Normandy Invasion

The Allied endeavor to open a second front on the French coast of Normandy in the European theater of operations during World War II. The Battle of [Page 526]Normandy (code-named Operation Overlord) activated a second front with amphibious Allied landings on the morning of June 6, 1944.

Although often and famously referred to simply as D-day, the fighting in Normandy lasted for months, with the bulk of the German resistance finally eliminated by late August. The objectives of the operation were to establish a beachhead from which to liberate occupied regions and eventually drive back the German Reich.

Although ultimately successful, the early assault at Normandy was extremely costly in terms of men and materiel. The landings on the coast of Normandy involved a massive joint operation of mostly U.S., British, and Canadian forces—with naval, aerial, and paratroop elements supporting the main amphibious assault. In their path, the Germans placed three Panzer divisions under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, which were reinforced by only minimal air and armor support. As part of their Atlantic Wall defenses, the Germans had extensively fortified the foreshore area, but they manned it with only a haphazard collection of troops, including non-German nationalities (mainly Russians) who agreed to fight for the Germans rather than endure prisoner of war camps.

Following the initial landing phase of the Normandy invasion, many more Allied troops and equipment continued to come ashore after D-day. By the end of July, more than one million Allied troops were entrenched along the Normandy coast. In the end, Operation Overlord succeeded in its objective by sheer force of numbers in both men and materiel.

Although the footing the Allies gained at Normandy was crucial to the efforts and success of the western front, it may not have affected the ultimate outcome of the war. By the time of D-day, the Red Army of the Soviet Union was irreversibly advancing toward Germany from the east. In 1942–1943, the incursion into Stalingrad had been the Third Reich's high-water mark, but by the time of the Normandy invasion, Hitler's army was in retreat.

Despite the fact that four-fifths of the German forces were in the east, the Soviets had the capacity to defeat Germany by itself. With its repulse of the German Army, the Soviet Union laid claim over Eastern European states left in the wake of its drive toward Berlin. A complete occupation of Europe by communist forces, therefore, was within the realm of possibility.

To ensure the survival of democracy in Europe, a U.S. and British presence may have been needed to counter the extent that communism would spread in Western Europe. Accordingly, the Battle of Normandy not only has historical relevance in regard to the events of World War II but is also significant within the context of the postwar period. With the cessation of hostilities between the Axis and the Allies, a new arena of conflict was to emerge immediately: the era of Cold War rivalries and power alignments. The Normandy invasion signaled the eventual end of one global struggle and the harbinger of another.

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