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D-Day, the Battle of Normandy



USS NORMANDY is the first ship to honor the battle in northern France, fought in the summer of 1944, in which Allied forces gained a foothold on Europe in preparation for the final defeat of Nazi Germany. The Battle of Normandy opened on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and continued into August, when Allied armies broke into the French interior.

On the morning of June 5th, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff faced a difficult decision. Lack of beaching craft had already forced a one month delay in their timetable. Now, a storm raged over the English Channel. The "window" for a June invasion, when the moon and tides would favor the attackers, closed on the 7th. A day of moderate weather was predicted for the 6th. To invade now risked the 2.8 million invaders to the elements; to wait meant another month of German preparations and possible compromise. At 0415, the supreme Allied Commander made his decision with a brief, "O.K. We’ll go".

In Normandy, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the German area commander, knew that he lacked a strong defense. Although millions of mines had been sown, the "Atlantic Wall" was full of holes. Further, he had few quality troops, could expect little air support, and exercised no control over the vital Panzer units, the only forces able to break up an invasion. Never theless, he intended to meet the assault on the beaches and hurl the Allies back into the sea. He rightly predicted that it would be the "Longest Day".

Early on the morning of June 6, elements of three airborne divisions jumped into the black sky above Normandy. They were tasked with securing the flanks of the invasion beaches - two American, two British and one Canadian - by capturing bridges and communication centers, as well as by engaging the local defenders. Due to cloudy skies and heavy anti-aircraft fire, the gliders and paratroops were dispersed over a large area. Some men drowned in the Channel or in swamps behind the beaches. Others dropped directly into the fire of the fully alerted German garrison at Ste. Mere Eglise. Yet, by nightfall, most of their objectives had been achieved.

The invasion convoys, carrying the combat teams of six infantry divisions, sailed on the night of June 5-6 from a dozen English ports, escorted by seven battleships, twenty-three cruisers one hundred destroyers and more than one thousand smaller naval vessels. The crossing was uneventful, and all four thousand landing craft were in position by first light.

At 0530, the fleet opened fire on the beaches. For the next hour, as soldiers boarded their assault craft and started their run-ins, tons of steel thundered above them. Simultaneously, thousands of aircraft roared overhead, bombing and strafing German positions on, and just behind, the beaches. As encouraging as this display was, little actual damage was done. Then, at H-hour, 0630, the bombardment ceased and the first assault wave hit the beaches.

At Utah, a strong current pushed the 4th division a mile south of their intended beaches. This turned to their advantage, however, as few defenders guarded the area. Coupled with the confusion caused by the 82ND and 101ST divisions, the 4TH was established ashore by nightfall, with fewer than two hundred casualties.

Omaha was different story. The beach was backed by a steep cliff, and the 1ST and 29TH divisions were opposed by the veteran 352ND Germany Infantry Division. Late morning found the Americans pinned down on the beach with more than one thousand casualties. Seeing this, Navy destroyers closed in to less than one mile off shore. Dodging return fire, and sometimes scraping bottom, these ships blasted one German position after another and enabled V Corps to move inland.

The British sector was the sight of the only German Naval counterattack of the day, when three E-boats fired a spread of torpedoes at the battleships Warspite and Ramillies. The big ships avoided being hit, but the Norwegian destroyer Svenner was sunk. On the beaches, the British and Canadians encountered stiff, if spotty resistance on Gold, Juno and Sword, and made the greatest D-Day gains.

By midnight on the 6th, the Allies held a beachhead, however tenuous, on the continent. Victory was less than a year away. In testament to the Navy’s participation during the invasion, Major General L.T. Gerow, V Corps Commander, sent a message to the Commander of the First U.S. Army, General Omar Bradley, stating, "thank God for the United States Navy".




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