D DAY June 6, 1944 Operation Overload started 1600 (4 am)
1. Nazis controlled territories. All clocks were set at Berlin time. England’s clock was set 2 hrs. ahead
2. 175,000 men , 50,000 vehicles )tanks, motorcycles, bull dozers) Supported by 5, 333 ships, 11,000 airplanes. 160,000 men ashore at end of day. (4,000 died on Omaha Beach) 2,727 ships were from 12 nations: Us. England, Australia, Canada, S. Africa, France, Norway, Belgium,Poland, Greece and Holland
3. Planned for about 2 years. “Operation Tiger” Parachutists given $50.00 extra pay. Practiced in England Basic principle: no one should stop to help wounded or bury dead-medics and grave registration crew did that Over 1,000 men died in Operation Tiger.
4. Participants from 18-28 yrs. Old
5. 1st two years was a “blitzkrieg”
6. Average age of Germans fighting was 31; Americans, 25
7. Landing Ship tank (LST) 327 ft. long Could hold 32 men.
8. Andrew Higgins made landing crafts, PT boats, Patrol boats (20,000 Higgins boats)
9. 1942- 4,000 planes produced per month 1943- 8,000 produced per month
10. Dwight David Eisenhower was commander of US; West Point graduate, 4 packs of cigarettes perday)Erwin Rommel was German commander.
11. Target date was June 1st based on tides, moon conditions. Needed half moon. Eisenhower picked June 5th. If not June 6th, then it would have to be on the 19th.
12. Charles DeGaulle was head of French resistance. Poorly armed, poor communication, subject to German penetration, Brave, personal sacrifice, patriotism
13. Carrier pigeons used to communicate.
14. Germans laid 6.5 million mines in channel, Guns at Point du Hoc
15. ¼ of American troops would be engineers to demolish beach obstacles, blow up mines, erect signs to guide incoming landing craft, clear access from the beach, establish supply dumps and act as traffic cops.
16. GI’s required to buy $10,000 life insurance policy.
17. 1st vehicle on Omaha was Sherman Tank
18. Juno (21,400 ashore, 1,200 casualties) & Sword beach landed by England (29,000 landed, 630 casualties); US: Omaha (40,000 ashore, 2,200 casualties (cliffs) & Utah
19. Eisenhower gave code word to Resistance’ “ The sun is shining”
20. Transocean was official Nazi news agency. (Axis Sally( Midge Gillars from Ohio)
21. Womens groups:
a. WAAC- Women’s Army Auxiliary Corp
b. WAAF- Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
c. WAFS- Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron
d. WAVES- Women accepted for volunteers
22. 6 weeks after DDay- Operation Red Ball Express to take back France from Germany
Ambrose, Stephen, D Day Simon Schuster, NY 1994