Normandy Marks D-Day’s 79th Anniversary

 

FOX News: On this day in history, June 6, 1944, US and Allies invade Normandy in greatest military invasion 

Invasion force included 7,000 ships, landing craft manned by over 195,000 naval personnel from 8 nations 

On this day in history, the D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air and sea forces of the Allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history, according to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas. 

"The operation, given the codename OVERLORD, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France," notes the same source. 

"The beaches were given the code names: UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO and SWORD."  

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Update: Normandy marks D-Day’s 79th anniversary, honors World War II veterans (AP) 

 WNU Editor: President Reagan's address at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France, June 6, 1984, is the one that I always like to see and hear on this day (see below).

Remembering D-Day -- Picture Of The Day

U.S. troops wade ashore from a Coast Guard landing craft at Omaha Beach during the D-Day landings near Vierville sur Mer, France, on June 6, 1944. REUTERS/Robert F. Sargent  

WNU Editor: The above picture is frm this photo-gallery .... D-Day in pictures: The Allied invasion of Normandy (Reuters).

Reflections On This Year's D-Day Celebrations In France Being Cancelled For The First Time Since 1945

U.S. Soldiers disembark a landing craft at Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. By the end of the day, some 150,000 Allied troops had landed on five Normandy beaches and three airborne drop zones. The invasion marked the beginning of the final phase of World War II in Europe, which ended with the surrender of Germany the following May. (DOD photo courtesy of the National Infantry Museum/Released)

Defense News: D-Day at 76: Celebrations in France have been cancelled for the first time since 1945

The Friends of American Veterans Association in France organizes ceremonies every year to honor American soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of the country. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all celebrations had to be cancelled.

The tradition of honoring American veterans started in 1945 when the mayor of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, a town in Normandy, felt that he owed his gratitude to those who served.

Sainte-Mere-Eglise was the first town in Normandy to be liberated. It is perhaps best known by the 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper, Sgt. John Steele, whose parachute got caught up on a church steeple there in the early morning hours of June 6.

It soon became a behind-the-lines base and burial site for American troops. The mayor, Alexandre Renaud, and his wife, Simone, were two of the few English speakers in the town and played a major role in relations with the Americans.

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WNU Editor: This is beyond sad. But I guess it is the sign of the times. Breaking Covid-19 quarantines to demonstrate against racial injustice is important and it is OK .... regardless of the consequences. But very little attention or focus on D-Day and why it is an important event that should be celebrated and never forgotten by all generations. Covid-19 restrictions or not. I noticed that the media was particularly negligent. Giving little if any coverage of D-Day during the weekend. 

D-Day By The Numbers

US Troops wading through water after reaching Normandy and landing Omaha beach on D Day, 1944. Universal History Archive

Business Insider: D-Day by the numbers: Here's what it took 76 years ago to pull off the biggest amphibious invasion in history

* The scale of the Allied invasion that began 76 years ago, on June 6, 1944, was unlike anything the world had seen before or will most likely ever see again.
* An unprecedented landing force of 132,715 Allied troops, among which were 57,500 Americans and 75,215 British and Canadian forces, made landfall at five beaches in Normandy. The landings came at a heavy toll.
* By that summer, the Allies had managed to slow the forward march of the powerful German war machine, which was also struggling against Russian forces on the eastern front.

The Allied invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944 was the largest amphibious invasion in history. The scale of the assault was unlike anything the world had seen before or will most likely ever see again.

By that summer, the Allies had managed to slow the forward march of the powerful German war machine. The invasion was an opportunity to begin driving the Nazis back.

The invasion is unquestionably one of the greatest undertakings in military history. By the numbers, here's what it took to pull this off.

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WNU Editor: Some impressive numbers in this post.

President Trump D-Day Speech On Omaha Beach

Daily Mail: Trump hugs the last survivor of Omaha Beach’s company A: The President pays tribute to 'tough guy' who stormed the beaches in ‘suicide wave’ and saw half of his comrades killed in minutes

* President hugged 94-year-old Russell Pickett after Macron helped him up
* Private Pickett stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy at the age of 19 but was hurt
* Veteran is the last known survivor of Company A, who led the charge on D-Day
* Company A first on to Omaha Beach in what became known a 'suicide wave'

Donald Trump today offered a rare show of emotion when he hugged a 94-year-old veteran who stormed the beaches of Normandy during the Second World War.

The President embraced former Private Russell Pickett and praised him as a 'tough guy' at the moving ceremony at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy.

Private Pickett, who was aged 19, was among the elite troops of Company A, 116th Infantry, who were specially chosen to storm the sands of Omaha Beach during the first wave of the D-Day landings.

Their mission was so dangerous it was known as D-Day's 'suicide wave' - and the men gained notoriety for their ferocious fighting of the Nazis 75 years ago today - but unfortunately 50 per cent of them became casualties.

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WNU Editor: All the leaders gave a good speech today.

The Russian View Of D-Day

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941 at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin walls in Moscow, June 22, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Alexei Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

Business Insider: Russia says D-Day memorials are part of a 'false' history of World War II meant to airbrush out the Soviet Union

* Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said the expansive events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France were painting a "false" picture of who was responsible for winning World War II.
* In an article published Tuesday, Lavrov said the West propagated a "false" history of the conflict that minimized the contributions of the Soviet Union, which sustained the heaviest losses of any nation.
* "Young people are being told that the main credit in victory over Nazism and liberation of Europe goes not to the Soviet troops, but to the West due to the landing in Normandy," Lavrov wrote.
* Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces led by US, Canadian, and British troops landed on the Nazi-occupied French coast at Normandy.

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France, Russia's foreign minister has written an article arguing that the commemorations of the event are part of a "false" history that belittles the contributions of the Soviet Union toward defeating Nazi Germany.

Sergey Lavrov chastised Western powers in an article published in Russia's International Affairs magazine on Tuesday, ahead of events in Europe to mark the D-Day landings on the Nazi-occupied Normandy coast.

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My Comment: I have a different take from the above Business Insider article. Everyone in Russia knows that the Allied effort to defeat Germany (and Japan) was just that .... an Allied effort. And while the great battles and sky-high casualty rates were on the Eastern front .... the invasion of Normandy was essential to expedite the end of the war. If the D-Day invasion never occurred, the Russians would still have defeated Germany .... but the human and economic cost would have been even more enormous to both Germany and Russia .... and the recovery for both countries would have taken decades instead of a few years. On a side note. I asked my father who served in the Soviet Army during the Second World War on what was his view of D-Day. He told me that when he first learned about it, he knew that it would speed up the end of the war, and that his odds to survive the slaughter on the eastern front had just increased substantially.

Update: I would have also voted yes .... Allies should have invited Putin to D-Day anniversary events — poll (TASS).

More On The Russian/Kremlin View Of D-Day

Russia to West: D-Day wasn't decisive in ending World War Two -- Reuters
Russia Trolls West on D-Day: 'Normandy Landing Did Not Have a Decisive Impact on the Outcome of World War II' -- Newsweek
Who Won The War? Russians Take A Different View On D-Day -- Reuters
Russia: U.S, allies 'exaggerating' importance of D-Day to WWII victory -- Washington Times

Remembering D-Day 75 Years Ago (From Wikipedia)

U.S. Army troops wade ashore on Omaha Beach on the morning of 6 June 1944, as the Normandy landings begin.

Normandy Landings -- Wikipedia

The Normandy landings, also known as Operation Neptune were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 (D-Day), beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time (GMT+2). In planning, D-Day was the term used for the day of actual landing, which was dependent on final approval.

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WNU Editor: This is actually a very good account of the invasion.

Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1944 Apology Letter On The Failed D-Day Invasion Of Europe

It reads: "Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duly could do. If any blame or fault is attached to the attempt it is mine alone."

My Comment: A letter that (fortunately) was never needed.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's D-Day Message

D-Day Video/Musical Tribute

President Ronald Reagan At Normandy: The Boys Of Pointe du Hoc

The Boys Of Pointe du Hoc -- President Reagan, Washington Times

We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy, the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

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My Comment: God .... I miss this President.

How D-Day Unfolded On June 6, 1944

US soldiers prepare to land on Utah Beach in Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944 (AFP Photo)

AFP: How the longest day unfolded

Paris (AFP) - June 6, 1944 is known as "the longest day". By its end 156,000 Allied troops and 20,000 vehicles had invaded Nazi-occupied northern France in a defining moment of World War II.

Here is a chronology, in local time, of the historic event that heralded the Nazi defeat.

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World Leaders Commemorate The 75th Anniversary Of D-Day In The South Of England

Euronews/Reuters: World leaders commemorate 75th anniversary of D-Day in south England

Over a dozen world leaders gathered in the south of England on Wednesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

The attendees included Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and US President Donald Trump who is on the final day of a state visit to the UK.

Other leaders and senior figures from ten other countries were also due to attend.

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WNU Editor: These commemorations always bring out the best in people.

More News On World Leaders Commemorating The 75th Anniversary Of D-Day In The South Of England

D-Day: Allies Commemorate Pivotal World War II Invasion, 75 Years Later -- NPR
Queen praises 'resilient' generation on 75th D-Day anniversary that ended Nazi regime -- ABC News Online
'Thank You' - Queen Elizabeth and world leaders applaud D-Day veterans -- Reuters
Foe, now friend; Germans welcome at D-Day observances -- FOX News/AP
South of D-Day beaches, another slaughter is remembered -- FOX News/AP
D-day: key facts on one of the largest military operations ever attempted -- The Guardian

Here Are 4 Dangerous Missions American Troops Carried Out On D-Day

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower told his invasion force, "Your task will not be an easy one." He was brutally right. The National WWII Museum

Business Insider: The 4 most dangerous missions American troops carried out on D-Day, 75 years ago

* The D-Day invasion sent roughly 156,000 Allied troops into Nazi-occupied France beginning on June 6, 1944. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history and a turning point in World War II that came at a catastrophic human toll.
* By the end of the Normandy campaign that began 75 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Allied and Axis soldiers and civilians had died and been wounded.
* The greatest risks were borne by American troops who seized clifftop artillery, set up defensive balloons to defend comrades from aerial attacks, and arrived in the first wave.

"Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well-trained, well-equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely."

As the sun set on the blood-stained beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's message to the thousands of Allied troops dispatched to carry out the largest amphibious landing in military history rang true.

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WNU Editor: The Ranger Assault Group scaling Pointe du Hoc must have been pure hell.

The Destruction That Followed D-Day: Before And After Pictures Show How Northern France Recovered

Omaha Beach

Daily Mail: The destruction that followed D-Day: Stunning before and after images show how northern France recovered from the months-long battle when the Allied bombardments and paratroopers forced the Nazis out

* On June 6 1944, wave upon wave of Allied troops poured onto the beaches of Normandy to hails of Nazi fire
* Bombers thundered through the sky to rain devastation on the towns and cities of Normandy in the attack
* Hundreds of civilians were killed and ancient architecture destroyed by the infernos which lit up the night
* And the settlements of northern France were further blown to pieces as battles raged in months of fighting
* Seventy-five years on photos from then and now allow a glimpse into the violent liberation of Normandy

Stunning before and after images show how northern France has recovered from the months-long battles which followed D-Day when Allied bombardments and paratroopers forced the Nazis out.

Warships, bombers, rubble, refugees. That was the Normandy landscape of 1944, as Allied forces fought to wrest France from Nazi control.

Today, the region's towns and beaches are startlingly calm, as still-grateful residents prepare to welcome veterans commemorating 75 years since D-Day.

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WNU Editor: The 75th anniversary is coming up.

Vintage World War Two Planes To Help Mark The 75th Anniversary Of D-Day

From over East Hartford, Hartford’s skyline is visible under “That’s All, Brother,” one of five C-47s that flew in formation over Connecticut on May 15. The six planes departed from Oxford, flew over Pratt and Whitney, landed at Bradley Field and returned after a reception at the New England Air Museum. These war planes, along with six others from the United States will fly to Europe and join 15 more to drop an estimated 1,000 D-Day paratroopers in a reenactment over Normandy. (Johnathon Henninger / Special to the Courant)

Hartford Courant: From Connecticut to Normandy, vintage planes help mark 75th anniversary of D-Day

Seventy-five years after dropping airborne troops into Nazi-occupied France, vintage warplanes bearing the black and white invasion stripes of Operation Overlord are set to take off from Connecticut on Sunday for a return flight to Europe.

Placid Lassie, D-Day Doll, That’s All, Brother and other planes of the D-Day Squadron are to depart from Waterbury-Oxford Airport and leapfrog across the Atlantic to take part in Daks Over Normandy. The international gathering of volunteer pilots, crews and historic planes is to culminate on June 5 with a jump by about 250 paratroopers into the same drop zones used in the June 6, 1944 invasion.

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WNU Editor: That parachute drop is going to be something to watch.

D-Day Landings Are Brought To Life In Stunning Restored Colour Images

Survivors of a landing craft sunk by enemy fire are helped ashore on Utah Beach. REUTERS/File

Daily Mail: The battle that saved the world: Anticipation, horror, and chaos of the D-Day landings are brought to life in stunning restored colour images

* Rare colour photos of the D-Day landings have been painstakingly restored to show the campaign as it was
* They show Allied soldiers in Britain preparing to ship out for France, landing on the beaches of Normandy
* Soldiers then fight their way through enemy lines, and get a heroes welcome from liberated civilians
* Other photos capture German prisoners of war, towns bombed to ruins, and the smoking wreckage of planes
* More than 1.4 million troops took part in the operation that eventually brought Nazi Germany to an end

The anticipation, horror, and chaos of the D-Day landings are brought to life in rare colour photos shot throughout the operation that changed the course of European history.

They show Allied soldiers in Britain preparing to ship out for France, landing on the beaches of Normandy and fighting their way through enemy lines, and getting a heroes' welcome from liberated civilians.

Other photos capture German prisoners of war, towns bombed to ruins, wrecked planes and equipment, and Allied commanders celebrating the successful invasion.

Most of the photos taken in World War II were black and white as was the predominant technology at the time, but a small number were snapped with early colour cameras.

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WNU Editor: Impressive.

What Is The Russian View Of D-Day

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941 at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin walls in Moscow, June 22, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Alexei Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

Who Won The War? Russians Take A Different View On D-Day -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Sitting in the shade on a bench in the center of Moscow, 77-year-old Galina Makarenko pauses for several seconds before delivering her blunt opinion on the Allied D-Day landings of June 6, 1944.

"It helped us a little. But only a little," says the sprightly physicist, who was evacuated from Moscow to Kazakhstan to escape the conflict that Westerners call World War Two and Russians refer to as the Great Patriotic War.

President Vladimir Putin joins the leaders of France, Britain, the United States and Germany to mark the 70th anniversary on Friday of the Normandy landings that opened the western front against Hitler's forces, catching them in a giant pincer movement as Stalin's Red Army pushed them back in the east.

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My Comment: I have a different take from this Reuters article. Most people in Russia do know that the Allied effort to defeat Germany (and Japan) was just that .... an Allied effort. And while the great battles and sky-high casualty rates were on the Eastern front .... the invasion of Normandy was essential to expedite the end of the war. If the D-Day invasion never occurred, the Russians would still have defeated Germany .... but the human and economic cost would have been even more enormous to both Germany and Russia .... and the recovery for both countries would have taken decades instead of a few years.

D-Day Video/Musical Tribute

From The Archives: D-Day Tech

What is the Truth About America’s War Gliders?: While parachute units like the 101st Airborne division are the first thing to come to mind when considering the aerial invasion on D-Day, a significant number of troops also arrived in gliders. Importantly, the gliders were able to bring heavier equipment like jeeps and artillery to troops behind the front lines. We devoted our February 1944 cover to wonderous new world of military gilders: “What is the Truth About America’s War Gliders?” (be sure to scroll up for the play-along-at-home fun of “Can You Recognize The Flags of Our Allies”).

From Popsci.com:

On the 65th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, a look at the then-cutting-edge military gear of D-Day, as covered in our pages.

Ever since the four-wheeled Sumerian donkey chariot was replaced by the two-wheeled horse-drawn variety, war and technological innovation have gone hand and hand. In no conflict was this more apparent than World War II--arguably the first modern war. As soldiers fought from one end of the globe to the other, scientists developed many of the technologies that underlie not only today's wars, but our daily lives: nuclear power, radar, jet propulsion and the personal computer.

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My Comment: I posted this story two years ago, but it is still a fascinating look at the military technology and know-how that was used on D-Day.