Book: The Longest Day. Allied landings in Normandy. "Heroic landing" of the Allies in Normandy (12 photos) Covering the landing by the Nazis from Normandy

V. DYMARSKY: Hello. The “Price of Victory” program is live, and I, its host, Vitaly Dymarsky. My co-host and co-author Dmitry Zakharov is on another well-deserved vacation, so for now I’m the only one taking the rap for him. And today Alexey Isaev, well known to those who constantly watch and listen to our program, and to those who don’t listen or watch, but just read books, is also a well-known military historian, will take the rap for all the guests today. Good evening.

A. ISAEV: Good evening.

Part 1

Part 2

V. DYMARSKY: Today we took up the topic for the second time, I must say. We are referring to the Allied landing in Normandy, to the opening of a second front, as it is commonly called, although Alexei and I agreed, we will discuss this later. Yes, the second time we decided to take up this topic, since the first time we spoke more from the position of diplomacy, so to speak. Today Alexey and I will rather discuss the military and military-political aspects of the opening of a second front. SMS, as usual, +7 985 970 4545, well, the number is probably known to you, but I will repeat it. And, as a matter of fact, we can start our conversation. I would probably even like to use more - I don’t know what will come to us via SMS, but on the eve of the broadcast, the website of the Ekho Moskvy radio station received many questions for our guest today, and I must say that the questions are overwhelmingly clear, normal and interesting, and maybe I’ll try to use them more in our conversation today. Well, then let’s really get down to business so as not to waste time. Alexey, maybe the first question is this. The landing in Normandy, the so-called Operation Neptune - how would you personally describe it as a military operation of the 2nd World War? It refers to the largest operations, or is it the way many of us believe, the allies finally decided to take part, to finally open a second front and either help us, the Soviet Union, or mostly themselves, fearing too rapid advance to west of the Soviet army?

A. ISAEV: Here it should be said that the landing in Normandy, Operation Neptune and “Overlord” in general, that is, the battle for Normandy and France, is the largest landing in the history of mankind, the largest amphibious assault. That’s how he was and that’s how I think he will remain forever, when more than 150 thousand people were landed in one day. Almost 6 thousand ships took part in this landing. It was covered from the air by thousands of aircraft. This is truly a huge operation. And it really began the second front in Europe, that is, the front that could really threaten Germany - both its industrial potential and, in general, and in the long term, Berlin itself. This is what the Germans feared, for which they had been preparing for several years; at least since 1942, the so-called The “Atlantic Wall” on the coast of France, and finally, after a long wait, on June 6, 1944, this grandiose landing took place.

V. DYMARSKY: Was this a surprise for the Germans? I mean the landing site and the opening of the second front.

A. ISAEV: Yes, here I will allow myself to first turn to a little background of the issue. As you know, the opening of a second front has been asked for a long time.

V. DYMARSKY: Since '42.

A. ISAEV: Yes, since 1942. And in August 1942, when, let me remind you, German tanks were marching towards Stalingrad and were already on the closest approaches to the city, a peculiar operation was carried out, which is not even called a landing, but a raid. That is, we went and returned. This is the raid on Dieppe. This is an operation that is considered, and rightly so, to be unsuccessful. But, nevertheless, it was a trial balloon, as a result of which the allies discovered a terrible thing for themselves - that they would not be able to capture the port on the coast.

V. DYMARSKY: From the sea.

A. ISAEV: Yes, they will not be able to capture the port from the sea. And any landing loses its meaning if there is no supply line for the landing troops. The most logical option is to capture the port. But after August 1942, it was clear that it would not be possible to implement it. In addition, there were two such profitable ports on the coast - Calais and Cherbourg, but both of them were located on ledges, peninsulas. Moreover, at the base of the peninsula on which the port of Cherbourg was located, there was marshland. Therefore, it was difficult to escape from this swampy trap into operational space in France.

V. DYMARSKY: Cherbourg is not Normandy, it’s further south, it’s Brittany, right?

A. ISAEV: More precisely, it is to the west. That is, it is west of Normandy. You are probably confusing it with Brest. Because there is Brest, and Cherbourg is very close to Normandy. And for many months they were looking for creativity, so to speak, that is, they were looking for some solution that would overcome the problem of capturing the port. And a solution was found, if we talk about the fact that it could already turn their paper into reality, only in the fall of 1943. It was possible to land in France only in the summer, because at other times of the year there is a storm, and it is impossible to land in a storm. Actually, the German Operation Sea Lion was once limited to September 1940. Later it was already pointless. Therefore, when in the fall of 1943 they came up with the idea of landing on a bare beach and building a port from scratch, this port, oddly enough, was built from concrete pontoons, that is, giant floats were made from concrete, and these floats were supposed to become those piers , to which ships would moor and disembark soldiers, supplies, and trucks along these ribbons of roads were supposed to go. And this idea was kept strictly secret, and, in fact, it ensured the success of the landing in Normandy. The final decision was made at the Tehran Conference at the end of 1943. Moreover, it must be said that Churchill defended the idea of a peripheral strategy, that is, to continue operations in Italy and land in the Balkans. And Roosevelt and Stalin, understandably, advocated a strategy of crushing, that is, landing in France and invading Germany as quickly as possible. And by a majority vote, so to speak, Churchill was convinced that yes, it was necessary to land in Normandy. It was planned that yes, a landing would take place in the summer of 1944. And the last stage of preparation began.

V. DYMARSKY: Since we have already turned to the background of the opening of the second front, the Normandy operation, two questions. The first of them: why Normandy, after all, only by a majority vote, when Churchill insisted on the Balkans, that is, in the southern direction, the Balkans, Italy? This is the first one. And the second question: do you think the Allies could have opened a second front earlier? That, in fact, is what Moscow insisted on.

A. ISAEV: The southern options - they had one significant difference, one significant drawback: in order to get to Germany, it was necessary to overcome mountains, to one degree or another. In the case of Italy, these are the Alps. And in the Balkans, strictly speaking, it was necessary to land in Yugoslavia, where it was quite difficult to reach the area in which Tito’s partisans were sitting. They, of course, would have helped, but still, supplying a large strike force through any serious obstacles was difficult. Therefore, the real threat to Germany was posed by the landing in France, when it was possible to reach the Ruhr, when it was possible to reach the western regions of Germany and cause irreparable damage to both the German army and its industry. Therefore, this option was considered the most convenient and fit into the strategy of destruction. Because energetic Americans generally wanted to go home for Christmas. In the summer, disembark, quickly defeat everyone, and already have Christmas dinner in their home states. This, as we know, did not work out. Nevertheless, there was such a strategy. The Americans were seriously aiming for this. And since they were the main engine both in terms of material support and in terms of contribution in manpower, this decision was made, and the British found themselves in the minority from all points of view.

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, here is a question from Krasnoyarsk from NNS, freely defined: “Is it true that Hitler trusted astrologers (by the way, he really did trust them), and they predicted the landing in the Balkans?” And how did the intelligence work, what did it report? I haven’t forgotten about my other question, you will answer it later.

A. ISAEV: Yes. Maybe, of course, he listened to them, however, real preparations were made to repel the invasion of France. The interesting point here is this. The Americans and British began to survive the Germans from the North Atlantic; they survived from there, in particular, the weather stations. Therefore, the Germans did not know about the weather that would happen in a few days. At the beginning of June, a storm raged, and Rommel safely went to his family, he was the commander-in-chief of the German troops in Normandy, he went home, believing that nothing would happen in the near future, simply because the Allies would not land in the storm. However, only the British and Americans, who had weather stations, saw that there was a kind of window of good weather coming from the west, from the Atlantic, towards the coast. And this window of good weather opened onto the beaches of Normandy precisely on those days in which Operation Overlord was carried out. That is, it was June 4-6. And they, having this knowledge about future weather, set a date that was truly unexpected for the Germans. And the surprise for the Germans was the landing in an open field. Because they were seriously preparing to capture Calais, they kept their most powerful troops, their most powerful reserves there for several days. I don’t know whether Hitler consulted astrologers or not, but he believed that the landing on the beaches of Normandy was a diversionary operation in order to pin down reserves, and the main landing would still take place in the Calais area, and the reserve there would be the fully equipped 2nd Panzer division - he stayed there for several weeks and took part in the subsequent battles for Normandy.

V. DYMARSKY: I must answer those who are already sending us SMS messages about the video broadcast. I forgot to say, I admit, there is a video broadcast on the Internet on the website of the Ekho Moskvy radio station. Alexey, that’s a question that I haven’t forgotten. Still, do you think the Allies could have opened a second front earlier?

A. ISAEV: I think not. Because if they tried to do this, they would be in for a disaster. If they had, in spite of everything, for example, attacked Calais or Cherbourg in the summer of 1943, they would have been locked in and possibly defeated. This landing would end in failure. Therefore, we are talking about the fact that either the second front is late, but successful, or early, but unsuccessful, and a blow to both the military power and the political prestige of the allies. Naturally, the Germans would trumpet to the whole world that they had won a powerful victory. Therefore, yes, we asked that the second front be opened earlier...

V. DYMARSKY: And our those who asked - Stalin, first of all, and military leaders - did they understand that from a military point of view, opening a second front was previously impossible?

A. ISAEV: I’m afraid that they didn’t know all these subtleties, and it’s unlikely that the allies themselves were aware of them, simply because, perhaps, they were afraid to admit to some of their weaknesses. Naturally, they could not openly say that when we land, we will be defeated. And therefore, naturally, other expressions were used, and this was quite understandable. And in general, this whole operation with an artificial harbor, it was all kept in a terrible secret. The training operations were carried out in a separate, very remote place in England, similar to the place in Normandy, and it was all carried out in such secrecy that the Germans only learned on the day of the landings what had actually happened and what the Allies had come up with.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, here’s the question that we promised at the very beginning and which we came to with the help of a doctor, a teacher from Moscow Belyaev, and now Anton has written us a text message. “You call the Normandy landings the opening of a second front. Then what was the number of the previously opened front in southern Europe? Tunisia, Sicily, Southern Italy. As a matter of fact, Anton asks the same thing: “Why is the landing in Normandy considered the opening of a second front, when the operation in Italy began much earlier?” There was an operation in Italy and Africa. Is this a convention, is this name a second front?

A. ISAEV: The name comes from the scale. Both Italy and Africa were far behind in scale from what happened in the summer of 1944. If you look at such criteria as German losses, then German losses before Normandy were negligible in other theaters of military operations compared to the Eastern Front. I mean, from '41 to the summer of '44. Therefore, the second front - yes, it was opened, it is believed, in the summer of 1944, precisely because from that moment the losses of German troops first amounted to tens, and then to hundreds of thousands.

V. DYMARSKY: Western historians, those who studied the history of the war, and the Western allies themselves of that time, they themselves called only this the second front.

A. ISAEV: Yes. This, one might say, is a historically established name. And everything else is elements, so to speak, of a peripheral strategy.

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, there was a second front in Asia. And not even America and Japan, but China and Japan.

A. ISAEV: Yes. But, nevertheless, Eurocentrism is strong both in history and in politics, so it is believed that what happened in Europe had the highest priority.

V. DYMARSKY: Lilya asks us from Kazan: “Is there a personal developer of the landing plan in Normandy? Whose plan was this?

A. ISAEV: This is a team. This is clear. There were a large number of people, each of whom made a certain contribution. Some people came up with these “Mulberrys”, harbors, other people came up with “Sherman Duplex Drive”, which could sail to the coast, being disembarked from a special ship, could sail in such a giant skirt with a propeller to the coast, disembark, lower this skirt and shoot . And naturally, there were a lot of such ideas. Yes, of course, there were supreme commanders, but it is perhaps difficult to name the person who wrote the operation plan from start to finish. It was a team effort. Naturally, the engine was Eisenhower.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, this, first of all, of course, was an Anglo-American work, although Canadians also participated.

A. ISAEV: Canadians participated precisely as a living force.

V. DYMARSKY: I don’t know, again, whether this is a legend or not, whether it really happened that there were Anglo-American feuds and disputes over the appointment of a commander, that the British still wanted their way.

A. ISAEV: Yes, naturally, the British wanted their own commander, and it so happened that the beginning of the landing for the British was more successful, so they laid claim to a dominant position. And the strife between the allies, we knew less about this, but they existed even in small things. When an American sergeant received a salary at the level of an English officer and behaved accordingly. Therefore, when junior non-commissioned officers, that is, American sergeants, and British officers, found themselves in the bar, friction often arose between them precisely on this basis, that some wasted money quite at the level of officers...

V. DYMARSKY: They did not consider themselves a lower caste.

A. ISAEV: Yes, they did not consider themselves a lower caste. And, naturally, there were certain frictions with the population. But nevertheless, they were all overcome.

V. DYMARSKY: I don’t know if we will make it before our short break in the middle of the hour, but still, when you talked about the scale of the operation, that this is the largest landing operation in the world, which is unlikely to ever be repeated - apparently, all this needs to be backed up with numbers. Still, how much? You said 150 thousand. By the way, I even found such an exact figure - I don’t know how much you can trust it - 156,001 people.

A. ISAEV: Well, about one person... knowing military statistics, it is quite difficult to calculate accurately, but generally speaking, a million American soldiers were accumulated in England. Naturally, a minority took part on the first day, but if we talk about dry numbers, then there were 156 thousand people who landed on the beach of Normandy on June 6, there were 73 thousand Americans, 83 thousand British and Canadians, and there were also additional airborne parachute landings 15 thousand Americans and 7900 British.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, this is already about 180 somewhere.

A. ISAEV: Yes. In total almost 180 thousand. By the way, airborne assaults were one of the most controversial issues. That is, it was believed that the landing was not very successful, that they were scattered over a large area. In principle, the Allied losses on the first day of the landing were the heaviest not even in the ranks of those who landed on Omaha Beach, something that went down in history, but among the paratroopers.

V. DYMARSKY: On Omaha Beach – these are the ones that landed on the beaches. This is Omaha Beach. These are the most successful ones, right?

A. ISAEV: No. The fact of the matter is that this was the most unfortunate. There were five landing sites - two American, Omaha and Utah, and three English.

V. DYMARSKY: These are Gold, Juno and Sword.

A. ISAEV: Yes. And they landed very effectively in three English areas. Although they also suffered losses, they nevertheless reached almost the city of Cannes, which later became the site of very fierce battles, but the bridgehead captured by the British was much larger. And, in fact, it was around him that the subsequent battles took place over the next few weeks.

V. DYMARSKY: But there were big problems with Cann.

A. ISAEV: Yes, there were big problems with Cannes later on, but the British and Canadians worked superbly on the first day. The Americans, accordingly, were not defeated at Omaha Beach, but nevertheless suffered heavy losses, and the result was not very impressive. At their neighboring site, Utah, they landed with minimal casualties, only 167, but the value of this site was limited precisely because it was at the base of the peninsula where the port of Cherbourg was, and the development of the operation there followed within a few weeks. And from this area it was impossible to move into the interior of France. Therefore, the British were on horseback on the first day, and the Americans... well, they didn’t wash themselves with blood, of course, but, nevertheless, the landing was not carried out the way they wanted.

V. DYMARSKY: We literally have 30 seconds before our break. Maybe you can name another number then? The second front is not only June 6th. We can say that the battles continued until March 1945. How many allied troops took part in this direction over all this time?

A. ISAEV: Well, in general, by August the number had already reached two million people. A huge mass of troops was landed, which really became a real second front.

V. DYMARSKY: About other details of the opening of the second front and actions on the second front in 44-45. after a short break.

V. DYMARSKY: Once again I greet the audience of the Echo of Moscow radio station and the RTVi television channel. Program "Price of Victory". I am hosting it today, Vitaly Dymarsky. Our guest is historian Alexey Isaev. We are talking about the landing in Normandy and in general about the second front in Western Europe. Alexey, we stopped at the total number of Allied troops on the second front. What human forces opposed them on the German side? How many Germans were there on the Western Front?

A. ISAEV: If we take the total number of troops that were in Belgium, Holland, France, including the Luftwaffe and SS troops, then the Germans had almost 800 thousand people there. But these troops were spread out over a very large area. And, naturally, at the landing sites, on these five beaches, the forces opposing the Allies were much smaller. One of the divisions that was on Omaho Beach numbered 7 thousand, the British tried to hold back 12 thousand people of another division. Naturally, then this balance of forces began to change, but, nevertheless, the Allies landed even more people, the Germans brought up new divisions. Suffice it to say that just a week after the start of the operation, the Allies accumulated almost 300 thousand people in all these areas. Therefore, the Germans, although they brought up more and more divisions, could not achieve a balance of forces that allowed them to throw the Allies into the sea. A very interesting point is the balance of forces in the air. On the last program, when they discussed Operation Bagration, it caused...

V. DYMARSKY: On the last program with your participation.

A. ISAEV: Yes. The balance of forces regarding aircraft in Bagration subsequently caused lively controversy. There is approximately a fivefold superiority of Soviet aviation over the Germans. In this regard, it is not without interest to see what happened in Normandy. In Normandy it was the following. If we take these general figures, then the Allies had 11 thousand aircraft, including approximately 2300 transport aircraft, with the help of which they landed troops. The Germans had, firstly, the 3rd Air Fleet in France, and secondly, there was also German air defense, the Reich Air Fleet, which could also theoretically participate in all this. So, these two aviation associations totaled 1,900 aircraft. That’s why 11 thousand versus 1900 is such an impressive figure. And it will be even brighter if we say that the Reich air fleet naturally included planes near Berlin. They could not immediately participate in repelling the Allied invasion. Therefore, over Normandy, one might say, the sky was absolutely cleared by Allied fighters, and their aircraft acted with almost impunity. And by the way, this aviation had its own complaints. It is believed that approximately 10-20 thousand French were killed in Normandy as a result of the bombing, these were civilians who were in the cities that were bombed. The bombing, generally speaking, began many weeks before the landing, when the German railway network was destroyed, when it was turned into ruins, so that the Germans would slowly bring up reserves. And yes, of course, they also hit French cities, and those who did not manage to escape, refugees, came under quite serious blows. This firepower - 11 thousand aircraft, it, of course, was almost all-destructive.

V. DYMARSKY: Alexey, what are the losses?

A. ISAEV: Coming from aviation, we can say this: on the first day, the allies lost 127 aircraft, including transport planes that landed troops. This, in principle, is not very much, given the number of machines involved.

V. DYMARSKY: And in manpower?

A. ISAEV: This is the situation in manpower. Until recently, the official figure in Western historiography was losses on the first day - 10 thousand people, including 2.5 thousand killed and missing. However, for the next anniversary, more accurate calculations were made, and they gave a slightly larger figure, and, I would say, significantly larger. That is, it is now believed that the Allies lost 4,400 people dead on the first day of the operation, that is, June 6. This is, in general, more than 2.5 thousand. Naturally, the overall losses increase. As a rule, 2-3 times more people are lost wounded. The Americans suffered the heaviest losses at Omaha, when, one might say, everything was against them - the high shore, the steep cliff leading down to the beach, and the sunken tanker on the road to the shore, and the Germans were quite tough resistance.

V. DYMARSKY: In my opinion, the first wave of paratroopers was almost completely destroyed.

A. ISAEV: No, there was half there. And the first frames of the film “Saving Private Ryan” are dedicated to these events. Spielberg, naturally, did not take the calmer Utah or the neighboring English, but took the place where there is more blood and violence, people love it. Therefore, one should not think that the American landing was as Spielberg showed. This is the worst option, this is the worst area, and not everything was so bad for them on the first day when they found themselves in Normandy. Indeed, they suffered losses there. It is believed that they lost at least two thousand men on Omaha on the first day, but overall even Omaha was relatively successful. Because they landed and gained a foothold, albeit on a fairly narrow strip of shore.

V. DYMARSKY: Thank you for immediately answering one more question. Or rather, there was only one question, but several people asked it. This is about the truthfulness or untruthfulness of the film "Saving Private Ryan."

A. ISAEV: He is truthful in the sense that yes, there was a flurry of fire, and Spielberg was still embarrassed or forgot to show the tanks - the tanks sank along with their crews, ended up on the shore, they were knocked out, and indeed there was a flurry of fire, many were killed.

V. DYMARSKY: We reminisced before the broadcast - they showed some old film “The Longest Day”.

A. ISAEV: Yes, it is more realistic.

V. DYMARSKY: They just showed a meat grinder there.

A. ISAEV: Well, really, if you look...

V. DYMARSKY: But this is also Omaha?

A. ISAEV: Yes, first of all they showed the meat grinder in Omaha, but I must say that the film is more seasoned, and if we talk about cinema in general, then by a strange coincidence, old films such as “Tora! Torah! Torah!" according to Pearl Harbor and “The Longest Day”, they turn out to be more truthful, perhaps because they were filmed by people who had the opportunity to communicate with the direct participants, and, perhaps, themselves remembered and knew something.

V. DYMARSKY: I remembered one question that I wanted to ask you right away. When you talked about the German forces opposing the Allies, to what extent did the Germans have to withdraw their military units from the Eastern Front to repel the Allied attack?

A. ISAEV: This is a very interesting situation. To counter the crisis that arose in April 1944, they removed the newly formed SS corps with two divisions, which visited Ukraine, where they blocked the cauldron, and arrived in Normandy for the final analysis. Therefore, a strange situation turned out - at the last moment, a few days before the landing, they removed the reserve, sent it to the Eastern Front, and returned it...

V. DYMARSKY: Is this the 1944 year?

A. ISAEV: Yes, in April 1944, two SS divisions went there to Ukraine near Kamenets-Podolsky and returned around the 20th of June, so they were late by the first day. Now, if they had been, one might say, in close proximity, then, undoubtedly, the Allies would have suffered heavy losses. And so the main magnet in the West was aviation. That is, aviation was mainly attracted to the west. And on the Eastern Front, the Germans kept approximately 30-40% of their aviation, and the rest was distributed both among the air fleet and in other areas.

V. DYMARSKY: I want to get something from you - to what extent, as is always believed, did this second front pull German forces away from the Eastern Front, how much did it help the Soviet troops?

A. ISAEV: No, if we talk about the immediate, that is, about the transfer in June, then there was no transfer from the Eastern Front. Another question is that the presence of an 800,000-strong force in Normandy, including...

V. DYMARSKY: Which they were forced to keep there.

A. ISAEV: They were forced to keep reorganized divisions, armed with the latest tanks. Suffice it to say that in Normandy, already in the first days of the landing, the Hohenstaufen division took part, which had 200 tanks, of which 100 were Panthers. And in all the divisions of Army Group Center at the beginning of Operation Bagration there was not a single “Panther” at all, not a single tank of this type. Naturally, if this division had gone to the east, and not waited for the allies in Normandy, then Operation Bagration would have developed, perhaps more slowly, and perhaps other results would have been achieved. This division was not alone. There was also, as I already said, near Calais the 2nd Panzer Division, fully equipped. Also a complete Panther battalion. Now, if this division had also been removed and thrown into Belarus, then I’m not sure that we would have been standing near Warsaw in August. It would certainly have an impact. And so, in general, naturally, the Western Front contained troops that were not very necessary. There are legends about the gastric division, suffering from gastric diseases and less suitable for fighting in the east; the SS divisions “Leibstandarte” and “Das Reich” were also brought there after the difficult winter campaign of 43-44. And they took part, having already been beaten by the Red Army. That is, they were in rather poor condition. And the fact that they were thrown into battle was a harsh necessity, and not their ability to do something.

V. DYMARSKY: Can this assessment of yours be regarded as the fact that you refute the opinion, and it exists, that, strictly speaking, the Red Army could have won without a second front?

A. ISAEV: I could have won, but the losses would have undoubtedly been higher. Indeed, the Red Army could have moved on, and it is unlikely that the Germans could have seriously delayed it. But, nevertheless, the losses would be higher.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, if all these forces were thrown to the east?

A. ISAEV: Yes, if all these forces were thrown to the east, operations would develop more slowly. And there would be no talk of any capture of Berlin on May 2, 1945. It would cost us more, first of all, people. Therefore, the contribution of the Allies should not be underestimated, although we must honestly admit that there is data given in Western military sources that the losses in the west and in the east were three times different, that is, the losses of the Germans on the Eastern Front in the same period, 1944, on average were three times more than in the West. However, 90 thousand prisoners taken by the Allies in the cauldron in August 1944 is a lot. This result, of course, is not the same as in Stalingrad, when a 300,000-strong group was surrounded, but it’s also not bad.

V. DYMARSKY: Still, about the scale. Here, our listener or viewer named Belyaev still cannot calm down about the second front. He writes: “I foresaw your objection that in Italy the matter was too small. The scale is determined not by the number of victims, but by the strategic result.” That is, he believes that, based on the strategic result, the battles that took place in Italy could be considered a second front.

V. DYMARSKY: We see what Italy crossed over in 1943.

A. ISAEV: Nevertheless, Northern Italy remained in the hands of the Germans. It was believed that they would sit in the Alpine fortress and hold out. Therefore, what is a strategic result? A blow to industry. A blow to the army. Neither of these were achieved in Italy. With all due respect to a competent, well-performed operation.

V. DYMARSKY: Alexey, we received a few more questions about the participation of the French. Why, strictly speaking, were there no French among the allies, where were the forces of de Gaulle, who was sitting in London, heading the government in exile? And in general, did de Gaulle participate in the landing? You could probably say no.

A. ISAEV: Yes.

V. DYMARSKY: We can immediately say that they did not participate. But the French participated in the second second front, if you can call it that. This is Southern France.

A. ISAEV: Yes, Operation Dragoon. She was, in general, an auxiliary stepson of "Neptune" in Normandy. However, General Leclerc's division later took part in France. And it cannot be said that the French remained completely on the sidelines. But what’s interesting is that Polish units took part in the battles in Normandy. And even in the cemetery in Normandy, where the remains of those who fought for those places are buried, there are approximately 600 Poles. This is a fact that I think we should not forget. About what the Polish units actually did in the west.

V. DYMARSKY: “Did Soviet soldiers participate in the Normandy landings as observers or in some other capacity?” - asks Alexey from St. Petersburg.

A. ISAEV: No, Soviet military personnel did not participate. Naturally, they did not leave further than England. And you can answer this way: the allies came across people who spoke Russian. These were separate battalions of collaborators who were on the Eastern Front. They were afraid that they would run away, but if they were driven into Normandy, where there were French speaking non-Russian people around, they would, as they say, be forced to sit there. And the most comical moment is that there is a set of models, soldiers from the Dragon company, please do not consider this as product placement, which depicts the Georgian legion in Normandy, which was in the Utah sector. And here are all the soldiers in this set with their hands raised. All of them are depicted without weapons with their hands raised. This is, one might say, a unique case in the history of military figures. This set became a hit in its time - it was the Georgian legion as a symbol of collaboration on the Western Front.

V. DYMARSKY: Andy asks us: “Is there any evidence that Stalin in 1944 no longer wanted the opening of a second front?” Well, the argument is completely understandable.

A. ISAEV: There is still no direct evidence. And Stalin, as a real politician, understood that the allies could contribute to the defeat of Germany. Because if all this is put on the Soviet Union, there will be more losses of both human and material resources. In any case, they were unprofitable for Stalin, from any cynical point of view, even if we argue that he wanted to further advance in Germany or something else. The allies were, of course, useful to the Soviet Union precisely from a military point of view, as those who pull over the Fokkewulfs and Junkers, as those who pull tank divisions from the Eastern Front.

V. DYMARSKY: There were agreements in Tehran. Then there was Yalta, this is already the 45th year, but, nevertheless, the fighting continued in the west, and the post-war structure of the world was already discussed.

A. ISAEV: Yes, and the spheres of influence were quite clearly defined, so to speak, or more precisely, the zones of occupation, as it was called then, in the future Germany.

V. DYMARSKY: Here is a worker from Zaporozhye asking us: “Please tell us about the Allies’ preparations for the landing. I heard that they even conducted large exercises in places with similar soil and terrain.”

A. ISAEV: Yes. By the way, I already talked about this. That indeed in England they allocated similar areas and trained there. And the training, in general, was serious. It took several weeks.

V. DYMARSKY: And he asks whether the landing was doomed to success.

A. ISAEV: In the situation that developed on the morning of June 6, yes, it was doomed to success. Indeed, on the first day, not only did they land 150 thousand people, they also landed 700 tanks. The Germans could counter this not even on the first day, but on the second day of the battles with only 100 tanks of the 21st Panzer Division. Then other formations pulled up, but, nevertheless, this first throw ensured sufficient stability of the English bridgeheads, first of all, which allowed the allies to hold tight there and feel calm.

V. DYMARSKY: If we are talking about the second front in a broader time frame, not only June 1944, then we must say that, in general, the battles were quite fierce both in the fall and winter of 1944-45.

A. ISAEV: Even earlier. I wanted to talk about such an interesting moment, very important for understanding the course of the war in the West. After all, the Allies read German radiograms. They broke the code, and there was an organization called Ultra that made it possible to read their radiograms. And later, in August, when the Allies broke out of Normandy and this maneuverable battle began, General Patton’s American army, by the standards of the Eastern Front, acted very boldly and even insanely. She, exposing her flank, went to encircle the Germans. And now, when the Ultra archives have been opened, we can say quite definitely that Patton was not an adventurer, not a person with some kind of instinct, he did not listen to any astrologers, he listened to Ultra, which gave him the exact location of German formations, and this disposition told him: “Be calm, go where you want.” And as a result, the Falaise sack was formed, a cauldron that, in general, decided the fate of France, when France was actually liberated by the Allies by the beginning of the autumn of 1944.

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, we literally have a minute left - what was the reaction in Moscow to the opening of the second front, were there any official statements?

A. ISAEV: We can say that there was such a not entirely official statement, and, naturally, it was not published in the press. And a message was sent from Moscow that, as we promised, we would soon begin an operation on one of the most important sectors of the front. And this operation was “Bagration”. The allies were not given either a specific date or a specific place, but, nevertheless, they were assured - guys, we remember our obligations given in Tehran, and soon we will also join you. And they really joined.

V. DYMARSKY: Here they write to us: “There was a Russian. Kramenov wrote…” Apparently, there are some war journalists there, or war correspondents.

A. ISAEV: I'm afraid that on the first day there were no journalists. The situation was, to put it mildly, not conducive to PR - both from a military and political point of view.

V. DYMARSKY: Thanks to Alexey Isaev. In my opinion, we very dynamically and to the point discussed a lot of the stated topic - the Allied landing in Normandy. Now - a portrait from Tikhon Dzyadko of Army General Antonov. And we will meet you in a week in the “Price of Victory” program.

T. DZYADKO: Army General Alexey Antonov is the only holder of the Order of Victory who did not have the rank of marshal. And it's strange. Especially comparing what Antonov did with the merits of some Soviet military leaders who received the rank of marshal. Antonov’s track record includes several dozen operations, about thirty large ones. He took part in their development and implementation. In the latter, like Berlin and Prague, already as Chief of the General Staff. He was appointed to this post in February 1945. The General Staff is undoubtedly the real brain of the army, and Antonov is one of the most suitable candidates to become its head. Before this, Antonov held the post of 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff for three years, and at the initial stage of the war he headed the headquarters of the Southern, North Caucasian and Transcaucasian fronts and the Black Sea Group of Forces. Alexey Antonov is a military man with education. He not only graduated from the Frunze Military Academy and the General Staff Academy, but also taught for two years. Antonov’s father is a military man, and therefore everything is quite obvious. In the 16th year he graduated from the Pavlovsk Military School, then there was the 1st World War, for Antonov with the rank of lieutenant. In the 19th he was mobilized into the Red Army and participated in the Civil War on the Southern Front as chief of staff of a brigade. Reviews from colleagues and other military leaders are positive, even more than positive. “An extremely competent military man, a man of great culture and charm,” this is Zhukov. “Extraordinary organizational skills, brilliant comprehension of the enemy’s plans and the ability to cleverly destroy these plans,” this is Marshal Malinovsky. After the end of the war, Antonov continued to work in the General Staff, in recent years also heading the Headquarters of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact. Army General Alexei Antonov was the third husband of Stalin's favorite ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya.

"Second front". Our soldiers opened it for three whole years. This is what the American stew was called. And the “second front” existed in the form of planes, tanks, trucks, and non-ferrous metals. But the real opening of the second front, the Normandy landings, occurred only on June 6, 1944.

Europe is like one impregnable fortress

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

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

Start of construction

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

New curator

The elderly Gerd von Rundstedt and the energetic Erwin Rommel did not work well together right away. Rommel did not like that the Atlantic Wall was only half built, there were not enough large-caliber guns, and despondency reigned among the troops. In private conversations, Gerd von Rundstedt called the defenses a bluff. He believed that his units needed to be withdrawn from the coast and attack the Allied landing site in Normandy afterward. Erwin Rommel strongly disagreed with this. He intended to defeat the British and Americans right on the shore, where they could not bring up reinforcements.
To do this, it was necessary to concentrate tank and motorized divisions off the coast. Erwin Rommel stated: “The war will be won or lost on these sands. The first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive. The landing of troops in Normandy will go down in military history as one of the most unsuccessful thanks to the valiant German army.” In general, Adolf Hitler approved of Erwin Rommel's plan, but kept the tank divisions under his command.

The coastline is getting stronger

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

Everything is ready for defense, you can rest

In April 1944, he would tell his adjutant: “Today I have only one enemy, and that enemy is time.” All these worries exhausted Erwin Rommel so much that at the beginning of June he went on a short vacation, as did many German military commanders on the west coast. Those who did not go on vacation, by a strange coincidence, found themselves on business trips far from the coast. The generals and officers who remained on the ground were calm and relaxed. The weather forecast until mid-June was the most unsuitable for landing. Therefore, the Allied landing in Normandy seemed something unreal and fantastic. Strong seas, squally winds and low clouds. No one had any idea that an unprecedented armada of ships had already left English ports.

Great battles. Landing in Normandy

The condition for the transfer of paratroopers and troops on gliders was a dark sky and moonrise during landing. Low tide was necessary for the amphibious assault to see the coastal barriers. In stormy seas, thousands of paratroopers suffered from seasickness in the cramped holds of boats and barges. Several dozen ships could not withstand the assault and sank. But nothing could stop the operation. The Normandy landings begin. The troops were to land at five places on the coast.

Operation Overlord begins

At 0 hours 15 minutes on June 6, 1944, the ruler entered the soil of Europe. Paratroopers began the operation. Eighteen thousand paratroopers scattered across the lands of Normandy. However, not everyone is lucky. About half ended up in swamps and minefields, but the other half completed their tasks. Panic began in the German rear. Communication lines were destroyed, and, most importantly, undamaged strategically important bridges were captured. By this time, the marines were already fighting on the coast.
The landing of American troops in Normandy was on the sandy beaches of Omaha and Utah, the British and Canadians landed on the Sword, Juna and Gold sections. The warships fought a duel with the coastal artillery, trying, if not to suppress, then at least to distract it from the paratroopers. Thousands of Allied aircraft simultaneously bombed and stormed German positions. One English pilot recalled that the main task was not to collide with each other in the sky. The Allied air superiority was 72:1.

Memoirs of a German ace

On the morning and afternoon of June 6, the Luftwaffe did not offer any resistance to the coalition troops. Only two German pilots showed up in the landing area: the commander of the 26th Fighter Squadron, the famous ace Joseph Priller, and his wingman.

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

The Allied assault continues

The Nazi navy did little better. Three torpedo boats in a suicidal attack on the invasion fleet managed to sink one American destroyer. The landing of Allied troops in Normandy, namely the British and Canadians, did not encounter serious resistance in their areas. In addition, they managed to transport tanks and guns to the shore intact. The Americans, especially in the Omaha section, were much less fortunate. Here the German defense was held by the 352nd Division, which consisted of veterans who had been fired at on different fronts.
The Germans brought the paratroopers within four hundred meters and opened heavy fire. Almost all American boats approached the shore east of the designated places. They were carried away by a strong current, and thick smoke from the fires made it difficult to navigate. The sapper platoons were almost destroyed, so there was no one to make passages in the minefields. The panic began.

Then several destroyers came close to the shore and began direct fire at the German positions. The 352nd Division did not remain in debt to the sailors; the ships were seriously damaged, but the paratroopers under their cover were able to break through the German defenses. Thanks to this, the Americans and British were able to advance several miles forward at all landing sites.

Trouble for the Fuhrer

The German military commanders wasted time. The attacks of the following days and weeks achieved nothing. The Atlantic Wall collapsed. The Allies entered the operational space. Everything was decided in the first twenty-four hours. The Allied landings in Normandy took place.

Historic D-Day

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

Allied military assistance in the fight against the Nazis

1944 The Second World War has been going on for four years. The Germans occupied all of Europe. The allied forces of Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States need a decisive blow. Intelligence reported that the Germans would soon begin to use guided missiles and atomic bombs. A vigorous offensive was supposed to interrupt the Nazi plans. The easiest way is to go through occupied territories, for example through France. The secret name of the operation is “Overlord”.

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

The Commander-in-Chief's Alarms

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

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

"Overlord": chronicle of events

The airborne landings in Normandy were to take place first on the shores of France. However, everything went wrong. The pilots of the two divisions needed good visibility, they were not supposed to drop troops into the sea, but they saw nothing. The paratroopers disappeared into the clouds and landed several kilometers from the collection point. The bombers would then clear the way for the amphibious assault. But they did not fix their goals.

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

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

Death awaited the soldiers on the shore. There were barriers and anti-tank hedgehogs all around, everything around was mined. The Allied fleet fired at German positions, but strong storm waves prevented accurate fire.

The first soldiers to land were faced with fierce fire from German machine guns and cannons. Hundreds of soldiers died. But they continued to fight. It seemed like a real miracle. Despite the most powerful German barriers and bad weather, the largest landing force in history began its offensive. Allied soldiers continued to land on the 70-kilometer beach of Normandy. During the day, the clouds over Normandy began to clear. The main obstacle for the Allies was the Atlantic Wall, a system of permanent fortifications and rocks that protect the coast of Normandy.

The soldiers began to climb the coastal cliffs. The Germans fired at them from above. By mid-day, the Allied troops began to outnumber the fascist Normandy garrison.

The old soldier remembers

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

Continuation of the assault

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

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

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

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

Last attack

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

The French resistance movement, led by General Philippe Leclerc, helped the Allies enter Paris. Happy Parisians greeted the liberators with joy.

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

The war in Europe was over.

Europe is like one impregnable fortress

Start of construction

New curator

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

The coastline is getting stronger

Everything is ready for defense, you can rest

Great battles. Landing in Normandy

The Allies called the Normandy landings Operation Overlord. Literally translated, this means “lord.” It became the largest landing operation in human history. The Allied landings in Normandy involved 5,000 warships and landing craft. The Allied commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, could not delay the landing because of the weather. Only three days - from June 5 to 7 - there was a late moon, and immediately after dawn there was low water. The condition for the transfer of paratroopers and troops on gliders was a dark sky and moonrise during landing. Low tide was necessary for the amphibious assault to see the coastal barriers. In stormy seas, thousands of paratroopers suffered from seasickness in the cramped holds of boats and barges. Several dozen ships could not withstand the assault and sank. But nothing could stop the operation. The Normandy landings begin. The troops were to land at five places on the coast.

Operation Overlord begins

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

Memoirs of a German ace

The Allied assault continues

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

Trouble for the Fuhrer

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

Historic D-Day

Allied military assistance in the fight against the Nazis

The Commander-in-Chief's Alarms

"Overlord": chronicle of events

The soldiers began to climb the coastal cliffs. The Germans fired at them from above. By mid-day, the Allied troops began to outnumber the fascist Normandy garrison.

The old soldier remembers

Continuation of the assault

Last attack

The French resistance movement, led by General Philippe Leclerc, helped the Allies enter Paris. Happy Parisians greeted the liberators with joy.

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

The worst thing besides
lost battle
this is a won battle.

Duke of Wellington.

Allied landings in Normandy, Operation Overlord, "D-Day", Normandy operation. This event has many different names. This is a battle that everyone knows about, even outside the countries that fought the war. This is an event that claimed many thousands of lives. An event that will go down in history forever.

general information

Operation Overlord- a military operation of the Allied forces, which became the opening operation of a second front in the West. Held in Normandy, France. And to this day it is the largest landing operation in history - in total more than 3 million people were involved. The operation has begun June 6, 1944 and ended on August 31, 1944 with the liberation of Paris from the German occupiers. This operation combined the skill of organizing and preparing for combat operations of the Allied troops and the rather ridiculous mistakes of the Reich troops, which led to the collapse of Germany in France.

Goals of the warring parties

For Anglo-American troops "Overlord" set the goal of delivering a crushing blow to the very heart of the Third Reich and, in cooperation with the advance of the Red Army along the entire eastern front, crushing the main and most powerful enemy from the Axis countries. The goal of Germany, as the defending side, was extremely simple: not to allow the Allied troops to land and gain a foothold in France, to force them to suffer heavy human and technical losses and dump them into the English Channel.

Strengths of the parties and the general state of affairs before the battle

It is worth noting that the position of the German army in 1944, especially on the Western Front, left much to be desired. Hitler concentrated his main troops on the eastern front, where Soviet troops were victorious one after another. The German troops were deprived of a unified leadership in France - constant changes in senior commanders, conspiracies against Hitler, disputes about a possible landing site, and the lack of a unified defensive plan did not in any way contribute to the successes of the Nazis.

By June 6, 1944, 58 Nazi divisions were stationed in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, including 42 infantry, 9 tank and 4 air field divisions. They were united into two army groups, “B” and “G”, and were subordinate to the “West” command. Army Group B (commander Field Marshal E. Rommel), located in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, included the 7th, 15th armies and the 88th separate army corps - a total of 38 divisions. Army Group G (commanded by General I. Blaskowitz) consisting of the 1st and 19th armies (11 divisions in total) was located on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and in southern France.

In addition to the troops that were part of the army groups, 4 divisions made up the reserve of the West command. Thus, the greatest densities of troops were created in North-Eastern France, on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais Strait. In general, the German units were scattered throughout France and did not have time to arrive on the battlefield in time. For example, about 1 million more Reich soldiers were in France and initially did not participate in the battle.

Despite the relatively large number of German soldiers and equipment stationed in the area, their combat effectiveness was extremely low. 33 divisions were considered “stationary”, that is, they either had no vehicles at all or did not have the required amount of fuel. About 20 divisions were newly formed or recovered from battles, so they were only 70-75% of normal strength. Many tank divisions also lacked fuel.

From the memoirs of the Chief of Staff of the West Command, General Westphal: “It is well known that the combat effectiveness of the German troops in the West, already at the time of the landing, was much lower than the combat effectiveness of the divisions operating in the East and Italy... A significant number of ground force formations located in France, the so-called “stationary divisions,” were very poorly equipped with weapons and by motor transport and consisted of older soldiers". The German air fleet could provide about 160 combat-ready aircraft. As for the naval forces, Hitler's troops had at their disposal 49 submarines, 116 patrol ships, 34 torpedo boats and 42 artillery barges.

The Allied forces, commanded by future US President Dwight Eisenhower, had 39 divisions and 12 brigades at their disposal. As for aviation and navy, in this aspect the Allies had an overwhelming advantage. They had about 11 thousand combat aircraft, 2300 transport aircraft; over 6 thousand combat, landing and transport ships. Thus, by the time of the landing, the overall superiority of the Allied forces over the enemy was 2.1 times in men, 2.2 times in tanks, and almost 23 times in aircraft. In addition, the Anglo-American troops constantly brought new forces to the battlefield, and by the end of August they already had about 3 million people at their disposal. Germany could not boast of such reserves.

Operation plan

The American command began preparing for the landing in France long before "D-Day"(the original landing project was considered 3 years before - in 1941 - and was codenamed “Roundup”). In order to test their strength in the war in Europe, the Americans, together with British troops, landed in North Africa (Operation Torch), and then in Italy. The operation was postponed and changed many times because the United States could not decide which theater of military operations was more important for them - the European or the Pacific. After it was decided to choose Germany as the main rival, and in the Pacific to limit itself to tactical defense, the development plan began Operation Overlord.

The operation consisted of two phases: the first was codenamed "Neptune", the second - "Cobra". "Neptune" assumed an initial landing of troops, the capture of coastal territory, "Cobra" - a further offensive deep into France, followed by the capture of Paris and access to the German-French border. The first part of the operation lasted from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944; the second began immediately after the end of the first, that is, from July 1, 1944 until August 31 of the same year.

The operation was prepared in the strictest secrecy, all troops that were supposed to land in France were transferred to special isolated military bases that were forbidden to leave, information propaganda was conducted regarding the place and time of the operation.

In addition to US and British troops, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand soldiers took part in the operation, and French resistance forces were active in France itself. For a very long time, the command of the allied forces could not accurately determine the time and place of the start of the operation. The most preferred landing sites were Normandy, Brittany and Pas-de-Calais.

Everyone knows that the choice was made on Normandy. The choice was influenced by factors such as the distance to the ports of England, the echelon and strength of defensive fortifications, and the range of the Allied aircraft. The combination of these factors determined the choice of the Allied command.

Until the very last moment, the German command believed that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area, since this place was closest to England, and therefore required the least time to transport cargo, equipment, and new soldiers. In Pas-de-Calais, the famous “Atlantic Wall” was created - an impregnable line of defense for the Nazis, while in the landing area the fortifications were hardly half ready. The landing took place on five beaches, which were codenamed “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Sword”, “Juno”.

The start time of the operation was determined by the ratio of the water level and the time of sunrise. These factors were considered to ensure that the landing craft did not run aground and were not damaged by underwater obstacles, and that it was possible to land equipment and troops as close to the shore as possible. As a result, the day the operation began was June 6, and this day was named "D-Day". The night before the landing of the main forces, a parachute landing was dropped behind enemy lines, which was supposed to help the main forces, and immediately before the start of the main attack, the German fortifications were subjected to a massive air raid and Allied ships.

Progress of the operation

Such a plan was developed at headquarters. In reality, things didn't go quite that way. The landing force, which was dropped behind German lines the night before the operation, was scattered over a vast territory - over 216 square meters. km. for 25-30 km. from captured objects. Most of the 101st Division, which landed near Sainte-Maire-Eglise, disappeared without a trace. The 6th British Division was also unlucky: although the landing paratroopers were much more numerous than their American comrades, in the morning they came under fire from their own aircraft, with which they could not establish contact. The 1st US Division was almost completely destroyed. Some ships with tanks were sunk before they even reached the shore.

Already during the second part of the operation - Operation Cobra - Allied aircraft attacked their own command post. The offensive went much slower than planned. The bloodiest event of the entire company was the landing on Omaha Beach. According to the plan, early in the morning, German fortifications on all beaches were subjected to fire from naval guns and air bombing, as a result of which the fortifications were significantly damaged.

But on the Omaha, due to fog and rain, the naval guns and planes missed, and the fortifications did not receive any damage. By the end of the first day of the operation, on the Omaha the Americans had lost more than 3 thousand people and were unable to take the positions planned by the plan, while on the Utah during this time they lost about 200 people, took the necessary positions and united with the landing party. Despite all this, on the whole the landing of the Allied troops was quite successful.

Then the second phase was successfully started Operation Overlord, within which cities such as Cherbourg, Saint-Lo, Caen and others were taken. The Germans retreated, throwing weapons and equipment to the Americans. On August 15, due to mistakes by the German command, two German tank armies were surrounded, and although they were able to escape from the so-called Falaise Pocket, it was at the cost of huge losses. Allied forces then captured Paris on August 25, continuing to push the Germans back to the Swiss borders. After the complete cleansing of the French capital from fascists, Operation Overlord was declared completed.

Reasons for the victory of the Allied forces

Many of the reasons for the Allied victory and the German defeat have already been mentioned above. One of the main reasons was the critical position of Germany at this stage of the war. The main forces of the Reich were concentrated on the Eastern Front; the constant onslaught of the Red Army did not give Hitler the opportunity to transfer new troops to France. Such an opportunity arose only at the end of 1944 (Ardennes Offensive), but then it was already too late.

The better military-technical equipment of the Allied troops also had an effect: all the equipment of the Anglo-Americans was new, with full ammunition and a sufficient supply of fuel, while the Germans constantly experienced supply difficulties. In addition, the Allies constantly received reinforcements from English ports.

An important factor was the activity of the French partisans, who pretty well spoiled the supplies for the German troops. In addition, the allies had a numerical superiority over the enemy in all types of weapons, as well as in personnel. Conflicts within the German headquarters, as well as the incorrect belief that the landing would take place in the Pas-de-Calais area and not in Normandy, led to a decisive Allied victory.

Operation meaning

In addition to the fact that the landing in Normandy showed the strategic and tactical skill of the command of the Allied forces and the courage of ordinary soldiers, it also had a huge impact on the course of the war. "D-Day" opened a second front, forced Hitler to fight on two fronts, which stretched the already dwindling forces of the Germans. This was the first major battle in Europe in which American soldiers proved themselves. The offensive in the summer of 1944 caused the collapse of the entire Western Front, the Wehrmacht lost almost all positions in Western Europe.

Representation of the battle in the media

The scale of the operation, as well as its bloodshed (especially on Omaha Beach) led to the fact that today there are many computer games and films on this topic. Perhaps the most famous film was the masterpiece of the famous director Steven Spielberg "Saving Private Ryan", which tells about the massacre that occurred on the Omaha. This topic was also discussed in "The Longest Day", television series "Brothers in Arms" and many documentaries. Operation Overlord has appeared in more than 50 different computer games.

Even though Operation Overlord was carried out more than 50 years ago, and now it remains the largest amphibious operation in the history of mankind, and now the attention of many scientists and experts is riveted to it, and now there are endless disputes and debates about it. And it’s probably clear why.

I I think that every educated person knows that on June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy, and finally, the full opening of the second front. T Only the assessment of this event has different interpretations.
The same beach now:

Why did the Allies wait until 1944? What goals did you pursue? Why was the operation carried out so ineptly and with such significant losses, despite the overwhelming superiority of the Allies?
This topic was raised by many at different times, I will try to talk about the events that took place in the most understandable language possible.
When you watch American films like: "Saving Private Ryan", games " Call of Duty 2" or you read an article on Wikipedia, it seems that the greatest event of all times is described, and it was here that the entire Second World War was decided...
Propaganda has always been the most powerful weapon. ..

By 1944, it was clear to all politicians that the war was lost by Germany and its allies, and in 1943, during the Tehran Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill roughly divided the world among themselves. In a little more time, Europe, and most importantly France, could have become communist if they had been liberated by Soviet troops, so the allies were forced to rush in time to share the pie and fulfill their promises to contribute to the common victory.

(I recommend reading “Correspondence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR with US Presidents and British Prime Ministers during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945,” released in 1957, in response to the memoirs of Winston Churchill.)

Now let’s try to figure out what really happened and how. First of all, I decided to go and look at the terrain with my own eyes, and assess exactly what difficulties the troops landing under fire had to overcome. The landing zone takes about 80 km, but this does not mean that throughout these 80 km, paratroopers landed on every meter; in fact, it was concentrated in several places: "Sword", "Juno", "Gold", "Omaha Beach" and "Pointe d'oc".
I walked along this territory on foot along the sea, studying the fortifications that have survived to this day, visited two local museums, sifted through a lot of different literature about these events and talked with residents in Bayeux, Caen, Sommur, Fecamp, Rouen, etc.
It is very difficult to imagine a more mediocre landing operation, with the complete connivance of the enemy. Yes, critics will say that the scale of the landing is unprecedented, but the mess is the same. Even according to official sources, non-combat losses! were 35%!!! from total losses!
We read Wiki, wow, how many Germans resisted, how many German units, tanks, guns! By what miracle did the landing succeed???
The German troops on the Western Front were spread thinly over the territory of France and these units performed mainly security functions, and many could only be called combat ones. What is the division, nicknamed the “White Bread Division” worth? An eyewitness, English author M. Shulman, says: “After the invasion of France, the Germans decided to replace it with o. Walcheren was an ordinary infantry division, a division whose personnel suffered from stomach diseases. Bunkers on the island Walcheren was now occupied by soldiers who had chronic ulcers, acute ulcers, wounded stomachs, nervous stomachs, sensitive stomachs, inflamed stomachs - in general, all known gastritis. The soldiers vowed to stand until the end. Here, in the richest part of Holland, where white bread, fresh vegetables, eggs and milk were in abundance, the soldiers of the 70th Division, nicknamed the "White Bread Division", awaited the imminent Allied offensive and were nervous, for their attention was equally divided between the problematic threat and side of the enemy and real stomach disorders. This disabled division was led into battle by the elderly, good-natured Lieutenant General Wilhelm Deiser... Horrific losses among senior officers in Russia and North Africa were the reason that he was returned from retirement in February 1944 and appointed commander of a stationary division in Holland. His active service ended in 1941 when he was discharged due to heart attacks. Now, being 60 years old, he was not enthusiastic and did not have the ability to turn the defense of Fr. Walcheren in the heroic epic of German weapons."
In the German "troops" on the Western Front there were disabled and crippled people; to perform security functions in good old France, you do not need to have two eyes, two arms or legs. Yes, there were full-fledged parts. And there were also collected from various rabble, like the Vlasovites and the like, who only dreamed of surrendering.
On the one hand, the Allies assembled a monstrously powerful group, on the other hand, the Germans still had the opportunity to inflict unacceptable damage on their opponents, but...
Personally, I got the impression that the command of the German troops simply did not prevent the Allies from landing. But at the same time, he could not order the troops to raise their hands or go home.
Why do I think this? Let me remind you that this is the time when a conspiracy of the generals against Hitler is being prepared, secret negotiations are underway between the German elite on a separate peace, behind the back of the USSR. Allegedly, due to bad weather, aerial reconnaissance was stopped, torpedo boats curtailed reconnaissance operations,
(Most recently before this, the Germans sank 2 landing ships, damaged one during exercises in preparation for the landing and another was killed by “friendly fire”),
the command flies to Berlin. And this is at a time when the same Rommel knows very well from intelligence data about the impending invasion. Yes, he might not have known about the exact time and place, but it was impossible not to notice the gathering of thousands of ships!!!, preparation, mountains of equipment, training of paratroopers! What more than two people know, so does a pig - this old saying clearly reflects the essence of the impossibility of hiding preparations for such a large-scale operation as an invasion across the English Channel.
I'll tell you a few interesting points. Zone landings Pointe du Hoc. It is very famous; a new German coastal battery was supposed to be located here, but they installed old French 155 mm cannons, manufactured in 1917. In this very small area, bombs were dropped, 250 356 mm shells were fired from the American battleship Texas, as well as a lot of shells of smaller calibers. Two destroyers supported the landing with continuous fire. And then a group of Rangers on landing barges approached the shore and climbed the steep cliffs under the command of Colonel James E. Rudder, captured the battery and fortifications on the shore. True, the battery turned out to be made of wood, and the sounds of shots were imitated with explosive packages! The real one was moved when one of the guns was destroyed during a successful air raid a few days ago, and it is its photograph that can be seen on websites under the guise of the gun destroyed by the Rangers. There is a statement that the rangers did find this relocated battery and ammunition depot, which, oddly enough, was not guarded! Then they blew it up.
If you ever find yourself on Pointe du Hoc , you will see what used to be a “lunar” landscape.
Roskill (Roskill S. Fleet and War. M.: Voenizdat, 1974. T. 3. P. 348) wrote:
“Over 5,000 tons of bombs were dropped, and although there were few direct hits on the gun casemates, we managed to seriously disrupt enemy communications and undermine their morale. With the onset of dawn, the defensive positions were attacked by 1630 “liberators”, “flying fortresses” and medium bombers of the 8th and 9th air forces of the US Air Force... Finally, in the last 20 minutes before the approach of the assault waves, fighter-bombers and medium The bombers carried out a bomb attack directly on the defensive fortifications on the shore...
Shortly after 0530, the naval artillery unleashed a hail of shells along the entire 50-mile front of the coast; Such a powerful artillery strike from the sea had never been delivered before. Then the light guns of the advanced landing ships came into action, and finally, just before hour “H”, tank landing ships armed with missile launchers moved towards the shore; firing intensely with 127 mm rockets into the depths of the defense. The enemy practically did not respond to the approach of the assault waves. There was no aviation, and the coastal batteries did not cause any damage, although they fired several salvos at transports.”
A total of 10 kilotons of TNT equivalent, this is equivalent in power to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima!
Yes, the guys who landed under fire, at night on wet rocks and pebbles, who climbed a steep cliff, are heroes, but... The big question is how many Germans survived who were able to resist them after such air and artillery treatment? The rangers advancing in the first wave are 225 people... Losses in killed and wounded are 135 people. Data on German losses: more than 120 killed and 70 prisoners. Hmm... Great battle?
From 18 to 20 guns with a caliber of more than 120 mm were fired against the landing allies from the German side... In total!
With absolute Allied air supremacy! Supported by 6 battleships, 23 cruisers, 135 destroyers and destroyers, 508 other warships. 4,798 ships took part in the attack. In total, the Allied fleet included: 6,939 ships for various purposes (1,213 - combat, 4,126 - transport, 736 - auxiliary and 864 - merchant ships (some were in reserve)). Can you imagine the salvo of this armada along the coast over an area of 80 km?
Here's a quote:

In all sectors, the Allies suffered relatively small losses, except...
Omaha Beach, American landing zone. Here the losses were catastrophic. Many drowned paratroopers. When they hang 25-30 kg of equipment on a person, and then force him to parachute into the water, where the bottom is 2.5-3 meters, for fear of getting closer to the shore, then instead of a fighter, you get a corpse. At best, a demoralized person without weapons... The commanders of the barges carrying amphibious tanks forced them to land at depth, afraid to come close to the coast. In total, out of 32 tanks, 2 floated ashore, plus 3, which, the only captain who did not chicken out, landed directly on the shore. The rest drowned due to rough seas and the cowardice of individual commanders. There was complete chaos on the shore and in the water, the soldiers were rushing confusedly along the beach. The officers lost control of their subordinates. But still there were those who were able to organize the survivors and begin to successfully resist the Nazis.
It was here that Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt, fell heroically, who, like the deceased Yakov, Stalin’s son, did not want to hide in headquarters in the capital...
The casualties in this area are estimated at 2,500 Americans. The German corporal machine gunner Heinrich Severlo, later nicknamed the “Omaha Monster,” contributed his talents to this. He uses his heavy machine gun, as well as two rifles, while in a strong pointWiderstantnest62 killed and wounded more than 2,000 Americans! Such data makes you wonder if he had not run out of ammunition, would he have shot everyone there??? Despite huge losses, the Americans captured the empty casemates and continued the offensive. There is evidence that certain areas of the defense were surrendered to them without a fight, and the number of prisoners captured at all landing sites was surprisingly large. Why is it surprising though? The war was coming to an end and only the most fanatical adherents of Hitler did not want to admit it...
Some Rangers claim that French civilians fought against them... Several French civilians accused of shooting at American forces and assisting the Germans as artillery observers were executed...
But weren’t these residents killed, and then everything said was just a cover-up for American war crimes?
(Source Beevor, Antony. "D-Day: The Battle for Normandy." (New York: Penguin, 2009), p106)

Mini museum between landing zones:

View of Pont d'Oc from above, craters, remains of fortifications, casemates.

View of the sea and rocks there:

Omaha Beach view of the sea and landing zone: