The Normandy Landings E-Book

50MINUTES

• Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: History
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 35

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the events of the Normandy landings in next to no time with this concise guide.

50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the Normandy landings. By 1944, the Second World War had been raging for five years and German forces occupied much of Europe. On 6 June 1944, D-Day, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history. Although the Allies lost thousands of men, their decisive victory marked a turning point in the war, paving the way for the liberation of Europe and victory on the Western Front.

In just 50 minutes you will:
• Learn about the events of World War II prior to the Normandy landings
• Identify the leaders who worked together to establish Operation Overlord and scheduled the Normandy landings to finally defeat the Germans
• Analyse the actions taken by the Allies and Axis and their contribution to the Allied victory

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Leseprobe

The Normandy Landings

Key information

When: 6 June 1944Where: On the Normandy coast of the English Channel (Calvados and Cotentin)Context: World War II (1939-1945)Belligerents: The Allies against the Third ReichCommanders and leaders:Bernard Law Montgomery, British General (1887-1976)Dwight David Eisenhower, U.S. General (1890-1969)Gerd von Rundstedt, German Marshal (1875-1953)Erwin Rommel, German Marshal (1891-1944)Outcome: Allied victoryVictims:Allied camp: approximately 10 000 dead, wounded, missing or taken prisonerGerman camp: approximately 4 000 dead and 6 000 wounded

Introduction

On 6 June 1944, from 6am, the Allied forces, mainly composed of American, British and Canadian troops, carried on ships along with weapons and tanks, landed on the beaches of Normandy. ‘Neptune’ was the first stage of Operation Overlord, designed to defeat the Third Reich of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). Since the Battle of Britain (August-October 1940) and the armistice signed by France in 1940, the major scenes of conflict between the Wehrmacht (German army) and the Allied troops moved away from Western Europe towards Eastern Europe and Africa. After three years of German victories, the British and the Russians, initially supported by and then joined by the Americans at the end of 1941, progressed to the heart of the European fortress through a series of landings. After taking over North Africa, then a part of Italy, the Allies were now targeting the French coast to liberate the occupied territories and penetrate into Germany. The landing of 6 June 1944 set in motion the final, decisive phase of World War II.

Political and social context

A global conflict

The landing of 6 June 1944 was both the first stage of a large-scale operation to undermine the German troops and liberate the occupied territories, and the completion of a strategy implemented several years previously.

After a blitz campaign began on 10 May 1940, Marshal Philippe Pétain (1856-1951) signed an armistice with Germany on behalf of France on 22 June.

However, the Allies continued to fight against Germany, and Britain obtained help from the USSR to complete its goal. Both countries benefitted from the “lend-lease” law, initiated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), who was then President of the United States, and which was passed by the Congress in March 1941, aiming to support them materially while preserving U.S. protectionism. But the attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, by the Japanese forces, pushed the U.S. to take an active part in the war. While the Americans were fighting in the Pacific, the Russians were facing the German troops on the Eastern Front, in Crimea, Caucasus, and the British troops faced the Afrikakorps of the General Erwin Rommel in North Africa. The Axis forces maintained power over the Allies until the fall of 1942, when the situation took a decided turn.

Good to know

The Rome-Berlin Axis was an alliance created on 23 October 1936, between Germany and Italy. Four years later, the act of the tripartite – which saw the creation of the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis – was signed. Through this treaty, the countries involved recognized the domination of:

Germany over Europe;Italy over the Mediterranean;Japan over the Pacific and East Asia.

To face the growing threat exerted by these totalitarian countries, many states came together to form what was known as the “Allies”. In particular, this involved the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain – nicknamed the “Big Three” – and the Free France from 18 June 1940, Belgium, the Commonwealth countries (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) and the British colonies, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Yugoslavia and China. These countries demonstrated solidarity and implemented major joint operations involving several countries, unlike Germany, Italy and Japan.

In Africa, General Bernard Law Montgomery emerged victorious from El Alamein (Egypt, October-November 1942) against the German Erwin Rommel. In Eastern Europe, the sixth German Army of Friedrich Paulus (German Marshal, 1890-1957) capitulated in Stalingrad (February 1943) and the Red Army troops began their inexorable march towards Germany.