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Europe at War 1939-45 by Darby: Chapter 6 Reading Summary by DB
D-Day and After
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SUMMER 1944: U-boats defeated, Luftwaffe eliminated, an invasion was inevitable and Hitler foresaw it.
Operation Overload: five divisions to attack through Normandy since Pas de Calais was the obvious choice.
Deception Plan (Operation Fortitude) took place on D-Day, to convince Germans that the attack was coming
towards Pas de Calais.
o On JUNE 6TH Allied forces landed in Normandy and took the Germans by surprise. High Command was
distracted by Hitler’s assassination attempt. Germany got “caught between two pincers in the Falaise
pocket” lost 60,000 men and decided to withdraw.
o France was completely liberated by AUGUST 25TH.
o Three factors against a quick victory:
1) Logistical Constraints: It was hard to keep such a large Allied force supplied.
2) Strategic disagreements: Arguments between Montgomery who wanted a rapid drive on Berlin and the
Americans who wanted a more cautious broad front approach to take over the Ruhr.
3) Germans retreated to the West Wall, regrouped, recovered and were prepared to defend the Reich.
a. Hitler planned a winter offensive, an attack through the Ardennes, recapture Antwerp, split the Allies
and roll them back into the sea. DECEMBER 16TH: Battle of the Bulge: surprise attack-28 divisions, 200,000
men and 600 tanks, the poor weather eliminated Allied air force superiority. Weather cleared on
December 23rd and the battle was over by Christmas.
Operation Bagration
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JUNE 22ND 1944: Soviets launched Operation Bagration, an attack on Germany, to coincide with the Allied
landings in the west.
o Germans were caught by surprise as they suspected that the Russians would press on with their
offensive e in the South.
o Russians enjoyed superiority in numbers. 1.5 million Russian men and 4000 tanks VS. 0.5 million German
men and 600 tanks.
By September the Red Army had pushed the Germans out of Estonia, Courland in Latvia and Lithuania into the
Reich itself.
JULY 13TH: Invasion of Romania (Romanians were prepared to surrender to the Soviets and switch sides), caused
Germany to loose its oil fields and the destabilization of Hitler’s East European alliance system and his
occupation of the Balkans.
Losses: 1.5 men, many tanks and aircraft
o Worsened diplomatic situation: loss of Italy, Vichy France, Finland, Rumania and Bulgaria. Many
neutrals were now joining the Allied cause and neutrals Spain, Switzerland and Turkey scaled down
supplies to the Reich
o Employment of Germany’s last resources in the December offensive caused the German industrial system
to collapse
Götterdämmerung
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JANUARY 12TH 1945: Russian winter offensive outnumbered Germans 3 VS 1. Captured Warsaw and discovered
Auschwitz.
Occupied territories: East Prussia, Pomerania and much of Silesia, Budapest, Hungary
Final battle for Berlin delayed until April due to logistical difficulties and considerable preparations to be made,
and bad weather.
Rhineland invasion was carried out by Allies and caused 350,000 German losses. German resistance was
collapsing.
British forces were to press on the Danish border, US forces in the south headed for Bavaria and Austria, Those in
the centre pushed south of Berlin into Saxony where they met up with the Russians at Torgau on APRIL 25TH.
Hitler ordered the total destruction of Germany because he felt like they had failed him. Speer disobeyed
Battle for Berlin: APRIL 16TH, completed in 2 weeks.
Surrender: 1) Italy 2) Armistice signed on APRIL 29TH 3) Full, unconditional surrender MAY 7TH However
Germans in Norway did not surrender until the 8th