D-Day
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In 1943, one year before the invasion of Normandy, Hitler’s Wermacht still had all the land it gained in the Blitzkrieg campaigns during 1939-1941. It had still occupied North Africa from when they had come to the aid of Italy. The Russians had pushed them back when Hitler had gained some of their land, but he and his allies till had the whole mainland of Europe, with the exception of Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Sweden. Hitler thought that he would still have his empire for years to come because without direct intervention by a large army, he could not be stopped.
Since 1942, Josef Stalin was pressing Pres. Roosevelt and P.M. Churchill to come to the aid of Russia. It was impossible due to that one, America was still in the progress of building their army, and two, the landing craft necessary to transport the army was needed.
In New Orleans, Louisiana, Andrew Higgins used his boat company (Higgins Industries) to help the war in his own way. Thus, the LCVP was created. There were many tests, but the troops needed a way to get out of the boat quickly without having to cross the front of the boat. Trying to jump out of the boat would make them very vulnerable. What they did is make a boat that had just a rectangle frame on a hull and the bow of the frame was a rectangular door that dropped down so men could run out of the boat without becoming too vulnerable. So, one problem is taken care of. Alas, our first problem takes time.
Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Dwight Eisenhower came up with the idea of Operations Roundup and Sledgehammer to use for the eastern front of the war in Europe. Operation Overlord was the large plan to invade Hitler’s “Fortress Europe” through Normandy. Using many ships they could cross the English Channel and have a drop off point for the Higgins Boats. The plan was to bomb the beach, drop airborne troops, and wait a few hours. Then, they would fire from ships onto the beach and then land the troops on Normandy beach.
The day before, the Anglo-American alliance launched a large assault; the Germans used a lot of ammunition on the airborne troops and the tanks. To the German’s surprise, they were dolls in parachutes and mock tanks! Immediately, Hitler ordered much more ammunition for the real invasion.
The final day, June 6, 1944, bombs shook the earth of Normandy beach; airborne troops fired their ammunition at the German troops. The airborne divisions fought until they could not fight anymore. Hours passed until artillery fire engraved craters in the sand, buildings were chipped away at on the beach. Following that, the Higgins Boats with the brave American, English, and Canadian troops stormed the beach. The fighting lasted all day until the many freedom-loving men defeated the Germans with an iron fist.
D-Day was just the beginning of the War in Europe.