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World War II: Normandy
Lesson 18
Operation Overlord
• At the Trident Conference
the Allies had agreed to plan
for a cross-channel invasion
in May 1944
• The planners rejected Pas
de Calais as being too
obvious a choice and
instead selected Normandy
• However they would mount
a significant deception
campaign to convince the
Germans Pas de Calais was
the intended landing site
Surprise
• “… it is more
effective to find out
what the enemy is
predisposed to
believe and to
reinforce those
beliefs while at the
same time altering
your plans to take
advantage of these
reinforced false
beliefs.”
– John Chomeau
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Fictitious army
Inflatable tanks
Targets
Ultra
Weather
Surprise: Fictitious Army
• By spurious radio transmissions,
the Allies created an entire
phantom army, “based” in
southeast England (opposite Pasde-Calais) and alleged to be
commanded by Patton.
– In addition, on the night of the
invasion itself, airborne radar
deception presented to German radar
stations a “phantom” picture of an
invasion fleet crossing the Channel
narrows, while a radar blackout
disguised the real transit to
Normandy.
Inflatable Tanks
Surprise: Ultra
• At the same time, through
the top-secret Ultra
operation, the Allies were
able to decode encrypted
German transmissions,
thus providing the Overlord
forces with a clear picture
of where the German
counterattack forces were
deployed.
Surprise: Targets
• The air campaign was designed not
only to disrupt German anti-invasion
preparations but also to serve as a
deception operation.
– Two-thirds of the bombs were dropped
outside the invasion area, in an attempt to
persuade the enemy that the landings
would be made northeast of the Seine,
particularly in the Pas de Calais area,
rather than in Normandy.
Surprise: Weather
• Germans had a false
sense of security
about the weather
• Rommel was visiting
his wife on D-Day
– “There is not going to
be an invasion. And
if there is, then they
won’t even get off the
beaches!”
Unity of Command: German
Defenses
• Debate between
Rundstedt and
Rommel over
whether to deny
the initial landing
on the beaches
or to destroy
them with strong,
mobile counter
attack forces
Rundstedt
Rommel
German Defenses: Rommel’s Plan
• Rommel was
appointed
commander of Army
Group B in 1943
– Began to reinforce
the Atlantic Wall in
order to immediately
and absolutely
defeat any Allied
landings
Weakness of Rommel’s Plan
• Atlantic Wall had
no true depth to
its defenses
• An enemy force
that breached the
thin Atlantic Wall
would face no
further fortified
positions of
significance
German Defenses
German Defenses: Rundstedt’s
Plan
• Rundstedt, the overall
commander in the west, placed
great reliance on mechanized
reserves that could respond
quickly and flexibly to an enemy
penetration
– He stationed a newly created
armored command, Panzer
Group West, near Paris
– From there, the force could
move toward the site of an
enemy assault in either Pas
de Calais or Normandy
Weakness of Rundstedt’s Plan
• Rundstedt lacked the authority he
needed
– Hitler exercised direct control over
Rundstedt’s forces
– The navy commanded most of the
coastal artillery that would be
called upon to repel an Allied
attack.
– The air force controlled the bulk of
the antiaircraft and parachute units
stationed in the region.
– Some armor units also came under
the administrative supervision of
the SS which answered first to
Hitler and Berlin rather than to its
supposed commanders in the field.
Hitler’s “Wolf’s Lair”
Headquarters in Gierłoż
German Defenses:
Compromise
• Rundstedt and Rommel couldn’t
settle their disagreement over
which defensive strategy was
best so they compromised and
combined the two plans
• This resulted in the worst of
both
– Beach defenses not strong
enough to stop landing;
reserves not strong enough
to destroy the beachhead
Rommel inspecting the
beach defenses
Unity of Command: Allies
• In contrast to this German lack of unity of
effort, the Allies form an excellent coalition
• Eisenhower was the epitome of a coalition
commander
– Extremely sensitive to the need to maintain
Anglo-American cooperation
– Saw the purpose of his staff as being to
“utilize the resources of two great nations . . .
with the decisiveness of a single authority”
Unity of Command: Allies
• Eisenhower (US)
– Supreme Allied Commander
• Tedder (British)
– Deputy
• Ramsey (British)
– Naval
• Leigh-Mallory (British)
– Air
• Bradley (US) and Montgomery
(British)
– Ground
Levels of War
• Strategic
– Level at which a nation, often as a member of a group of nations,
determines national or multinational strategic security objectives
and guidance, and develops and uses national resources to
accomplish these objectives
• Operational
– Level at which campaigns and major operations are conducted
and sustained to accomplish strategic objectives within theaters
or areas of operation
– Link tactics and strategy
• Tactical
– Level at which battles and engagements are planned and
executed to accomplish military objectives assigned to tactical
units or task forces
Objective: Allies (Strategic)
• Combined Chiefs directed Eisenhower to
“enter the continent of Europe and, in
conjunction with other Allied nations,
undertake operations aimed at the heart of
Germany and the destruction of her armed
forces”
– To do that he would need a beachhead
(Normandy)
– To protect the amphibious forces he would drop
airborne forces inland
Objective: Allies (Operational)
• Secure a foothold on the Continent from
which to support offensive operations against
Germany
Objective: Allies (Tactical)
• Objectives of the
airborne forces were
to
– secure exits from
the beaches to
allow the
amphibious
forces to move
inland
– block German
counterattack
routes to protect
amphibious
forces
Allied Plan
• The Allied plan would involve amphibious landings on
the Normandy beaches supported by airborne assaults
behind the beaches to block German counterattacks
Maneuver: Allies
Maneuver: Allies
• Frontal assault against the Atlantic Wall expected
to contain 15,000 concrete strong points, 15
coastal batteries and 300,000 defenders.
• A frontal assault against such defenses required
heavily suppressing enemy fire, tearing gaps in
the imposing defenses, isolating enemy reserves
from the lodgment area, destroying German
mobility and supporting the deception.
– The official US Army history notes that the “task of
smashing through enemy beach defenses was to be
facilitated as far as possible by naval fire and air
bombardment.”
What Made the Allied Plan Work
• Mass
• Surprise
• Allied soldier
Mass
Priorities
• Europe or Japan?
– Europe
• France or Italy?
– France
• Northern France or
Southern France?
– Northern
– (Operational Anvil
postponed until Aug
15)
Operation Anvil
• Pro
– Could make use of
French divisions US
had reorganized after
North Africa
– Protect southern flank
of forces breaking out
from Normandy
– Create additional ports
• Con
– Not enough LSTs
• Overlord now
required a five
division landing
instead of the
original plan for
three
• Anzio was requiring
more resources
than expected
France: Aug 26 to Sept 14,
1944
• Anvil:
Postponed until
August 15
because of the
lack of landing
craft
Mass: Allies
• Debate over
whether to have a
secondary landing
somewhere
besides Normandy
(Operation Anvil)
• Change in size of
force from March
43 to Jan 44 plan
– 3 divisions to 5
divisions
Mass: Allies
• Massive build up of
forces after initial landing;
huge logistical effort
• Mulberry artificial harbors
and Whale floating piers
Allied Soldier
The Allied Soldier
At low tide, the
assaulting troops had to
cross more than 300
meters of completely
exposed beach to gain
entrance to the Vierville
draw.
506th PIR Drop Dispersal
Offensive
• The Germans launched no tactical
counteroffensives against the American
airborne assault.
• American paratroopers gathered in ad hoc
small groups and executed operations in
accordance with the commander’s intent.
– SLA Marshall
Offensive
• “… the performance of the Wehrmacht’s high
command, middle-ranking soldiers, and junior officers
was just pathetic. The cause is simply put: they were
afraid to take the initiative. They allowed themselves
to be paralyzed by stupid orders coming from far
away that bore no relation to the situation on the
battlefield. Tank commanders who knew where the
enemy was and how and when he should be
attacked sat in their headquarters through the day,
waiting for the high command in Berchtesgaden to
tell them what to do.”
• Stephen Ambrose
Breakout
Security: Allies
• Poor Allied
intelligence about
flooded marshes of
the Merderet River
and the hedgerows
Bocage as it looks today
Breakout
The Breakout
• http://www3.sympatico.ca/angels_eight/ca
mpaign.html
How it Ends
• July 25: Beginning of
Operation Cobra
• Aug 15: Operational Anvil
landings in southern France
• Sept 17: Operational Market
Garden
• Dec 16: Beginning of the Battle
of the Bulge
• Apr 20, 1945: Russians take
Berlin
• Apr 25: Americans and
Russians meet at the Elbe
River
• Apr 30: Hitler commits suicide
Surrender of Germany
Principles of War
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Objective
Offensive
Mass
Economy of force
Maneuver
Simplicity
Unity of command
Security
Surprise
Objective
• What type of strategy did the Allies use
against Germany (annihilation, attrition, or
exhaustion)? Explain.
• Describe how the objectives for the
airborne forces supported the amphibious
forces.
Offensive
• Discuss the small unit tactical offensive
actions of US paratroopers in Normandy
as an example of mission type orders and
initiative.
• Contrast the German Army’s doctrine of
Aufstragtaktik with its actual performance
on D-Day.
Economy of Force
• How did the shortage of landing craft
affect Allied planning?
• What effects did landing craft have on
operations in northern France, southern
France, and Italy?
Maneuver
• The invasion of Normandy was essentially
a frontal attack. Why was this form of
maneuver selected and how was it
supported?
Security
• Why is poor intelligence about the bocage
country considered by some to be the
greatest security failure of Allied
operations in Normandy?
Surprise
• How did the Allies achieve surprise at
Normandy?
D-Day
• Compare and contrast Allied and German
actions on D-Day using selected principals
of war.
Next
• The Pacific and the Beginnings of the Cold
War