Actual+Outcome

=__June 6, 1944__=

Below, you will find the account of what __actually__ happened on D-Day.
Supreme Commander **Eisenhower** was faced with one of the hardest decisions of his life, when to begin the D-Day Invasion. Eisenhower alone was responsible for the decision and its outcome, and after considering all of the possibilities, he decided the invasion would begin in the early morning hours of June 6th﻿. Thousands of troops and sailors were already in position in the ENGLISH CHANNEL waiting for the order to attack (van der Vat 14).

While some troops waited in the Channel, the 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION PARATROOPERS began the invasion when they were dropped behind enemy lines into NORMANDY at approximately 00:40 hours (12:40 A.M.) on June 6th. Other British and American divisions of paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines with the mission to secure bridges and begin counter-attacks that would distract and surprise the Germans. Unfortunately, the cloud cover and darkness made it hard for the pilots to drop the paratroopers accurately. Due to the heavy equipment the men carried (70 pounds), many of the paratroopers were injured during the landing and were not able to fight (Tucker 3).

Between 01:00 hours and 06:00 hours, bombers were sent to attack targets near the beaches, and assault troops began boarding the landing craft. At 06:30 hours, the first beach invasions began. American troops began the assault at UTAH BEACH. The soldiers had to be dropped more than a mile off of the original landing target because of the strong currents in the Channel. The German troops defending this beach were not well trained and they were "bewildered by the Sherman tanks coming out of the sea and firing at them (Rees 14). U.S.troops found success relatively easy at Utah Beach-out of 23,000 U.S. soldiers, 197 were killed or wounded.

To the east, lay the largest of the five beaches, OMAHA BEACH. The cliffs at Omaha Beach were well fortified by the German troops and soldiers there were better prepared. The landing at Omaha Beach was underway by 06:30 hours. The landing was in jeopardy because of rough seas. Only 5 of 32 amphibious tanks managed to reach the shore, the others were lost in the waves. To make matters worse, the pre-bombers had missed their targets, giving the Germans the opportunity to reinforce their post at Omaha Beach. By 07:00 hours, the 1st Infantry Division was pinned down on the beach. The situation was so dismal that "U.S. First Army Commander Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley even considered withdrawal" (Tucker 4). The battle continued, however, and by noon, the German troops were running out of ammunition. With Allied planes making sure German troops could not get any replacement supplies, the Germans had to leave their positions. By the end of the day, the Americans had suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha Beach, but had also landed 34,000 troops. The British and Canadian troops began landing on Sword, Juno and Gold beaches at 07:30 hours. The British troops were successful with minimal losses and by 11:00 hours they had opened seven routes into the French countryside. The landing at Juno beach was more difficult because the Canadian landing craft got caught in the rising tide which left them vulnerable to German attack. Even though their landing was more difficult, the Canadians were still able to take Juno beach and begin moving inland. (Tucker 4)

In the evening of June 6, **President Roosevelt** spoke to the American people on the radio. This was the first time Americans had been told of Operation Overlord. Roosevelt explained that Allied troops had crossed the English Channel and that,"it has come to pass with success thus far" (D-Day 118).

__Eisenhower's decision to invade on the 6th ended up saving lives by giving his soldiers the element of surprise by catching the Germans unprepared. The success of the D-Day landings allowed__ __the Allied Commanders to begin work on the plan to build safe usable harbors at the beaches. The harbors were vital to the next step in the plan which was the Invasion of Normandy. Engineers began building harbors at Omaha and Gold beaches by sinking old ships and concrete blocks as breakwaters. By the end of June 11, only five days after D-Day, more than "320,000 troops, nearly 55,000 vehicles, and over 100,000 tons of supplies had been landed on the beaches"__ (D-Day 18). __As the Allied troops began to move into France, their was stiff resistance from the Germans and **Hitler** refused to allow retreat, ordering his armies to fight and counterattack. The__ __fiercest fighting was to drive the Germans out of the French city of Caen. By July 10, British troops managed to capture most of Caen and continued to push the Germans south. German__ __soldiers were trapped near the town of Falaise and 10,000 were killed along with 40,000-50,000 others who were captured. The Battle of Normandy ended August 20, 1944, 75 days after the D-Day invasion. Hitler and his worn down army now faced a WAR ON TWO FRONTS. The successful invasion of mainland Europe was a major key to the Allied victory in World War II.__

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