during World War II.

During the day "D" allies landed 156,000 people in Normandy. The American component consisted of 73,000 people: 23 250 Marine landing on the beach "Utah", 34 250 - Omaha Beach and 15 500 - Air landing. 83,115 servicemen landed on the British and Canadian bridgeheads (of which 61,715 - British): 24,970 - Gold Beach, 21 400 - Juno Beach, 28 845 - Sorde Beach and 7,900 - Air Tailing.

11 590 aircraft aircraft were involved of different typesthat have committed a total of 14,674 flight planes, shot down 127 combat aircraft. On June 6, 2,395 aircraft and 867 gliders were attracted to the landing of the air landing.

Naval Forces involved 6,939 ships and ships: 1 213 - combat, 4,126 - landing, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - for freight traffic. To ensure the fleet allocated: 195,700 sailors: 52 889 - American, 112 824 - British, 4,988 from other coalition countries.

By June 11, 1944, it was already in the French shore: 326,547 military, 54,186 units of military equipment, 104,428 tons of military property and reserves.

Losses of allies

During the landing, the Anglo-American troops lost 4,414 people (2,499 - Americans, 1,915 - representatives of other countries). In general, the total losses of the allies on the day "d" amounted to about 10,000 people (6,603 - Americans, 2,700 - British, 946 - Canadians). The losses that suffered allies include: the dead, wounded, missing (whose bodies were not found) and prisoners of war.

Total allies from June 6 to July 23 lost 122 thousand people (49 thousand British and Canadians and about 73 thousand Americans).

Losses of the German Forces

Losses of the Wehrmacht troops on the day of the evaluation day range from 4,000 to 9,000 people.

General damning german fascist troops During the period of almost seminary battles amounted to 113 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 2117 tanks and 345 aircraft.

From 15,000 to 20,000 peaceful French residents died during the invasion - mainly as a result of the bombardment of the Federal Aviation

Evaluation of the event contemporaries

Notes

Image in art

Literature and sources of information

• Paminaev A.N. Neptune through the eyes of Russian. - Independent Military Review, No. 19 (808). - Moscow: Independent newspaper, 2004.

Gallery of images

The liberation of continental Europe was not only a matter of honor for the Allied Coalition, but also the Russians all the time demanded that this was done. It was the secret of Polyliner that the landing had to happen on the coast of France, but her time, the place and the way were kept in a strict mystery.

The ill-fated raid on Dieppe (August 19, 1942 paratroopers, mostly Canadians, were defeated by the Germans, losing 4,350 people (mainly prisoner), 1 destroyer, 33 means of landing the landing, 106 aircraft and 33 tanks. The Germans lost 46 aircraft and 600 people killed . - Ed.) and smaller subsequent raids stimulated the Germans to improve their defense, and also taught the allies of many instructive lessons for them and gave them a lot important information. The Germans expected the landing will happen rather through Pa-de-Cala (however, Hitler guessfully guessed that the landing would be in Normandy. - Ed.), Because here it was the shortest distance around the sea to the mainland and there were fewer difficult areas of terrain. But due to the possible allied landing, the German troops were dispersed along the coast, and their defense lacked the depth. Nevertheless, the Atlantic Shaft was impressive - with guns of all calibers on equipped firing positions. In some places, the thickness of the reinforced concrete reached 3 m.

To this, it is necessary to add areas of flooding, anti-tank pivops, mine fields, obstacles to disembarking, barbed wire of coastal barriers, mines above and under the surface of the water, natural obstacles such as rocks were used. The miniature "Goliath" or "Beetles" with remote control was ready. In some areas, which were probable landing sites, the Germans prepared the fields for parachutists with sharp stakes ahead with a barbed wire (called "Asparagus Rommel").

Allied landing in Normandy

The Germans in the West were about 60 (38. - Ed.) Divisions, but they were scattered. (Against the USSR in the Soviet-German front operated 179 divisions and 5 Brigades of Germans, and the most combed. - Ed.) In Normandy, only some of these troops were used in the coast defense. The divisions faced by the invasion of the allies were second class, with the exception of one. It was the 352nd Division, defending the coast site, which on Operational Maps of the Allies was as "Omaha" (landing section of the 1st American Army. - Ed.). The 716 division was the west of the River ORN, 91, 709, 77 and 243rd divisions were located on the Cotanen Peninsula. The 21st Tank Division in readiness for the counterattack was southeast of Kana. The 12th Tank Division and the training tank division, which included the I SS tank corps, which was deployed in the Seine east of Paris, could only be involved in direct order from Berlin. Along the coast of Pa de Cala, there were 17 German divisions, including several tank divisions, but they could not move from place without the permission of the upstream.

From the radio operate of conversations between the Military Police jeeps in England, the Germans knew which parts were in England and where they were located. An unexpected termination of such negotiations meant a period of anxiety, which was noted on time with German intelligence, but there was no proper attention to the timely alert in the threat of invasion.

In order to hold the bridgehead after disembarking, there would be huge and long efforts on the mainland, and the Americans were significantly important to capture the port as soon as possible here - so that you can use a reliable supply channel from the United States. The port, the Cherbourba became in advance for this. It was extremely necessary to have a good port, because the supply of stretched troops would quickly become inadequate if it was conducted through an unsuitable coast.

The Commanders of the Allied Air Force believed that there was no need during the invasion. They even refused to take part in him, and the Supreme Commander had to oppose them by dismissal. From allied aviation, it was necessary to take control of coastal territories and water management, coordinatedly supporting the intended invasion. The Commanders of the Air Force seemed that Germany could be defeated only by bombing. Continuing the air bombings of Germany, in early 1944, they began bombardments of goods transported by railway France, enhance them with the onset of May. The Air Force also disabled many German radar stations, intentionally leaving ten of them in working condition. The work of these stations should have been violated before the invasion - with the help of airplanes, ships, balloon aerostats and strips of foil dropped from airplanes.

The divisions of the Air Force and Naval Forces three weeks set mines in La Manche before the invasion began to protect the flanks of caravans of the courts of the landing. Twelve fleets of mine trashmen were highlighted in order to be confident that the path for caravans is free. But these were just some of the preparations done. The latitude and scale of the plans were ambitious.

When carrying out the movement of troops in England, they were divided into attacking forces, the forces following the attackers, the strength of preliminary buildup (they all started landing on the day "D") plus troops of the usual strengthening and replenishment centers that had to use returning vessels for the loading of new troops. Combat technique was marked with well-recognized code-colors and numbers. The troops in England gradually nominated from their areas of basing and combat training to the areas of concentration, was further built and moved to the place of loading. American troops went from the Western ports of England, and British troops are from the eastern and southern ports of the British coast. The supply objects of troops were to be prepared in the prefabricated artificial harbors or floating docks called "silkovitsa", under the protection of malls called "gooseberries". The British artificial harbor should have been (after the success of the landing) from Arromanian, and the American harbor - in Saint-Laurent. In order to drag these gigantic structures through La Mans, it took a hundred tugs. In addition, a pipeline called "Pluto" should be laid through La Mans - for pumping fuel. Even by the end of the first day of the invasion of the plan, there was already an existence on the shore of 1500 tanks, 5 thousand other tracked machines, 3 thousand guns and 10,500 wheel machines.

The French underground should be raised to help the invasion forces - to make sabotage on the wired communication lines - to break the communications of the Germans. The plan for planting the upcoming troops was partially dictated by the number of land-carrying facilities that had available, and it was limited due to the need for them at other host theaters. The fleet allocated 4200 landing vessels, 1,200 merchant ships and 700 naval ships. In total, the fleet was numbed 9 thousand courts, including transport, ships-rocket mines (something like Katyush on ships. - Ed.), Airborne ships, mine traders, control ships, boob installation vessels, etc., most of which were carrying the balloon aokers to protect against enemy aircraft. There were also 1658 aircraft for landing the air landing, 867 special gliders (for the same purposes), 2 thousand heavy bombers and 11 thousand medium bombers and fighters. All this and many more other techniques needed to organize in such a way that each connection corresponds to its place in combat order.

The accepted plan was assumed that the US forces coming on both sides of the Gran-Vo Bay (Quarantana), capture Cherbourg and join Saint-Lo with the British. The British and Canadians had to come to the east of the US troops, on the Bokage Willer, Saint-Lo and Kan. On the path of Americans there were several fake areas, and the British (including Canadians) were waiting for many small German reference points in the villages, and then a wooded area with glades, forest belts on the fields, mounds and dwines, which lowestly for maneuver armored vehicles.

The coast on which landed was carried out was divided from the west to the east as follows.

The flanks were to be protected by landing two airborne divisions on the Cotanen Peninsula and one airborne division east of the landing site. The borders of the British scope of responsibility on the coast were denoted by two mini-submarines that were pulling Bui.

The 82nd and 101st airborne divisions of the United States should have landed southeast and west of Saint-Mer-Egliz two echelons to secure the frontier of the DV River. The first echelon mostly consisted of parsheys of parachutists (with several gliders), and the second included gliders in tow in aircraft. In the second echelon there were several semicircular jeeps. Each division also had a sea assault echelon with tanks, bulldorators, trucks and heavy weapons. The task of airborne divisions was to block the German reserves, which will try to strengthen the part of the coastal defense, and attack the positions of the Germans on the coast from the rear.

The 6th British Airborne Division, partially composed of parachute troops and partly from glider detachments, was to land north and east of Cana. As with the airborne forces of the United States, the British had a second airborne echelon and echelon of the maritime assault, but only they had landed tanks and special landing armored repair and evacuation machines to use them in a collision during an emergency landing operation.

Significant forces were supposed to stay for three weeks in England to mislead the Germans - it left an open threat to another landing in the Para de Cala, which will force their troops there. Then these forces of the Allies were to land to strengthen the impact in the final breakthrough in the depths of France from the coastar. In order to make this deception even more reliable, the troops remained in England, every day after the invasion loaded the ships, which were despaired at dusk, and with the onset of darkness returned to the ports and unloaded.

The basic tactics of landing in Americans and the British was different. The Americans planned to direct the ahead of the Achelon of DD Tank-Amphibians, who were followed by the infantry for five minutes, with another echelon per hour "h", and another minute to plant the first echelon attacking infantry. For them at the hour "h" plus, three minutes alternately followed the army and fleet combat swimmers and sappers to undermine coastal obstacles and fortifications. Then, starting from the hour "h" plus thirty minutes and every seven minutes after that, another echelon infantry and support troops were planted.

DD tanks were called so because they were equipped with double rowing screws, from here and the name Duplex Drive (Double Engine. - Ed.). Tanks were covered with folding inflatable tarpaulin pontoon, bonded rubber tubes. This device made a tank amphibian from Sherman; The tarpaulin pontoon by reaching the coast could quickly "be blown away", that is, the air came out of the tubes, and the tarp case was reset, so that we could use weapons.

According to the plan on the coast, there were 400 tanks of all types after three minutes after the initial landing in the hour "h" plus three minutes, 1500 - in the evening a day "D" and 4200 15 days after the day "D". All cars, with the exception of DD tanks, could overcome water obstacles to 1.8 m depth.

The British planned to use much more armored vehicles in relation to infantry (in percentage terms) than the Americans at the initial stage of the offensive. Americans were going to use DD tanks who followed the Sherman Tank Standard, and Tank Tank Tanks M-10 and M-36 (both on Sherman's chassis, the last with a 90-mm gun), which landed with landing ships in addition to the bulldozer Tanks and unarmed bulldozers. The British in addition to using DD tanks (as the heads in the offensive) planned to largely engage the specialized armored vehicles of the 79th Tank Division. It was a combination of 1500 tracked machines whose analogues in the US army was not. The Americans were offered a special armored vehicle of this division, but they were skeptical to its utility.

This specialized armored vehicles included "crabs", or trash tanks, with a lobby trawl for undermining mines, engineering tanks AVRES, i.e., landing facilities - "Churchilli" with devices of throwing fugas charges, bulldozer tanks, "ark" (Churchilli with bridge equipment); Avres with explosives carried with them the removal arrows (or they were kept in the hands of the crew members), "Churchilli" with plow mine trawl BullShorn for digging mines from a soft earth or alumina coast, 20-mm and 40 mm anti-tank guns on the tank chassis " Cruseider "and" Centaur "," Crocodiles "(Cherchilla's flame retardant tanks)," coils "(" Churchilli "with bobbins or mild steel coils or tarpaulin - for laying the path on the tops)," Churchilli ", carrying Chevyeil Fascins, The memory of the First World War, and, finally, the standard "crumbled" and "Churchilli". Thus, there were devices for throwing bridges through moles and concrete walls, anti-mining devices, means for filling the funnels or a passage of soft soil, as well as to destroy the coastal barriers. Anti-mining tank rollers were also ready, but later they were abandoned, because victims among the crew members of the tanks with a booze trawl demanded their replacement by the prepared personnel.

Both army used rescue armored vehicles, but only the British brought with them a special landing armored repair and evacuation machines Barv (Beach Armored Recover Vehicles) on the basis of the American tank "Sherman" to solve the problems of saving cars in amphibian operation. Shermanov had a tower with tower and added supercontstructure with scores.

Shortly after midnight, on June 6, 1944, parachutical signals were reset ahead of the first echelons of airborne troops to mark with special signs of the area of \u200b\u200bdisembarking parachute and other landings. Not at all, by its fault, the signals could not fulfill their tasks in the US troops zone. The flights of landing aircraft were coordinated with the flights of their bombers and fighters. Since many landing aircraft and gliders were used, it was extremely important, given the superstar of airspace. American aircraft flew over the sea west of Cotanen Peninsula, then sharply folded to the east to the place of disembarking and, dropping people, gliders and cargo, went to the south to gain height, and then - back north to the east of the peninsula. The British flew south of Cana, moved in a circle to the east and, throwing their paratroopers, returned. Most of the glider troops were sent after the occurrence of the day. A lot of military equipment was lost, and many gliders crashed, especially those who landed at night. An American landing has scattered through a large area. After the initial landing began towing the second echelon.

Fifty special detachments of the fifth column were also planted from the air, and the French underground was raised on the alarm. Commands of explosive submariners or combat swimmers were used for the first time, but they did not begin to act up to the hour "h" plus three minutes. These operations were not well coordinated enough, because until the invasion of them was not great interest. As a result, the loss among combat swimmers were high, and with their joint action with the troops, the disembodied infantry had to warn against the actions in the places of subversive operations of combat swimmers.

At about the same time, when the air landing was taken, the British bomber command began to bombard the invasion area and behind it. This task was continued to carry out the US Air Force after dawn, but solid clouds from Omaha required bombing on devices. The average bombers flew below, but part of the bombs were not reset, others were dropped into the sea, and some three miles deep into the territory. This was due to the fact that the Air Force changed the plan, which suggested the bombardment parallel to the coast. Instead, the aircraft bombed towards landing from the sea. As a result, there were little benefit from such bombing on the squares as supported by landing. In the depths of the French territory, heavy bombers bombed bridges through Seine (east of the landing site) and through Loire (south of landing), forcing the reinforcements of the Germans to follow bypass. This is despite the fact that the Germans had no local commanders (the commander of the 7th Army, who defended this area, was on the exercises in Brittany, who commanded the troops on the coast of La Manha Rommel a day before the invasion went to Germany, for the birthday of his wife to the city of Ulm And in the morning on June 6, she was going to visit Hitler - because he knew that the sea would be stormy. - Ed.), And the commander of the troops on the Western Front Rundstedt was to receive approval from Berlin to any movement of troops. All this made it possible to create a bridgehead, but for some time it was associated with great risk.

Due to failure with parachuts-signals 101, the US airborne division landed in an extensive area of \u200b\u200b25 x 40 km instead of a planned limited area to the north-west of Saint-Mer-Egliz. One regiment of the 82nd airborne division fell close enough to the planned place, but other parts of the division turned out to be scattered, and they all lost a large amount of military equipment. However, this misunderstanding was one advantage. It was the reason for the general confusion of the Germans, especially when the release of hundreds of parachute-dolls was added to this with fireworks attached to them. And besides, the landing of the US airborne landing took place in the area of \u200b\u200bdislocation of only one German division, which was not warned that the invasion was inevitable. One of the reasons for the broad scatter of the American landing was that in the second echelon gliders there were too many inexperienced pilots. The intensive fire of the anti-aircraft gun forced them, like pilots of the tug-drivers, choose the tactics of evasion and knock the course.

The 6th British Airborne Division was packed in a much more compact area to take the River Organ. This division was the only one who used the tanks. Her tanks were light MK VII "Tetrarch" (weight 7.62 tons. Crew 3 people. Armament - 40 mm gun and machine gun. Crucible thickness: 16mm forehead, 14 mm board, 4-16 mm tower, speed up to 64 km / h), eight of these tanks carried the Gamilkar gliders who flew in the second echelon. Tank engines were launched at a time when they were still transported by air. One tank failed, breaking the nose of the glider, over the la-manshal. The rest landed on land. One glider landed his nose into the ground and caught fire, but the driver of the tank managed to break through the fire and get out alive. Most of the landed tanks were immobilized when they drove through the fields, freeing from parachutes, and they were confused in gear gears and caterpillars. Another eight "tetrarhov" were delivered to the echelon of the maritime assault and were used as blister or mobile reference points. Later "tetrarch" were replaced by twelve "crummels" delivered by the sea.

News reports that the M-22 tanks are used by air, M-22, were used, did not correspond to reality, although they were provided to the British earlier for this purpose. However, the armament of "tetrars" was better suitable as an anti-tank, than weapons M-22.

While the landing of an air landing was carried out, the fleet delivered to the coast of the forces of the marine assault. Initially, the invasion was scheduled for June 1, postponed until June 5 and again postponed for one day. The fleet turned back, gathered in the morning of June 5 and swam again. Mine trawls were in front of the mines and who celebrated ten passes sea Path. In the lunar night, the fleet sailed unnoticed under the huge air "umbrella" of the cover. At the invasion, 170 squadrons of fighters were involved, and 10 squadrons were constantly maintained for flights over the coast.

The wind was the force of 15-20 knots (1 node \u003d 1.87 km / h), and the height of the waves from 1.5 to 2.1 m. It puts small vessels into a very difficult situation, and thousands of soldiers began a maritime disease. At the site of the coast "Utah", the wind has slightly decreased, and the waves have become less high. The landing boats LCVP, on each of which were thirty soldiers, took troops, and the TankaDest ships of LCT with armored vehicles were at sea, about 20 km from larger vessels. The shelling of the coast from the marine guns began at 5.21 - from 6 (seven. - Ed.) Linkov, 2 monitors, 22 (24. - Ed.) cruisers and 93 destroyers (74. - Ed.). In 5.35, German coastal batteries opened fire, and in 5.50 ship guns switched to the fire with smoke shells, after what the bombardment of the future bridgehead was followed by 9 thousand aircraft, most of the bombs, as already mentioned, wasted. The destroyers provided direct support for the landing of fire, and when an advanced echelon came up, ships with rocket weapons, which were two hundred 5-inch (127-mm) reactive mortars, provided even more efficient direct fire support. Self-propelled artillery attitudes supported the paratroopers by the dargent fire, while still on their landing ships.

The actual landing on the sections of the coast "Utah" and "Omaha" (the American 1st Army) began at 6.30, and between 7.30 and 8.00 - at the sections of the coast "Gold", "Juno" and "Suduord" (2nd British army) . For some of the coast of British responsibility, the landing was postponed at a later time due to fluctuations in tides and sings.

On the coast of the Utah plot, the 4th division was organized in the column of the regiments of two battalions on the front (front in 2000 m). She had to take the coast and move to the West to connect from the 82nd airborne division. Each landing ship delivered an assault team from thirty people to a distance of about 100 meters from the coast, and the remaining segment of the shallow water soldiers overcame Vyod. DD tanks were to be descended for 6.5 km from the coast, but were delivered to 3 with a small kilometer, because coastline Some degrees protected from the wind. Two rounds of the 70th tank battalion with DD tanks were lowered to the water to the left, but instead of arriving in front of the infantry at the hour "h" minus five minutes, most of the surviving cars arrived with a delay of fifteen minutes, although some tanks and landed with The first echelon of infantry and helped the infantrymen to overcome about 500 m of open space on the coast. Four tanks that did not get down to the shore, blew up on the way on the underwater mine.

The Werereville on the right were planted two companies DD tanks of the 743th tank battalion, eight of them arrived on time, the rest - with the first echelon. The busty segregates did not stop the tanks, which moved into the depths of sushi along the girls, etc. 32 Tank M4A1 "Sherman" from the two remaining mouth of two tank battalions were brought ashore shortly after the departing of the first echelon.

It was necessary to continue to move into the depths of the country to release the place to subsequent echelons. At the sector of the "Utah", it did not make a lot of work. Although the landing was made in 1.5 km of the south of the outlined place (due to underwater flow, as well as smoke and dust, covered coastal signs), the landing has no particular difficulties with the onset through the light areas, and it does not suffer large losses.

In other things, it was in the landing site "Omaha". There, the defense of the Germans was impressive. The advanced firefire allies was not too effective, although part of the German mines were undermined. However, after an hour "h", artillery provided good support in the suppression of German fire and in the breakdown of German counterattacks. The 2nd battalion of the Rangers landed at the Po D "UI. The shock groups of the 1st and 29th divisions hit the sloping sandy and rocky shores between Verville and Port An-Born, and in their landing, there were waves, and then High sheer coastal rocks. Two companies of the DD tanks of the 741th tank battalion, which had to land ahead of the infantry per hour "h" minus five minutes, were lowered by an irresponsible commander of the TankaDesting ship LCT in the open sea, almost 6 km from the coast. To those believed Twenty-seven from thirty-two tanks drowned, and only two reached the coast. Three other tanks could not get out of their LCT due to the fact that they had jammed the ramp, and they were brought to the shore as it was necessary to do with others. On the shore Tanks have had difficulty engagement of caterpillars on the surface of the surface.

Thirty two tanks M4A1 741th battalion, which should also land before the 29th Infantry Division, prevented a high wave, and they were delivered to the shore with M4A1 with bulldozer equipment belonging to the third company. Two of sixteen tank-bulldozers drowned with their LCT.

The first echelon followed combat swimmers and sappers, then the following echelons of infantry and armored vehicles. Dukw, or amphibian trucks that delivered artillery, sunk, and the troops lost the planned artillery support. Since the troops were pressed against the ground with deadly fire of the Germans, they did not move into the departure of the territory, and the subsequent wave of the landing caused full chaos.

There were other problems on the Omaha coast. The demolition of the flow in the eastern direction was not so significant as it was at the shore of Utah, but here he had more serious consequences. The cargo of each individual soldier was too large, and many soldiers who went to the shore of Vbod, drowned, as well as many wounded on the shore during the tide. A failed attempt to destroy the coastal defense by preliminary bombardment slowed down the offensive of the first echelon - despite the fact that more and more troops accumulated as a mall as the subsequent echelons arrived ashore. Besides the funnels, which, as expected, arose as a result of carpet bombing, was not on the way. Many officers died and the management of troops was lost. LCT circled near the shore, realizing that the schedule was ripped, and were not sure whether it was worth trying to produce a further landing of the landing. The Germans tried to use their "Goliapha" to undermine the landing ships that swam to the shore. They didn't really succeed, but the other German weapons caused large losses to allies. By 9.30 the situation became critical. Nevertheless, the commanders appeared on the course of the day during the day and small combat groups were formed, which began to leak into the depths of the country.

At the British sites of landing "Gold", "Juno" and "Suduord" walked a little better. As with all landings of the landing, armored vehicles had to go ahead, but instead of DD tanks planned to go ahead with the detachments of special armored vehicles. They had to punch the bars in the defense, allowed the infantry and other armored vehicles. However, the turbulent sea made some changes made.

Le-Amel on the bank of Gold entered the responsibility zone of the landing-sabotage parts of the Marine Commandos. One of these parts was a tank support group. This part was armed with an eightweight "Centaur" tanks, equipped with 95-mm Gaubes, and twenty tanks "Sherman". "Centaurs" were fastened with pips on LCT in the sea, and Shermans landed as the head of the advanced artillery observers to adjust the fire from "Centaurs". "Centaurs" were later planted, which were used to provide fire support a few kilometers in the depths of the territory, when the infantry was coming.

The 50th division was planted to the left of Commandos. Special tank squads went ahead. One landing ship was chopped, and the advanced Avre sank, breaking the way to others until the wrong occurrence. One passed passage was blocked by the blown tank "crab", while others were blocked by blown by AVRE. In some cases, "crabs" were on the shore of the only tanks with guns. Several AVRE were used in the offensive or to fill the funnels, or to remove some interfering machines from the way. A few hours after the first assays of the landing, the regiment from thirty-six DD tanks of the 8th tank brigade was planted with dry from the attached to the shore of LCT (because the waves did not allow to immediately pull the tanks on the water). Eleven tanks were lost on the shore, mostly due to mines.

The stormy sea also slowed down the disembarkation of armored vehicles coming. La Rivière Tank-Mostotchik was posted one bridge, which was used by DD tanks when moving deep into the territory. Here the fire of Germans destroyed ten DD tanks.

On the section of the shore "Juno" the 3rd Infantry Canadian Division, which was supposed to land at 7.55, reached the shore for thirty-five minutes later. The current echelons attributed east of the planned landing sites. DD Tanks of the 2nd Canadian Tank Division were lowered in water 800 meters from the coast. Two tanks were lost along the way. Ten other profits in time to be ahead of the troops, and covered their landing. Twelve DD tanks of the 8th Canadian Tank Division were late. They were launched in the water 800 meters from the coast, and four tanks were lost. Another group of DD tanks was late for an hour and landed dry, losing three tanks on the shore. Saint-Oben, on the eastern edge of the Canadian liability zone, tightly closed tank, trying to get to the shelter, moved the wounded and killed. The captain of the British Commandos tried to attract the crew attention. When he could not succeed, he fastened a tank caterpillar with a hand grenade. But in general, the landing of Canadians has passed quite successfully. By 01.00 Nights, La Rivier was performed a breakthrough, and the Canadian tank regiment advanced to almost Kana, but was recalled.

On the coastal plot, "Suduord" the Germans had stubbornly held wainters, but in the end he was taken by AVRES tanks, after which there was a connection with the 6th British Airborne Division. DD tanks were not descended, because it was decided that the waves were too high, and they landed themselves directly from the landing ships along with the infantry. "Crabs" were originally used to create free passes free of infantry. On some shores with a soft ground, BullShorn pllars were performed the same task, and it was precisely in these places that bridges and "coils" were involved, but the coverage made by the latter was quickly accounted for in disrepair during the technique. Avres Tanks and Bulldozers Tanks were used to level the surface of the territory and blast the moles.

The 41st landing and sabotage division of the Commandos of the Marine Infantry formed a link with the coastal section "Juno". For the 3rd British division supported by the 27th tank brigade with DD tanks, eight teams of "coils", tank-browsers and other tanks. Many "crabs" were chopped, or they were ruined by mines. One part of the thirty-four DD tanks was launched 5 km from the coast, and two tanks were sank when the nasal part of the tank modest ship is covered with the ramp (due to the unsuccessful position of the ship towards the waves). Many would still sank if there were not few shots from the British ship with rocket weapons, which paid attention and made LCT hastily change the course. Five DD tanks blew up on mines when they reached the coast. One infantry battalion was to be brought into the territory of these tanks, but because the tanks were late, the infantry was moving without them, and the tanks were joined to her later.

To the occurrence of darkness on the site "Utah", the troops were moved to the depths of sushi and along the coast to the north, connecting from the 101st airborne division of the West Saint Marino-Mor, but the connection has not yet happened with the divisions of this division north of Quarantand and With several groups of the 82nd airborne division in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Central Egliz area. On the landing site "Omaha", small groups broke through in several areas between Saint Laurent and a collebrus and south of Verville. On the coastal plot "Gold" was taken bye. In areas of landing "Suda" and "Juno", allied troops have penetrated into the depths of the territory for 5 km.

The 21st German tank division from midnight occupied both shores of the river ORN outside Cana, but did not receive any orders. The commander on his own initiative sent to 6.30 ahead of the tank group, and then after a few hours he received an order to attack. The division went to the attack at 15.00. Eleven her tanks were chopped by the British fire, but the rest reached the coast. When they approached, the planer of the second echelon was launched by the 6th British Airborne Division, which led the Germans into confusion. They retreated for a while and parted, remaining in place for several weeks. (The author, to put it mildly, Lucavit. The Germans fought as they could, but, after going to the shore, hit the fire of 381-mm tools of the battleships and were forced to move away, continuously reflecting the enemy from the coast and exposed to constant aviation raids from the sea, from the rear. O The actions of the 21st German Tank Division in Normandy, see, for example, MEMUARS HANSA Luke "On the Tank Wedge Tree", p. 273-323. - Ed.)

The US losses amounted to 33,326 people, and only 197 of them died on the coastal plot of Utah. Canadians lost 18,514 people, and the losses of the British amounted to 15,595 people. 12 out of 50 "crabs" and 22 of 120 AVRES were disabled. (According to C. Ryan. The Longest Day iUneb, 1944, New York, 1959, p. 303, the loss of Americans on the first day of the operation amounted to 6603 people, including 1465 killed and 3184 injured; British and Canadians - about 4 thousand people killed, injured and missing. - Ed.) The losses in the other armored vehicles did not exceed fifty units. The United States has lost no more than 75 tanks. The losses of the Germans are unknown, except that the 21st German tank division lost 11 tanks. (Unknown to the author of the losses of the Germans, primarily from the blows of aviation and art bras, were heavy. - Ed.)

It seems that the more significant losses that the Americans suffered were caused by their relative failure in the use of armored vehicles in large quantities, as well as ignoring those capabilities that have opened a special armored vehicle in front of them, which British from their 79th tank division were identified. It is quite difficult to understand the position of Americans on this. In part, it is probably caused by excessive self-confidence. In part, it may be due to the reluctance of Americans to adopt the Council of British, despite the fact that it was based on the experience of Diepe and other raids in the position of the German coastal defense for last years. But, despite these technical differences, there are not so many shortcomings in the planning of operations at allies, and, of course, they were able to use an element of surprise.

The unified command of the Allied Coalition has manifested itself in this first large testing quite well. The only major failure was the unilateral decision of the Army Air Force, changing the plan for bombing, which reduced its results and led to unnecessary victims in the troops planted on the coast.

On the other hand, the main weakness of the Germans manifested itself in the field of a single command and in the interpretation of intelligence. Commanding german forces In Normandy (Rommel), was absent when the invasion of the forces of the Union Coalition began. This, of course, played his role as the fact that Hitler personally controlled the forces that could be used for a counterattack, and prevented measures to make measures, which would have made the task of creating and holding the coastar much more difficult. (The total losses of the allies in humans from June 6 to July 24 amounted to about 122 thousand, including 73 thousand Americans and 49 thousand English and Canadians. The Germans lost about 113 thousand people. - Ed.)

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The Second World War, which began on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945, has long been described by historians and memoirists as painful and bloody movement from one decisive battle to another. Other of them lasted several days, other months. Among them were gigantic battles, such as, for example, multi-month battles in North Africa, the assault of the Japanese islands in the Pacific Ocean, the battle in Ardennes, Stalingrad or Kursk battle. Millions of fighters, thousands of tanks and aircraft participated in these battles. The consumption of arms and ammunition was calculated by many thousands of tons per day, human victims with several thousand per day. There were a lot of such battles during the war in Europe and in Asia and still disembarking the Anglo-American armices in Normandy, under the codenate name "Overlord", which began early in the morning of June 6, 1944, was a phenomenon unique in the history of all wars! Its scale and results, her technical equipmentHer influence on post-war matters in the world forced even Stalin to estimate this event to dignity. In the congratulatory telegram Churchill of June 11, 1944, Stalin wrote: "History will celebrate this event as an achievement of higher order!"

Napoleon during the war with England gathered a huge army on the mainland for landing it in the English coast. Hitler did the same during World War II. But both of them did not decide on landing, realizing that there were very few chances for success, and the risk of losing their army is very large. We, former citizens of the USSR and Russia, are known for this event, if it is generally known. Even after the past dozen years, Russian publications about the war do not contain any reliable information about D-Day, as is customary to call this event in Western sources. Communist regime in the USSR diligently hid from its citizens the huge role that the allies of England and America played during the war of the Soviet Union with Germany. Now we can assume that without the help of the allies in the period 1941-1942, the USSR would not have surrendered against the Germans. But, this is a special topic and not about it now.

I remember well how the whole war and after it, Soviet people said: "The allies did not fought." If we measure participation in the war number of human losses, then the allies did not only fought, but did not know that he was going on. They fighting at the same time in Europe and Asia, lost ten times less killed than the Red Army. Moreover, Soviet propaganda suddrew that the allies do not open the second front in Europe, intentionally contributing to the weakening of the USSR in the war. A lot of things have yet been broadcasting the Soviet press and radio to fall on the "inaction of the Allied countries" the progress of the country and the war of Comrade Stalin and his team. Why valid until June 1944, the Allies of the USSR did not open the second front in France. After all, and in their interests it was more likely to finish the war. England was already almost bankrupt!

Unlike Humanitarian historians, for some reason I apologize to the reader for bringing "boring" numbers, I will not apologize for it. I do not see any boredom in numbers and I think that without numbers it is impossible to present the scale correctly historical events. Moreover, the lack of digits allows you to distort the events and often turns the historian in an ideologist and even the party leader.

Let's start with numbers. In the first day, 150 thousand soldiers and officers were shipped with 6 thousand large and small ships. 9 thousand tons of various goods, 3 thousand tons of fuel, 2 thousand trucks, and jeeps. Several hundred guns, tens of tanks, etc.

Only on the overload of all this from ships, 2 thousand people worked on the ships. And it is only in the first day! How could one ship such a number of cargo to the shore for such a short time? By this time, tens of thousands of special landing vessels were built. Among them were small vessels for landing the platoon of fighters with light small arms. There were also large landing ships, approaching close to the shore with folding noses - ramps, according to which tanks were traveled out of the trims, heavy guns with tug cars, hundreds of jeeps, and thousands of heavy trucks loaded with ammunition boxes. All this was complicated by the stormy sea, the storm wind and the fierce resistance of the Germans, located at high to 30 meters of the shores. The Germans were built reinforced concrete bins with hundreds of guns and machine guns. The coast and small part of the beaches were littered with mines, barbed wire and steel hedgehogs. To destroy them, for the suppression of fire from heights, the Germans fired 14 linkers from the caliber guns from 5 to 16 inches, approached the extremely near distance To the shore. Seventy cruisers and one and a half hundreds of the squadrons of the destroyer shot along the shore from all guns! Hundreds of missing barges wrapped on the enemy the vololates from 70 major missiles in each. Even the old Linor "Texas" was involved in the construction of 1912 with six 12; guns and twelve 6;.

Thousands of allied aircraft provided full superiority in the air. Transport aircraft supplied with ammunitions of parachutes thrown at night in the depths of the German defense. Thousands of heavy bombers bombed German fortifications on the shore. Hundreds of fighters did not let the landing places of almost a single German bombarder, attack aircraft or fighter.

From the first day of the landing allies began to build a temporary port, without which the operation would be doomed to failure. Again the numbers and nothing but digits! Before capturing on September 14, the first major port of Antwerp, which could only be captured by a combined blow from the sea and sushi, to the shore using a temporary port with the code name Malberry was delivered 2.5 million fighters and other staff of several armies, 500 thousand cars and 4 million Tons of various cargo from ammunition and tanks before food and medicines. In order to collect and focus in the ports of England, such a number of people and cargo took two years of intense preparatory work in English and American shores. Yes, and plan such a complex operation

During the year on large passenger ships, including the famous "Queen Mary I", a displacement of 80 thousand tons, from America in England transported entire divisions. The speeds of these vessels were so great that they were not afraid of low-rise submarines and walked across the Atlantic without combat effort. One "Queen Mary" after re-equipment from the luxurious ocean liner in a transport vessel could take on board 10 thousand soldiers! She crossed the ocean for four to five days depending on the weather. Without a deep-water port with arrows and cranes, planting such a number of people and equipment was unthinkable! In England, they were in excess. And in Normandy? Naked beach!

Starting from 1943, 150 thousand people went to England every month until their number reached 2.5 million people. Then they joked that under this load, plus tens of thousands of airplanes, tanks, guns and trucks Little England drowshes in the ocean. In England, aircraft were transported to England, food and ammunition. However, most of the goods were transported from America on conventional low-speed transport ships. Atlantic Kishel German submarines and until they were destroyed for two thirds by the end of 1943 there was nothing to think about the transfer of such a number of troops, equipment and ammunition. In addition, the sea was rich in millions of mines. On the destruction of hundreds of German submarines are written by exciting books, this struggle was so complex and dangerous! And not only the fleet, but also electronic technology.

Already from these numbers it is clear why the allies could not exercise landing in Normandy before. It was necessary to collect a gigantic army with full weapons. We needed the mountains of weapons and techniques. Allies war began to be completely unprepared for such an operation. In America, the beginning of the war there were no 150 tanks and no more than 1,500 aircraft of all kinds. But, if it truthfully describe events, it should be mentioned that in the summer of 1943 the allies landed large landings first in Sicily, and then on the main territory of Italy in the city of Salerno. At least 22 German divisions fought in the summer of 1943 in Italy with allied troops. At the height of the Kursk battle, which began on July 5, 1943, Feldmarshal Manstein's tank army was urgently transferred on July 10 from under Kursk to Italy. Was it the second front?

And if you recall the ambitious defeat of the Army of Feldmarshal Rommel in North Africa in the spring of 1943, when the allies destroyed and captured 250 thousand German soldiers and officers, the opening of the second front can be moved at the end of 1942. Let me remind you to readers that almost at the same time under Stalingrad was defeated by the Army of Feldmarshal Paulus as part of 250 thousand people. However, landing in Normandy surpassed along the scale and most importantly on the degree of risk all the previous allies operations.

England, a country with a population twice as smaller than Germany, in the summer of 1940 he lost all its weapons on the continent, when France essentially refused to fight and the entire expeditionary corps of the British at 350 thousand people could miraculously crush in England almost only with rifles. Thousands of guns, tanks, armored personnel carriers and other heavy weapons were lost and they had to be re-made. And England led already then the war with Japan in East Asia and on the infinite expanses of the Pacific Ocean. Soon America joined her. Hundreds of ships, thousands of aircraft and dozens of marine infantry divisions fought there with the Japanese.

But, back to the beaches of Normandy! The landing began simultaneously in five districts of Coastal Normandy between the cities of Havre and Cherbourg. These five beaches stretched 50 miles and were distributed between the armies of England, Canada and America. Americans planted on two of them. Their conditional names -Tah and Omaha. In the first hours of landing for troops and equipment, as I have already written, was delivered to the shore only from the landing vessels and cars of amphibians with a carrying capacity of 2.5 tons. So far, the Germans have not pulled to the beaches completely armed tank and motorized divues Allies could successfully capture their coastal fortifications. But with the arrival of the main german forces, they would be able to fight without constant deliveries of huge amounts of technology, people and ammunition. We needed thousands of tons of combustible, food and even water together with hundreds of tons of medicines.

I needed a steady wired connection. It was impossible to deliver all this without constant port structures.

The Allies understood this and began the construction of gigantic reinforced concrete flol blocks in advance to the Council and sketches of Churchill, who made up the elements of future berths and waxes. Their code name "Phoenix". These caissons were built 23. The giant blocks had the following dimensions in meters: 18 x 18 x 60. The construction of them took 9 months and demanded 20 thousand workers who worked and night. Hollow blocks had a positive buoyancy and in the first hours of disembarking their tugs were taken to the beaches on which the battle was still going. To whom, as not Churchill, it was known about how collapse an attempt to disembarking major military connections to a hostile coast without proper training, supply and exploration. He paid for such an attempt in 1915 by a ministerial post and many other major troubles. In the first world war, an attempt of the English troops falling from the sea on the coast of Turkey in Gallipoli in February 1915. With the help of Germans, the Turks have long kept and dropped the British in the sea with huge victims. The initiator of the operation was the first Lord Admiralty Sir Winston Churchill! And although he did not command it, all the blame for the failure dumped at him.

But back to concrete blocks. They were filled with water and flooded in the right places, the following blocks were supplied to them, their surface flat parts turned into berths, highly high above the surface of the water. It was no less important that these were excellent waveres, who were together protected from the wind and waves of the harbor. Her code name "Malberry". Of these, long berthwasters were drawn up and heavy loads could be taken to beaches with ordinary cargo ships having lifting cranes. However, the construction of breakwaters and berths was only part of the problem. They were flooded perpendicular to the shore and at a considerable distance from it. Their high, 18 meter walls did not allow them to use them as arrivals near the shore.

It is known that the sea coast on the beaches is very slightly and the depth of several meters is sometimes in a hundred and more than a meter from sushi. For the transportation of goods to the shore, pontoon bridges were built with hinged joints, which allowed the sections of the bridges to rise and descend in accordance with the water level during tides and sings, as well as in the event of a sea unrest. One end bridges was attached to the caissons, the other end went to the land. With these bridges, loaded trucks, tanks and guns with their own move or in a tug drove to the shore. Part of the vololates was composed of 70 old ships, which were flooded in the necessary places. The total length of the vololates was 7.5 kilometers. Large, comfortable harbor.

It should be mentioned that in the future fuel and lubricating oils were delivered to the shore from England along three pipelines laid along the bottom of La Mansha. June 12 pipelines long in 30 miles each began to work! Communication was carried out on an underwater cable, also laid after disembarking. Laying pipelines was a very difficult task. A flexible tube was wounded on a giant drum with a diameter of several meters. The drum towed from the coast of England to the place of disembarkation, the pipe was unwound and lay on the bottom. And all this with very fresh weather! Pumping stations were constructed by this time on the shore.

Now it is clear how the disembarkation was provided in the first days of battle. However, this is not all. It should be mentioned that in 1942 a test landing of the Allies division was taken in the French coast near the city of Diepp. Without preliminary intelligence, without port structures and, therefore, without heavy weapons, the division was crushed and the remnants of it are reset in the sea. The shore was very reinforced, large German connections were quickly delivered to Dieppe on the railway and the landing ended with nothing but the loss of several hundred soldiers and allied officers. Their command realized that it was impossible to land on the coast, controlled by the enemy. The next landing was preparing seriously. In addition to those preparations that were mentioned above, I had to land from small boats at night a group of people who brave soil samples in places of the expected landing and studied shores. Often they exploded the enemy radars. When disembarking, Dieppe turned out that the sandy and pebblent grounds of the beach are not suitable for the passage of tanks. They bucks on pebbles or deeply buried the caterpillars in wet sand. There was little sense from them. One burden.

It was necessary to build special machines to overcome this obstacle. We needed cars for clearing the beaches. Suppers do not go there. They will be traveled from machine guns in a few minutes! This involved military engineer Major Percy Hobart. The basis for such cars was taken a tank with heavy armor. In front to it were suspended on two parallel steel beams rotating drums, hung with segments of steel chains. Received a mine trawl. When driving a tank, the drum rotated, the chains of pounding on the ground and undermined mines. The explosions could not damage the tank. From fragments, the crew was covered with armor and the mines exploded far ahead of the caterpillars, without damaging them. On another type of machines on the same beams, the drum was fastened, which was wound with a wrapped thick rubberized tarpaulin. The winding diameter was more than three meters.

When driving a tank, the tarpaulin was unwound, the tank went to the tarpaulin, and he lay ahead and behind the tank with a smooth and not moving road. The following tanks were going on her. Otherwise, the pebbles and the sand of the beach tanks could not move.

But that's not all! Tanks were built, guy ligaments of long logs were built. These ligaments fell into anti-tank Rips and tanks took place on brothers, bypassing ditch. Ships from which tanks went to the shore, laid and floating tanks were built. File floating light tanks were in the army of several countries, but these were fuels with anti-control armor. For the storming of the coast, the tank armed with anti-tank guns was clearly not suitable. Percy Hobart forced to swim tanks with guns 76 mm. And weighing over 30 tons that are not intended for swimming designers. He seal them and supplied them even with propeller screws. Let the reader present how much time and money, and the materials spent the allies to the construction of the whole of this port and assault economy. It is not surprising that it took two years in order to start a disembarking with hope for success. However, any military operation needs intelligence. She was held from the first days of war, because the British feared the landing of the Germans since 1940.

Along the coast, the Germans installed radar and radio stations to prevent English aircraft on the German territory.

It was required to know the location of their location, the type of installations, the methods of their protection. It was necessary to hack secret codes of the German army and fleet. Already in 1942, the Germans began to build along the coast so-called Western shaft for reflection of the landing of the allies from the British Islands.

British aviation began a systematic aerial photograph of the coast of Brittany. Ten of aircraft days a day at the light of the day photographed not only shore, but also located in the depths of the structure and the landscape. Hundreds of kilometers of film with five million frames were processed specially trained specialists. Special equipment allowed to take pictures three-dimensional and gradually the headquarters of the allies received a complete picture of the places where the disembarkation was coming and where there were further fights to capture a deeper bridgehead than a narrow band of the beaches. Dozens of pilots died, performing this task. Allies were interested not only by the defensive structures of the Germans. Automotive and railways, rivers and canals, bridges, railway stations were no less important. Already at night on the day of the landing, the Allied Aviation made an accurate bombardment of these objects, having degraded the Germans to bring ammunition and reinforcements to the places of battle. And during the three previous months, aviation allies dropped 66 thousand tons of bombs into German positions and roads. Some of them were consumed only to the deep funnels from heavy bombs were used by paratroopers as shelters in the first hours of battle! Striking, unparalleled concern for the life of fighters! For comparison; Marshal Zhukov drove soldiers to mine fields, once - mining them with such an "original" way from time saving. He told about this to General Eisenhawer, which was reflected in the memoirs of the latter. General Melancholically noticed there as long as he would have commanded, it would come to the Congress something like that. Military tribunal and shameful resignation would follow immediately! Different worlds, let's say. Different wars, different circumstances.

But the most, perhaps, the grandiose part of the upcoming operation was the events on the deception of the enemy. The Germans should not have known exactly the landing location. It was natural to expect that she would happen in the narrower area of \u200b\u200bLa Mansa from the city of Kale. However, the allies decided that the disembarking was more convenient than the west of this place. But La Mans is there three times wider! He should have keep the Germans in confidence that the landing would be where they assumed. At first, a brilliant operation was organized on the deception of the Hitler's General Staff. In London Morga, the corpse was found just killed from the tuberculosis of the worker. The tuberculosis lights at the opening give a picture of a lung man recently drowned in the sea water. The corpse was dressed in the form of Major of the English Army, attached to his brush with a steel chain with a special portfolio with "secret documents", sustain it for many hours in sea water to the medical condition required by the worker, organized a "catastrophe" over the sea of \u200b\u200bthe English aircraft, drowned at an inaccessible depth and pound The corpse from the submarine right away from the Spanish coast near Gibraltar.

Experts provided "drowning" such a set of documents, papers and paper, that sophisticated German counterintelligers did not teach fakes. In the pockets of Major Martin was a genuine ticket of the London cinema, where the dead man went before his death, the hotel's receipt, where he stopped at the "last" night. A letter from the beloved with the real name and address in London, the letter of his strict father, who did not approve his choice and their engagement with her and many as skillfully fabricated details.

Spanish fishermen discovered Martin on the shore and told the Spanish police. Those took the body and immediately called the German consulate. From Germany flew counterintelligence and pathologist from the Gestapo. The most careful study of the trap did not find it, and in the portfolio there were completely secret documents on the landing of allies in Pa de Calle in June 1944. So the Germans were fully swallowed. Martin saved thousands of lives because the Germans were confident in the authenticity of the documents. And the events on the deception of Germans continued. Fake airfields were built, roads, there were thousands of layouts of transport and combat aircraft, tanks and guns, tractors and cars, a barracks were built. From the air it looked quite real. There were no spies on Earth. General George Patton, the most possibly talented and aggressive general of the Allied Forces, were appointed commander of a non-existent army, located opposite Kale.

The Germans knew: where Patton was there an offensive! There are waiting for trouble! His radio players came with him, "Hand writing" german intelligence knew since the time of invasion of Sicily, where Patton commanded american army invasion. These raders filled with false orders, the orders of General Patton, similar to the Germans, similar to the Germans. In the English shore, from which the Germans expected landing, mannews took place huge number Troops landing on transport ships. The allies installed on the shore of Pa de Calle in the very narrow place of its powerful radio cells and through the loudspeakers were transferred to the sounds of votes and loading, military equipment and ships motors, to reinforce the confidence of the Germans in the fact that the landing is preparing here. German ships and submarines constantly listened to the shore. And the true operations went in the deepest mystery and the landing site was known to just a few commander including, Churchill and Roosevelt. The commander of the entire operation was appointed American General Dwight Eisenhuer.

The headquarters of the Allies needed to get secret ciphers used by german army and fleet. Even more valuable were encoded devices that automatically convert the normal text into encryption and back. With the help of Polish partisans, some details of these, and the bold night raid on the German radio station allowed the encryption codes, the apparatus itself in complete condition and several living German radioists. However, this was not enough. The Germans periodically changed codes and intercepted on the radio signals had to decipher the special brigade that worked in Bletchley Park under London. There was a strange team from military encrypters, engineers, chess grasisters, crossword desk, professors of mathematics, theater artists decorators and even magicians. They successfully solved many puzzles of German codes, fake fake and made real objects invisible from the air.

Deciphering German codes and ciphers was a long and labor-intensive work, because the 19th century technique was used - perforation machines. Therefore, in 1943, the brilliant Englishman of Tommy Flauers and Mathematics William Tatt, who worked in Britchley Park, invented the world's first computer on 6 thousand vacuum lamps, which produced 5 thousand operations per second, called "Colossus" and developed a decoding algorithm. For several hours, he processed such a number of information that it would take years for her hand-made processing. Unfortunately, the work was so secret many years after the war, that the glory of the computer's inventors got another, and few people know about true inventors. Not all is declassified until now! Soon, English intelligence had the opportunity to decipher any German radio sign! The outstanding role of the fleet of the park in the war is described in a variety of books and articles. General Eisenhower said that the Genius of Britchley Park was brought for two years. It was a brain trust of the Allies! They played with Hitler as a cat with a mouse, in advance knowing his actions and plans and applying false information to him about what they were not going to do. They even knew the coordinates of German submarines in the ocean!

But this complexity of landing was not exhausted. There should be a combination factors such as tides, lunar nights and weather. It turned out that a favorable combination of this data occurs twice a month. And if you miss these days, you will have to wait for the next time. All this added worries to General Eisenhawer and his headquarters! Especially the weather! At this time of the year, the Atlantic is very unreliable. Strong storms when the height of cold waves exceeds three meters

Happen there very often. In such a storm, disembarking from small transport ships is possible. And it was on the designated day of the landing on June 5, the storm was shaken so much that the disembarking had to postpone the day. Imagine thousands of ships on the raid from the coast of England and among them very little on which there were 150 thousand soldiers and officers.

Scroll to the shore in order to wait for the storm night on the shore it is impossible. The disembarkation then would have to postpone the month. And it would be impossible to keep it secret from the Germans. All night, landing headquarters was in a supernatured state. Especially commander. Colossal responsibility lay on it! Weether forecasts required hourly. When the storm was slightly bitch and the forecast for the next two hours was encouraging, Eisenhower gave an orders to landing.

According to strictly marked schedules, at night, at the light of the moon, with an accuracy of the minute, the giant Armada, headed by the 350th trawls, moved to the shore. Strait a bicycle millions of min! The Germans said that the water was not visible because of thousands of ships, tightly going to the shore! At the same time, thousands of ship tools wrapped on German strengthening tons of shells. Thousands of aircraft engaged in processing fortifications, roads, bridges and railway stations.

But a few hours before the landing in the rear, the Germans were abandoned hundreds of cargo plates with infantry, light tanks and cannons. The famous one hundred and first airborne division in full, more than 12 thousand fighters, was dropped on parachutes in the rear to hold those specially destroyed by aviation of bridges that may be needed during the battle. Divergent work was not forgotten. A deceived trick was also applied, which is still told in military schools. Thousands of primitive stuffed, depicting armed paratroopers were thrown on parachutes in the places of concentration of German infantry. In the dark of the night, lit by the moon, published and in the air, these stuffeds completely went out for real parachutists.

The paratroopers called it stuffed from sand bags and in the primitive military uniforms "Rupert". Everything in the army should have a name! These Rupets distracted hundreds of defendant Germans. They beat them from all trunks, spending hundreds of kilograms of ammunition. Special divisions were rushed to capture, while real parachutists acted without any special interference in other areas. Brave Ruperta saved hundreds of lives. The Germans did not immediately understand how they were shamefully deceived!

So, landing vessels began landing the first units. On a steep wave, under the fire, far from completely destroyed reinforced concrete bunkers, from where the machine guns, and even large guns, fighters popped ashore and along the mineral fields after the trawl tanks rushed to the foot of high to 30 meters of dunes. Many fighters drowned out, in severe gear, without coming to sushi. Many were killed on the beaches at the water line! I sunk how much floating tanks and small landing ships. Storm did not subside! On top of the paratroopers shot from all types of weapons. Shelters on the beaches fighters were found only for steel hedgehogs, furnished by the Germans as anti-tank obstacles and in funnels from bombs and shells. And only coming, those who managed to the founding of the High Beach, they turned out to be out of the fire of Hitler's soldiers. Hence the fighters started storming heights.

Storm stairs, climbing equipment and simple ropes with anchors at the ends were their only means. Plus a high scarehead on the mockups of the French coast, which lasted for several months, and the courage in most of those who are not challenged fighters. And at the top they were waiting for machine-gun nests and barbed wire. Pomegranates went into move, explosives on long sticks, which was so worked out under the barbed wire and under the bruters of machine gunners. And of course diverse weapon. Of course, srawling srawling, than neither in the fall, attacking the Germans. Separate units abandoned at night with parachutes and planners, destroying the guns, got on top to German fortifications on the dunes and the joint efforts of paratroopers from the sea mastered coast altitudes, opening the way in the coast area.

What did the highest German commanders do at this time? Feldmarshal Rommel flew to Germany to celebrate his wife's birthday. The commander-in-chief of the Western Front Feldmarshal Runstedt was also far from the place of landing. Hitler slept and it was impossible to wake him under any kind. The entire top of the Wehrmacht was confident that the landing was impossible in such a stormy weather, and they waited for her in Pa-de-Cala for a good hundred miles east. Hitler also did not allow no order to move tank divisions without his order. "Not a single tank. Therefore, Runstedt waited for the awakening of the Fuhrer, swearing as a loader. Hitler woke up by usually very late. He worked at night and forced others to stick to his schedule.

Reflections on whether this disembarking is false to distract the Germans from Pa de Calais, took at least a day. I remembered, of course, Major Martin.

Tanks stood, Hitler thought, Rundstedt swore, but could not do anything. This outstanding commander immediately realized that the landing was not false, that if the allies do not lose the sea in the first two days, then the war can be considered complete! When german tanksFinally, they moved on platforms by rail (tanks to battle with their own move, if the road is long) it turned out that the paths are destroyed by the allies who have complete superiority in the air. While they were restored, the Germans and again destroyed the Union Aviation took a lot of time. Not once, tank echelons were subjected to a crushing bombing from the air.

Instead of the day, the tanks were driving three and when it became clear that they were late and the head of the Hitler's headquarters General Zeicler asked Runstedta "What to do now?" The one, revived by the stupidity of the Fuhrer and heated by uninterrupted curses in his address shouted into the handset: "Idiots! Conclude the world is not too late! War lost! " This cry led him to immediately his resignation, but the situation from this did not change. There was no chance of victory from Hitler since the times of Stalingrad, and after a successful landing of allies in Normandy, the time to the end of the "millennial" Reich began to be measured for months.

How did events walked on the place of disembarking on? On June 19, an artificial port, with such works, the constructed allies was splashing unprecedented even in these edges by storm. The port repair demanded several days, but by that time the troops were delivered to the shore, heavy weapons and ammunition in such a quantity that the allies did not come without the port and could not do anything! For two weeks of the work of the improvised port, 2.5 million military personnel were delivered to the shore, 4 million tons of cargo and 500 thousand cars, from artillery tractors - all-wheel drive three-axle stybeckers to jeeps. Studeskeckers were used both as freight cars transported over absolute off-road up to 2.5 tons of cargo.

By the way, six hundred thousand such cars have granted allies to the Soviet Union in 1942-1945. I remember well that the whole country went to them and on American motorcycles for another 10 years after the victory. In his memoirs, Marshal Zhukov opposed them: "We received six hundred thousand cars from the allies during the war. And which cars! Off-road it was not necessary. "

What can I say in conclusion? The reader, I hope, saw how the grandiose was the task and as it was brilliantly solved. Sir Winston Churchill wrote later that, with the exception of insignificant trifles, the operation passed on both the parade. He was a professional military and knew the case he wrote about. He directly participated in planning this operation! Gallipoli did not repeat! The landing under continuous enemy fire, in the storm, from thousands of vessels of all types and sizes was like a movie. Only this "cinema" cost in the first day in 2 thousand killed and 8 thousand wounded fighters. I almost wrote "total" 2 thousand! In Memoirs, General Eisenhower wrote that the loss of at least 25% was expected, which is several times higher than true losses. Moreover, he prepared for the press in case of failure of landing a short message that all responsibility for failure falls around not only on the weather and other irresistible reasons, but also to him, as the supreme commander-in-chief of the entire operation. That is how difficult and unpredictable was the task that allied troops solved so brilliantly.

Studying the history of the Second World War I study all my life, I did not meet any military operation any like a scale, complexity, danger and efficiency on the Overlord operation. I think that only the army and people of free countries who are not afraid of responding for their actions, only the army of free people and its commanders who are not afraid that in case of failure they will be accused of treason, indentation or espionage, as often happened in the USSR army, capable For such actions. Amazing primarily the organization of all this case. Coordination of the actions of thousands of units, millions of people and industry on two continents remote from each other.

The agreed actions of the armies and fleets of the two countries in the enormous scale of acting as one organism, have no analogues in history. I don't think that Soviet Union I would solve such a task at all. For this you need a different socio-political system and other human material. Courage, courage and skills of fighting in 1944, the soldiers of the Red Army had no less than the warriors of the allies. And the weapon was not worse. However, in dictatorial stalinist modeSupermitting the initiative of people who faded all the people, including generals and marshals, whom Stalin periodically shot even in the fall of 1941 for the end of the rest, such an operation simply would simply be organized and implement. Yes, and Russian "Avos" would not allow this to do it!

And escape from the European continent (), and landing in Normandy ("Overlod") are not very similar to their mythological interpretation ...

The original is taken by W. jeteraconte In the landing of allies in Normandy ... myths and reality.

I i think that every educated person knows that on June 6, 1944, there was an allied landing in Normandy, and finally, a full opening of the second front. T. how many estimates of this event has different interpretations.
The same beach is now:

Why did the allies reach until 1944? What goals pursued? Why was the operation was carried out so non-readable and with such sensitive losses, with the overwhelming superiority of the allies?
Many and at different times were raised this topic at different times, I will try to talk about the events that happened to the events.
When you watch American films like: "Save Private Ryan", games " Call of Duty 2 " Or you read an article in Wikipedia, it seems, the greatest event of all times and peoples is described, and it was here that the entire Second World War decided ...
Propaganda at all times was the most powerful weapon. ..

By 1944, all politicians were clear that the war of Germany and its allies were played, and in 1943, during the Tehran Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, roughly divided the world among themselves. A little more and Europe, and most importantly, France could become communist, if they were liberated by Soviet troops, so the allies were forced to rush to catch to the section of the cake and fulfill their promises to contribute to the general victory.

(I recommend to read the "correspondence Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers with the Presidents of the United States and the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 "released in 1957, in response to the memories of Winston Churchil.)

Now let's try to figure out what and how it really happened. First of all, I decided to go and see my own eyes on the terrain, and appreciate what difficulties sitting under the fires, it was necessary to overcome. The landing area takes about 80km, but this does not mean that all the length of these 80 km, paratroopers were planted on each meter, in fact it was concentrated in several places: "Sord", "Juno" "Gold", "Omaha Beach" And "Pointed D OK."
I passed along the sea of \u200b\u200bthis area on foot, studying fortifications, preserved so far, visited two local museums, shoved many different literature about these events and talked with residents in Bayyo, Kan, Sumyur, Fekan, Rouen, etc.
A more indisposed landing operation, with complete connivance of the enemy, is very difficult to imagine. Yes, the critics will say that the scale of the disembarkation is unprecedented, but also a mess at the same time. Even according to official sources, the sky losses! accounted for 35% !!! From general losses!
We read the "wiki", wow, how many Germans opposed how much german pieces, Tanks, guns! What miraculously landing succeeded ???
The German troops on the West Front, were smeared with a thin layer in France and these parts were mainly performed by security functions, and many combat, it is possible to name only conditionally. What is a division, nicknamed "white bread division". It tells the eyewitness, the English author M. Schulman: "After the invasion of France, the Germans decided to replace on. Walcheren is a conventional infantry division, division, a personal composition, which suffered from gastric diseases. Bunkers on about. Walcheren, now they occupied soldiers who had chronic ulcers, sharp ulcers, wounded stomachs, nervous stomachs, sensitive stomachs, inflamed stomachs - in general, all known gastritis. Soldiers swore stand up to the end. Here, in the richest edge of Holland, where there was white bread, fresh vegetables, eggs and milk, soldiers of the 70th division, nicknamed "white bread division", expected an imminent union offensive and nervous, for their attention equally shared between a problematic threat to Parties enemy and real gastric disorders. To fight, this division of persons with disabilities led older, good-natured Lieutenant-General Wilhelm Diser ... Terrifying losses among senior officers in Russia and North Africa, were the reason that he was returned from resignation in February 1944 and appointed commander of a stationary division in Holland. His valid service ended in 1941, when he was dismissed due to heart attacks. Now, having 60 years old, he did not burn with enthusiasm and had no ability to turn the defense about. Walcheren in the heroic epic of the German weapons. "
In the German "troops" on the Western Front there were disabled and cripples, to perform security functions in good old France, do not need two eyes, two hands or feet. Yes, there were also full parts. And were also collected from various tips, like Vlasovov and their likes, who only dreamed of giving away.
On the one hand, the allies gathered a monstrously powerful grouping, on the other hand, the Germans were increasingly able to apply unacceptable damage to their opponents, but ...
Personally, I had the impression that the command of the German troops, simply not prevented the allies to fall around. But at the same time could not put the troops to raise his hands or disarmed at home.
Why do I think so? Let me remind you, this is the time when the conspiracy of generals against Hitler is being prepared, secret negotiations are going, the German tops about the separatic world, behind the USSR. Allegedly because of the bad weather, airflows stopped, the torpedo boats turned reconnaissance operations,
(Most recently, before that, the Germans were sinking 2 landing ships, damaged one, during the exercises when preparing for landing and one more died from "friendly fire"),
command flies to Berlin. And this is at the time when the same rommel knows perfectly from the intelligence officers about the preparing invasion. Yes, he could not know about the exact time and place, but not to notice the collection of thousands of ships !!!, preparation, mountains of equipment, training paratroopers, it was impossible! What more two people know, he knows the pig - this old saying, clearly reflects the essence of the inability to hide preparations for a large-scale operation as the invasion of La Mans.
I'll tell you some interesting moments. Zone disembarking Pointe du hoc.. She is very famous, here a new coastal battery of the Germans was supposed to be, but installed old French guns 155 mm, 1917 release. On this very small area, bombs were reset, 250 pieces of 356 mm shells were released from the American Lincora Texas, as well as the mass of shells of smaller calibers. Two destroyers supported disembarking with continuous fire. And then a group of Rangers on the landing bargains approached the shore and scrupted on the sheer cliffs under the command of Colonel James E. Rader, captured the battery and strengthen on the shore. True, the battery turned out to be made of wood, and the sounds of the shots simulated with explosions! The real moved, when one of the guns was destroyed, during a successful airline, a few days ago, and it is his photo that can be seen on sites under the guise of the tool destroyed by the Rangers. There is an assertion that the Rainsers even found this moving battery and a warehouse with ammunition, oddly not protected! After that, blew up.
If you ever find yourself onPointe du hoc. You will see what was before the "lunar" landscape.
Roskill (Roskill S. Fleet and War. M.: Milivdat, 1974. T. 3. P. 348) wrote:
"It was dropped over 5,000 tons of bombs, and although there were a little straight tribes in the gunsmates, we managed to seriously disrupt the opponent's connection and undermine his moral spirit. With a mortgage of dawn, defensive positions attacked 1630 "Libertors", "Flying Fortresses" and Medium Bombers of the 8th and 9th Aviation Communications of the United States Air Force ... Finally, in the last 20 minutes, in front of the approach of assault waves, fighters-bombers and medium Bombarendi-kerchiki caused a bombing directly on the reinforcement strengthening on the shore ...
Shortly after 05.30, the ship's artillery wrapped on the coast of the entire 50 mile front of the shells; Such a powerful artillery strike from the sea has never yet been nano. Then the light guns of advanced de Santam ships entered the case, and, finally, in front of the hour of "h" to the Bere-GU, tank-modifies, armed with rocket plants, moved; By conducting an intense fire with 127-mm missiles in the depths of defense. The enemy practically did not respond to the assault wave approach. There was no aviation, and the coastal batteries did not cause any harm, although there were several volleys in transport. "
A total of 10 kilotons in TNT equivalent, it is equivalent to the power of an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima!
Yes, the guys landed under the fire, at night on wet cliffs and pebbles, rising in the sheer cliffs, but ... the big question is how much Germans survived, who could resist them, after such an air and art processing? Rangers 225 people coming in the first wave ... Losses killed and wounded 135 people. Data on the loss of the Germans: more than 120 killed and 70 prisoners. Hmm ... Great Battle?
Against the planted allies led fire from 18 to 20 guns with a German side by caliber more than 120 mm ... Total!
With the absolute domination of allies in the air! With the support of 6 battleships, 23 cruisers, 135 destroyers and the destroyers, 508 other warships. In the attack, 4798 ships participated. In total, the Allied fleet included: 6,939 of the ships of various purposes (1213 - combat, 4126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - commercial vessels (part was in reserve)). You can imagine a volley of this Armada on the shore at a plot of 80 km?
Here is a quote:

At all parts of the Allies suffered relatively small losses, except ...
Omaha Beach, American landing zone. Here losses were catastrophic. Many drowned paratroopers. When 25-30 kg of equipment hang on a person, and then they force to land in the water, where to the bottom of 2.5-3 meters, fearing to come closer to the shore, then instead of a fighter, you get a corpse. At best, a demoralized person without a weapon ... Barge commanders drove floating tanks, forced them to land them at a depth, fearing to approach close to the coast. Total of 32 tanks ashore float 2, plus 3, which, the only unwitting captain landed straight ashore. The rest drowned because of excitement on the sea and the cowards of individual commanders. On the shore and in the water was going on full chaos, the soldiers of stupid rushed on the beach. Officers lost control with their subordinates. But nevertheless there were those who were able to organize the surviving and start unsuccessfully to confront the Nazis.
It is here that theodore Roosevelt jr., the son of the President of Theodore Roosevelt fell, Which, like the deceased yakov, the son of Stalin, did not want to hide in the headquarters in the capital ...
Losses killed on this site are estimated by 2500 Americans. The German Eprautr Marthercher Heinrich North, nicknamed by the "Omaeh monster" attached its talents. He is from his machine gun, as well as two rifles, being in the reference pointW.iDERSTINTNEST. 62 killed and wounded more than 2000 Americans! Such data are forced to think if he did not end the cartridges, he would have ever shot there ??? Despite the huge losses, the Americans captured, empty incidents, and continued the offensive. There is evidence that individual plots of defense handed over without a fight, and the number of prisoners captured at all areas of the disembarkation was surprisingly large. Although why amazing? The war approached the end and only the most fanatical adherents of Hitler did not want to admit it ...

Mini Museum between disembarking zones:

View of Pont D Ok from above, funnels, remnants of fortifications, incidents.

View of the sea and rocks there:

Omaha Beach View of the sea and disembarkation area: