Now's the 6th of June - D-Day

[seventy6er]

I want to take this opportunity and thank the thousands of Allied soldiers who have died or were wounded during D-Day, who paid the highest price to liberate us.

I wanna take a minute to think about the German soldiers too, mostly young guys, some years younger than I am, who fought bravely and lost their lives, only because of a a$$hole like Hitler.

May they all R.I.P.

http://www.willcrumbley.com/paris/american%20cemetery,%20normandy.jpg

[California Joe]

Just watched IKE on A&E television. with Tom Selleck playing Eisenhower. It was good. Like to know how accurate the real WW2 historians among us thought it was.

[Haiw]

Yup...RIP...all of those young people who died there...

[Vance]

RIP - and for anyone who is keeping a timeline like I am -


- British/Canadian Paratroopers have landed. Pegasus Bridge has been secured.

- 101st and 82nd Pathfinders have landed. The main 101st force has landed.

[seventy6er]

Just wrote this, cause I'm sitting here and got to think about all the brave paratroopers of the first wave that infiltrated into Normandy. Exactly 60 years ago, they must've been standing in the planes, waiting for the signal to jump out.

It's 0058 over here in Germany.

[memphiz]

Just watched IKE on A&E television. with Tom Selleck playing Eisenhower. It was good. Like to know how accurate the real WW2 historians among us thought it was.
Yeah I saw that last weekend, it was well done

[California Joe]

The 70% casualty rates among para's that were predicted must have been a little bit daunting. Jesus.

[Vance]

- 0200 - The main 82nd Airborne force is landing in Normandy - some are landing directly in the town of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, getting shot before they even hit the ground.

[Vance]

- 0215 - All Airborne troops have landed.

[EvanL]

http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/airbo.jpg
http://www.junobeach.org/e/4/img/PA-142610lg.jpg

Paratroopers of the 1st Canadian Parachute battalion on a Churchill tank: Privates E. D. Aziz, P. G. Mulroy, Sergeant G. H. Jickels, Privates L. O. Fuson, J. Humeniuk, G. M. Brown, R. H. Carlton. Greven, Germany, April 5th (or 31st March), 1945.

Photo by Charles H. Richer. Department of National Defence / National Archives of Canada, PA-142610
http://www.canadagoose.net/jpg/juno2.jpg
http://www.robotoverlords.com/travellog/20020906/canadian_cemetery3.jpg

Canadian Cemetary, where Canadians of all creeds and races, were buried
http://www.robotoverlords.com/travellog/20020906/canadian_cemetery2.jpg
http://www.warchronicle.com/canadian_third_div/historiantales_wwii/juno.jpg
^Notice the bicycles?
http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/BSA_beach_landed_from_LCIL299_detail_rt.jpg
http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/BSA_Canadians_LCIL299_bike_off_ramp_detail_lt.jpg
http://www.warchronicle.com/canadian_third_div/historiantales_wwii/junowounded.jpg
http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/juno.jpg
http://www.oldhousebooks.co.uk/Assets/juno_beach1.jpg
http://www.efdpac.navfac.navy.mil/news/0205/Illustration%20WWII%20Allied%20flags.jpg

[EvanL]

D-Day turned tide of war June 6, 1944

1,500 Canadians in France to mark it


BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH
OTTAWA BUREAU

They are old men now, with kids and grandkids and pensions. Bullet wounds, seared memories and pangs of regret for lost buddies mark them as veterans of one of the greatest battles of all time.

Sixty years ago, they turned the tide of war.

Rolph Jackson was there, part of the first wave of Canadians that went ashore at Juno Beach in the D-Day invasion.

When the ramp went down on his landing craft, a German pillbox on the beach let loose with a spray of deadly fire.

"I was the 11th man out of the landing craft.

``Out of the 10 men ahead of me, eight of them were killed," recalled Jackson, then a 23-year-old lance corporal with Toronto's Queen's Own Rifles.

"How close they came to getting me — the front of my uniform was shredded.

``If I was half a step ahead, I wouldn't be here. You talk about borrowed time," said Jackson, who was shot in the hand as he left the boat.

To John Hadley, bobbing about in the landing craft seemed like just another training manoeuvre, like so many the Canadian troops had endured.

"Reality set in when we saw the rockets going in and we heard the gunfire.

``We ducked down and you could feel the rounds hitting the boat, some of the rounds going overhead," said Hadley, a 22-year-old rifleman with the Queen's Own Rifles.

"I remember looking down at the beach when I got up the wall. "It was devastation, it was chaos. There were guys laying on the ground, dead and wounded, there were guys floating in the water, there was boats damaged. It was a mess," said Hadley, who was wounded a month later.

On that fateful day, 15,000 Canadians invaded France by sea and air. The Royal Canadian Navy had 10,000 sailors manning 110 ships in the invasion armada. Overhead, Canadian airmen were in fighters and bombers, pummelling German defences and sweeping the skies clear of Luftwaffe fighters.

This weekend, prime ministers, presidents and royalty will gather in Normandy to honour them all, the heroes who took part in the D-Day operation.

Tomorrow morning, Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Queen will pay tribute to Canada's contribution during a ceremony at Juno Beach.

Later that afternoon, Martin, U.S. President George W. Bush and other world leaders from the nations that took part will gather at Arromanches to mark the largest amphibious assault in military history.

While politicians will make the news, it will be the dwindling ranks of veterans who will take the spotlight. Thousands are expected to attend, including 1,500 from Canada.

But there's a quiet acknowledgement that for many, this will be the last big anniversary.

For the Canadians who stormed the beach that day and their reinforcements who followed in the weeks and months after, the journey back to Normandy is never easy.

MacGregor Roulston, part of the official Canadian delegation to France, remembers the first time he visited the cemetery at Bretteville-sur-Laize, where many of his buddies are buried.

"I just sat on the sidewalk and cried," said Roulston, a member of the Black Watch who arrived in France a month after D-Day and was wounded weeks later.

"You couldn't help it, when you looked at these gravestones and you pictured those guys. They were all your boys, and here was the fellas sitting around playing cards, talking of girls and talking of home — and in one puff they're gone," Roulston said.

Rolph Jackson, of Toronto, is making the pilgrimage as well. He plans to visit the cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer, where some 2,000 Canadians are buried.

"Back in the left corner, it's pretty well the D-Day vets. My guys are all there. Two brothers were killed in the platoon: The Reed brothers, Gord and Doug, are buried about 6 feet apart. I know about 80 people in there by name, mostly by first name," Jackson said.

"I'm going back to say good-bye for the last time."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`That the Canadians progressed farther than any of the other divisions that were landed on D-Day says something about the guts involved.'

Historian John Marteinson


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canadians took part in many key battles in World War II, but none as important as this one. "D-Day was by far the most important action that the Canadians participated in, in the whole of the war. If they didn't establish a bridgehead on the continent, Hitler wasn't going to be defeated," says John Marteinson, a retired lieutenant colonel who teaches history at the Royal Military College in Kingston.

Martin Auger, a historian at the Canadian War Museum, says the invasion marked the beginning of the end for Germany. "We need, as Canadians, to understand what took place on that single day," he said. "I would not like to know what would have happened if they had been pushed back."

Codenamed Operation Overlord, the invasion involved 155,000 Allied troops. British troops went ashore at what were dubbed the Gold and Sword beaches; American soldiers attacked at Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.

The Canadian objective was Juno, a stretch of coast that fronted the villages of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernieres-sur-Mer and St Aubin-sur-Mer.

After two years of training in England, the Canadians were restless and ready for action.

"Here we were, awful tired of being in England, time to go home — and if we had to go home via the continent, okay, let's go home via the continent," Jackson said.

But before they did battle with the Germans, the Allied troops first faced Mother Nature. The Canadians had boarded their landing craft the morning of June 4, but the landings were delayed because of storms sweeping across England. The ships set out across the stormy Channel the afternoon of June 5. By the time they sighted the French coast, the troops were dreadfully seasick.

The Allied troops came up against Hitler's Atlantic Wall, a network of defences designed to repel the expected invasion — barbed wire and mines and a network of concrete bunkers and smaller pillboxes, positioned to allow German troops to spray the beach with heavy machine-gun fire.

"The preliminary bombardment kept the Germans' heads down but it didn't destroy any of those positions at all," Marteinson said.

At Bernieres-sur-Mer, the middle of Juno Beach, troops with the Queen's Own Rifles landed right under the German strong point. Within minutes they had taken the better part of 150 casualties, Marteinson said.

As Jack Martin's landing craft came ashore in the second wave, they were greeted by a soldier with blood streaming down his face. "He said, `Get up to the wall.'"

"You didn't need much prompting," said Martin, who figures he set a record in his frantic sprint up the beach to the shelter of the seawall.

"We were told we couldn't stop for anything. That meant we had to jump over bodies, even the wounded, and equipment. And of course we were aware that we might step on a mine.

"We were scared. When you see all those bodies lying on the beach you have the feeling that you might be one of them before you can hit the wall," he said.

The Canadians had tried once before to invade France: the disastrous raid on Dieppe that claimed 907 lives and 2,400 wounded or taken prisoner.

But the lessons were well-learned. This time, troops were well-prepared and well-practised. Thanks to good intelligence, they arrived at Juno knowing the location of German strong points. But one nasty surprise was the network of tunnels linking the German bunkers and machine-gun nests.

"They had to come back and clear strong points near the beach several times before they realized the Germans were going underground and coming back in behind them," Marteinson said.

Within an hour, the Canadians had cleared the three villages and began moving south. They reached the intermediate objective, about 7 kilometres inland, and even beyond in a few spots.

"The fact that the Canadians progressed farther than any of the other divisions that were landed on D-Day says something about the guts involved," Marteinson said.

"The Canadians did remarkably well and they suffered far lighter casualties than had been expected. This says something about the quality of the units themselves," Marteinson said.

For Rolph Jackson, the outcome was never in doubt.

"We were going to win the war. After all, my generation was only one generation removed from the people at Vimy. And we were brought up that Vimy was out of this world. The British couldn't do it, the French couldn't do it, but the Canadians could. We had that reputation to try and live up to," he said.

In all, 340 Canadians were killed, 547 wounded, and 47 captured. The Queen's Own suffered the most, losing 143 men.

It was just the start. The 10-week campaign in Normandy would claim 18,000 Canadian casualties and 5,000 killed.

The Canadians in particular would face a brutal slog against the fanatical 12th SS Panzer Division, led by Col. Kurt Meyer, later tried for war crimes for executing captured soldiers.

But the soldiers who had struggled through the surf to the beach — wet, cold and seasick — had turned the tide. By the evening of June 6, the days were counting down for the Reich.

Roulston and other veterans talk to school kids to ensure those memories aren't lost.

"We water down our story, but the main thing we try and tell the kids: `Somebody paid the price for your freedom, you're free because of our pals who never came back, and ourselves.'"

[memphiz]

Ive watched so many shows recently all on D-Day, ,amazing, just some of the stories

[Vance]

http://www.wwiiimpressions.com/images/82nd.jpg

http://www.wwiiimpressions.com/images/101st.jpg

http://www.warofinfamy.com/images/warroom/soldiers/uspatch_29thID.gif

http://www.rangerforce.com/brtrangerpatch.jpg

http://www.aefsupply.com/p-4.jpg

http://www.thebattlezone.com/army/patchpix/i12.jpg

http://www.eatel.net/~c22inf/22nddiihad4.jpg

http://www.6june44.freeserve.co.uk/img71.gif

http://www.6june44.freeserve.co.uk/img74.gif

http://www.6june44.freeserve.co.uk/img75.gif

http://www.6june44.freeserve.co.uk/img73.gif

http://www.smithmaps.fsnet.co.uk/imagesindex/unicorn2.jpg

http://www.6june44.freeserve.co.uk/img278.gif <----Victoria Cross, awarded to Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis on Gold Beach.

[Vance]

France pins Legion of Honor on U.S. D-Day vets


The Associated Press
Updated: 3:29 p.m. ET June 05, 2004

PARIS - French officers pinned the Legion of Honor on the chests of 99 former American soldiers Saturday, thanking them at a pomp-filled military ceremony for helping to free Europe from Nazism 60 years ago.

Most of the recipients landed on Normandy’s beaches on D-Day — others were pilots who backed the invasion with bombs, medics who treated the wounded, troops who landed elsewhere in France after the initial attack.

The government says it wanted to honor the 99 as representatives of all the Americans who helped liberate France from German occupation.

“There’s no one who deserves it more than him,” Sarah Martin said of her uncle, Alvin Ungerleider, of Burke, Va., who stormed ashore at Omaha Beach and later helped liberate a Nazi concentration camp. “He kept his cool at the landing and in all the chaos was able to lead a group of men.”

Also receiving awards were three Australian fighters who participated in D-Day. French President Jacques Chirac will decorate 16 more veterans Sunday in Normandy, representatives of nearly a dozen nations who aided the Allied effort.

‘It’s a very humbling experience’
The Americans — who included a handful of women, mostly former military nurses — stood straight as their names were read over a loudspeaker. French officers pinned a red ribbon and five-pointed silver and green star on each veteran’s chest.

“In the name of the president of the Republic and by virtue of the powers conferred on us, we name you chevalier of the Legion of Honor,” a military officer told each recipient before offering an embrace.

In the enormous courtyard of the Hotel des Invalides, a palace built for those wounded in war, a military band played the French and American national anthems as troops in berets stood at attention.

“It’s a very humbling experience,” said former Army nurse Kathleen Golden De****, 83, of Florida, who arrived in Normandy a few days after the first wave of forces. “Because I’m here representing the three doctors I worked with, my surgical team” and other medical colleagues who have died.

De**** and her husband Andrew, 87, a former military doctor, met during the war and received Legions of Honor together, holding hands in the hot Paris sun.

Paratroopers reenact the drops
Meanwhile in the small Normandy town of Sainte-Mere l’Eglise, some 600 French and American paratroopers reenacted the early morning drop by U.S. forces that marked the beginning of D-Day — hours before the beach landings.

The 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions parachuted into the inland town in the dark of night on June 6, 1944, to weaken German defenses ahead of the full invasion.

At a ceremony nearby, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, joined veterans to honor the dead as the U.S. army band played the French and American national anthems, and a lone bugler played “taps.”

The ceremonies was part of a weekend of commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944, when Allied troops landed in Normandy in a push that would eventually break Hitler’s grip on Europe.

A 100th American — Charles Hostler, a wartime counterintelligence officer — will receive his Legion of Honor from Chirac on Sunday at the international ceremony in Normandy.

Those honored in Paris represented many branches of the American military and regions of the United States.

Steve Odahowski, 91, of New Port Richey, Fla., said he was thrilled to have been chosen.

He piloted a glider across the English Channel on D-Day, landing in a French field filled with poles the soldiers called “Rommel’s asparagus,” after the German general masterminding Nazi defenses. Odahowski was quickly taken prisoner and remained in German custody for nearly a year.

While his Nazi captors didn’t treat him cruelly, Odahowski recalled, conditions were “terrible. Hungry, freezing ... the food was bad, the only thing that saved us was Red Cross parcels.”

Grace Bender said her father, Joe Morisi, 91, of Washington, D.C., was overwhelmed when he heard about his Legion of Honor and was eager to make the trip to France so he could visit the graves of fallen comrades in Normandy.

“He said he could die in peace (after) going back to pay respects to the men in his unit who died,” Bender said.

Bender’s sister, Joann Morisi, said their father was particularly eager to visit the grave of a captain who pulled him out of the water after he fell while climbing ashore. The captain was shot in the head and killed as he aided Morisi, Joann Morisi said.

“He wanted to go to the cemetery and find the captain,” she said. “We’re going to do that tomorrow.”

[Ria]

RIP...and thanks to Evan for the pics, and Ryan for the timeline. I wish I had purchased the Time issue :| They had first-person stories from the soldiers who had lived...looked so interesting, but never got the time to read it, and by the time I went to buy it it was too late :(

[Falco]

RIP

[usa320]

GOd Bless all the men that fought against tyranny for all that is right and good. Their sacrifice will NEVER be forgotten.

[Vance]

- 0430 - 132 soldiers from the American 4th Calvary Group land on the two tiny islands of St. Marcouf, approximately 3 miles from Utah Beach. Thought to be inhabited by German troops, they turn out to be empty; however, 2 American troops die and 17 are wounded by German artillery shelling. These are the first Allied troops to land by sea in Normandy.

[memphiz]

RIP...and thanks to Evan for the pics, and Ryan for the timeline. I wish I had purchased the Time issue :| They had first-person stories from the soldiers who had lived...looked so interesting, but never got the time to read it, and by the time I went to buy it it was too late :(
Damn Evan just copy and pasted the pics I posted in the photos section ;)


Any Canadians here watch that show on 1CANPARA? (1st Canadian Paratroop regiment) it was really good.

[Ria]

RIP...and thanks to Evan for the pics, and Ryan for the timeline. I wish I had purchased the Time issue :| They had first-person stories from the soldiers who had lived...looked so interesting, but never got the time to read it, and by the time I went to buy it it was too late :(
Damn Evan just copy and pasted the pics I posted in the photos section ;)


Any Canadians here watch that show on 1CANPARA? (1st Canadian Paratroop regiment) it was really good.

Well then thank you Rob :D

[EvanL]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/titlephoto.jpg


http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/title_main.gif
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/breakingnews.gif
[quote]CANADIANS GAIN BEACH-HEAD IN NORMANDY

ON BOARD HEADQUARTERS SHIP HMS HILARY- 10:30 a.m. June 6 – Message received from Major General R. F. Keller, the Canadian commander on the beach to General H. D. Crerar, commanding the First Canadian Army. "Beach-head gained. Well on our way to our immediate objectives."

The invasion of France began early this morning. Thousands of Canadian, British and American soldiers are storming the beaches of what Hitler calls "Fortress Europe." The first bulletins arrived at CBC headquarters in Toronto around 3:30 a.m.


LONDON - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill has told the House of Commons in London that an armada of 4,000 ships has crossed the Channel to France. Mr. Churchill says the sea passage was made with minimal losses. The enemy was caught by surprise. The attack began shortly after midnight in France, with heavy bombardment by the planes from all Allied Air Forces. Airborne troops dropped by parachute in key locations and it is reported they have captured most of their objectives.


WASHINGTON - President Franklin Roosevelt has told reporters in Washington that minesweepers and PT (patrol torpedo ) boats cleared the way for the fleet. Two U.S. destroyers and one LST (landing ship tank) boat have been lost.


ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, S. E. ENGLAND - The Canadian Third Division has landed at a beach codenamed "Juno." The attack began just before 8 a.m. local time, three hours before low tide. There are reports of casualties on the landing craft due to beach obstacles and bombardment by the enemy. Heavy fighting is reported near the town of Bernières where the Royal Winnipeg Rifles landed just after dawn.


LONDON - Nazi Radio monitored here claims the British have invaded the Channel Islands and are being repulsed with heavy casualties.


LONDON - King George will address the Empire tonight.


PARIS - Broadcast by Marshall Henri Philippe Petain warns the French not to support the Allies because there will be "tragic German reprisals."


PORTSMOUTH - It can now be revealed that the fleet began to gather and men went on the ships on June 4, in preparation for an attack yesterday, Monday, June 5. Bad weather forced postponement of the invasion by 24 hours.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/title_king2.gif
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/king.jpg

Mackenzie King

At half past three o'clock this morning, the government received official word that the invasion of western Europe had begun.

Word was also received that the Canadian troops were among the Allied forces who landed this morning on the northern coast of France. Canada will be proud to learn that our troops are being supported by units of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The great landing in western Europe is the opening of what we hope and believe will be the decisive phase of the war against Germany.

The fighting is certain to be heavy, bitter and costly. You must not expect early results. We should be prepared for local reverses as well as success.

No one can say how long this phase of the war may last. But we have every reason for confidence in the final outcome ....

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/title_eisenhower2.gif
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dday1944/gfx/eisenhower.jpg

Message to Allied troops on D-Day from Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force:

Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well-trained, well-equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year of 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men.

The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

[EvanL]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/01_dday.jpg

Landing craft with Canadian troops approach the Normandy beach during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.

(Gilbert Milne, Dept. of National Defence via CP)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/03_dday.jpg

U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf to one of the Normandy beaches.
(AP Photo Peter J. Carroll)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/04_dday.jpghttp://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/11_dday.jpg

Canadian soldiers leave landing craft and walk onto Juno Beach, June 6, 1944.
(Dept. of National Defence via CP)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/05_dday.jpg

Canadian soldiers prepare to disembark near Bernières-sur-Mer on June 6, 1944.
(Gilbert Milne Dept. of National Defence via CP
http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/06_dday.jpg

Royal Canadian Navy large infantry landing craft with reinforcements at Juno Beach shortly after the landings on June 6, 1944.
(RCN Archives via CP)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/07_dday.jpg

Soldiers and landing craft on a beach controlled by the Royal Canadian Navy.
(CP Photo)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/08_dday.jpg

German prisoners captured on D-Day embark for England at Bernières-sur-Mer.
(National Archives of Canada Ken Bell via CP).

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/09_dday.jpg

Canadian soldiers guard German prisoners on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944.
(National Archives of Canada Frank Dubervill via CP)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/10_dday.jpg

Canadian soldiers study the Nazi plan of beach defences at a headquarters at Courseulles, France.
(National Archives of Canada Ken Bell via CP)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/dday/images/11_dday.jpg

Reinforcements arrive at a Normandy beach on July 11, 1944.
(AP Photo)

[/img]

[Vance]

So it begins.

It's gonna start getting a bit heavy now...



- 0625 - The men of the 4th Infantry Divison scheduled to land at Utah beach approach the landing grounds - far off target.

[Ria]

So it begins.

It's gonna start getting a bit heavy now...



- 0625 - The men of the 4th Infantry Divison scheduled to land at Utah beach approach the landing grounds - far off target.

ahh..Getting all nervous just thinking about it...

[Vance]

- 0630 - The men of the 4th Infantry Division land at Utah beach, unapposed.

- 0631 - The men of the 29th Infantry Division and the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions approach the landing grounds at Omaha Beach.

[Vance]

- 0635 - Soldiers from the 29th Infantry and 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions land at Omaha Beach. First wave is cut to shreds.

[Vance]

- 0642 - Casualty rate at Omaha Beach is 99%.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/week2/images/onormay091p1.jpg

http://search.eb.com/normandy/week2/images/oomahaa001p1.jpg

http://search.eb.com/normandy/week2/images/oomahaa002p1.jpg

http://search.eb.com/normandy/week2/images/oomahaa003p1.jpg

[Vance]

- 0650 - Second wave lands at Omaha. It is also hit by barrages of MG, sniper, bolt-action and automatic rifle, mortar, and artillery fire. Almost all of the DD tanks that were supposed to land at Omaha sink before they even reach the beach; only 6 made it ashore.

[Vance]

- 0715 - Men start pouring in to Utah Beach.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay093p1.jpg

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay058p1.jpg

- 0717 - Situation has not improved at Omaha Beach.

[ShotOver]

Great work Vance.

Rest in Peace the saviours of Eurpope

[Vance]

- 0725 - Soldiers from the British 3rd Division with French and British commandos assault Sword Beach. They are greeted with moderate fire.

[Vance]

- 0730 - The British 50th Infantry Division along with the 47th Royal Marine Commandos land at Gold Beach. Light infantry fire was apparent, however 20 LCTs struck mines on the beach's shore, causing moderate to severe damage.

[Midav]

Nice work Vance!

While people sat comfy over here, people were dying on the beaches of Normandy.

May they all RIP.

Believe it's time to start watching band of brothers again, which in my own personal opinion, is the best mini series/war movie that has been made.

[Vance]

- 0755 - The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division lands on Juno Beach. The landing craft had to feel their way in, since the tide was too high for the engineers to clear a path. The mines took their toll: roughly 30% of the landing craft at Juno were either destroyed or severely damaged.

As the troops waded ashore, there was little fire at first; mainly because the German gun positions did not aim out to sea but were set to enfilade the coastline. As the Canadian soldiers worked their way through the obstacles and came into the enfilading killing zones, the first wave took dreadful casualties. Becoming a casualty at Juno in the first hour was a 1 in 2 chance, a 50% casualty rate.

[DE_Six]

Thanks to all those brave men.

May they rest in peace.

[Vance]

- 0815 - Omaha Beach reaches well over 1,500 casualties.

[Vance]

- 0835 - All landings cease at Omaha. The troops realize that they are on their own.

[Vance]

- 0845 - The situation at Omaha becomes so serious that General Omar Bradley, observing the battle from the USS Augusta, starts to make preparations to abandon the assault.

- 0847 - It gets so bad at Omaha that at one point, British and American navy destroyers are steamed ahead to literally blast the German fortifications at point blank range - scraping their bottoms on the sand floor.

[Fintin]

this is why we love vancy pants...but Ria is still better in my book... :hug:

[Vance]

- 0900 - The British at Sword beach have gotten well inland.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay101p1.jpg

[Vance]

- 0915 - The Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc cut the road behind Pointe, and silence the German guns. They were the first Americans to accomplish their mission on D-Day.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay089p1.jpg

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay090p1.jpg


(I had previously forgotten about the Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc. Sorry.)

[Vance]

- 0935 - The Canadians at Juno break out from the beach, making hard pushes inland for towns such as Bernières.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay192p1.jpg

[Vance]

- 0945 - The British who came in on Sword battle inland for the town of La Rivière.

[Ria]

- 0915 - The Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc cut the road behind Pointe, and silence the German guns. They were the first Americans to accomplish their mission on D-Day.

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay089p1.jpg

http://search.eb.com/normandy/art/onormay090p1.jpg


(I had previously forgotten about the Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc. Sorry.)

woot

Wow great job Ryan...you are honoring them well...

[Vance]

:D


- 1000 - La Rivière falls into British hands.

- 1000 - Bernières falls into Canadian hands, and later Saint-Aubin.

- 1005 - Soldiers at Omaha realize that the exits are not the way out, and start scaling the bluffs.

Last post for tonight guys...I'll post anything I missed while I was asleep when I get up.

Hope you enjoyed it. :D

[Jehuty]

I'd like to thanks again all the Americans, British, Canadians, Australians, and Free French veterans who took part in the the liberation of Europe and may all the others ones who never came back R.I.P.

[SHA]

Same, may they all Rest In Peace.

[Tengu]

RIP to all, a great day for democracy woot

[NcDeuce]

RIP...and thanks to Evan for the pics, and Ryan for the timeline. I wish I had purchased the Time issue :| They had first-person stories from the soldiers who had lived...looked so interesting, but never got the time to read it, and by the time I went to buy it it was too late :(

This one?

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3121/78.JPG

I just finished this the other day, good stuff!

[Ria]

Wow NcDeuce...that's really nice! Actually I just meant the regular weekly issue. I haven't seen that. Very cool.

[Vance]

Alrighty, got some updating to do.

- 1200 - The German fortifications on Omaha Beach have been signifigantly dropped; US soldiers finally move off of the beachead and take these from the rear. Then slowly, one by one, the exits are opened.

- 1200 - Exits 1, 2, and 3 are secured on Utah Beach. Contact is made with the 4th Infantry and the 101st Airborne around the town of Pouppeville.

- 1300 - Commandos from Sword Beach accomplish their most important of D-Day: linking up with Major John Howard's airborne troops at the bridges over the Orne waterways.

- 1600 - Tank forces and mechanized infantry men from the 21st Panzer Division launched the only serious German counterattack of D-Day.

(The time right now in France is 1755.)

[Vance]

- 1820 - The Canadian 3rd Division links up with the British 50th Division from Gold Beach to the west, but to the east the Canadians were unable to make contact with the British 3rd Division from Sword Beach - leaving a gap of 2 miles into which elements of the German 21st Panzer Division counterattacked.

[NcDeuce]

Some stuff I found interesting in the book...

101st paratrooper's equipment:
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2112/81.JPG

The renknowned General Taylor
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5418/P1011356.JPG

"Rangers lead the way!"
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/530/P1011358.JPG

Colonel Rudder's amazing mission was just a start...
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3235/P1011359.JPG

[Vance]

- 1905 - By the evening of June 6, the 50th Division from Gold had landed 25,000 men, penetrated six miles inland, hooked up with the Canadians from Juno Beach on the left, and reached the heights above Port-en-Bessin. It had not cut the Caen-Bayeux highway or linked up with the Americans from Omaha Beach, but it had made an impressive start. The British suffered 400 casualties while securing their beachhead.

[Vance]

- 1910 - The Canadians reach their resting spot for the night. They suffered 1,200 casualties out of 21,400 troops who landed at Juno that day - a casualty ratio of 1 out of 18.

[Vance]

- 1930 - The men from Utah Beach reach their final positions for D-Day. Twenty thousand troops and 1,700 motorized vehicles had landed at Utah with surprisingly few casualties - fewer than 300 men.

http://www.britannica.com/normandy/art/onormay094p1.jpg

[Vance]

- 1944 - The Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc hold a small pocket on the heights of the Pointe. The Germans counterattack, but the Rangers hold it off. They would hold out until 2 days later when reinforcements arrive.

[Vance]

- 2000 - The 192nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment makes a counterattack against British and Canadian lines, actually reaching the beach. However they are repulsed by heavy fire. The 98 tanks of the 21st Panzer were halted by antitank weapons, air strikes, and Allied tanks themselves. The counterattack is stopped.

[Vance]

- 2007 - The British from Sword Beach settle in for the night. At the end of the day, they had landed 29,000 men and had taken 630 casualties.

[Vance]

- 2120 - By nightfall the 1st and 29th divisions from Omaha Beach held positions around Vierville, Saint-Laurent, and Colleville - nowhere near the planned objectives. The Americans suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha on June 6, but by the end of the day they had landed 34,000 troops.


That's a wrap guys. I hope you learned some new stuff, along with a newfound respect for the veterans of D-Day. woot

[Kriz]

I watched some parts of the ceremony, very moving. I think it's the duty of our generation to pass on the stories of their sacrifice to the following generations.

Their efforts to make the whole world a better place have not been forgotten and never will be, RIP guys!

[Fraccy]

RIP.. Brave men..

[Ria]

Many thanks to Vance for the timeline and pictures and NcDeuce for the article. Very interesting; I appreciate it very much, always wanted to know more about it, and thanks to you guys I now do :) Very honorable.

RIP.

[memphiz]

The main problems that the Canadian had were their bolt action rifles, they hated them

[Mark Sman]

My former rep from Congress is there today receiving the Legion of Honor.

http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBOD1AR1VD.html

Some maps from a former D-Day planner, big images.

http://media.tbo.com/media/maps/0606dday1.html

http://media.tbo.com/media/maps/0606dday2.html

http://media.tbo.com/media/maps/0606dday3.html

http://media.tbo.com/media/maps/0606dday4.html


The main problems that the Canadian had were their bolt action rifles, they hated them.

The Lee-Enfield? Um, hate to dispute this but the Lee-Enfield is generally regarded as one of the best rifles in WWII and continued service in Korea. The ones the Canadians used were usually made in Canada at Long Branch. They are tough, accurate and have a top-notch reputation among bolt action weapons. They have a similar rep among he UK, Aussie, NZ and Commonwealth forces they were fielded with.

In WWI Canadians discarded the POS Ross rifles they were issued and used Enfields.

http://www.junobeach.org/e/4/can-tac-inf-lee-e.htm

http://www.members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-7.htm

[memphiz]

The main problems that the Canadian had were their bolt action rifles, they hated them.

The Lee-Enfield? Um, hate to dispute this but the Lee-Enfield is generally regarded as one of the best rifles in WWII and continued service in Korea. The ones the Canadians used were usually made in Canada at Long Branch. They are tough, accurate and have a top-notch reputation among bolt action weapons. They have a similar rep among he UK, Aussie, NZ and Commonwealth forces they were fielded with.

In WWI Canadians discarded the POS Ross rifles they were issued and used Enfields.

http://www.junobeach.org/e/4/can-tac-inf-lee-e.htm

http://www.members.shaw.ca/junobeach/juno-7.htm
Yeah, it may be a good gun, but when your being shot at by Nazi machine guns and all you have is a 10 round bold action rifle you would much rather have something else. From the shows I watched alot of the Canadians ditched their rifle for a Bren becuase you can just 'Spray and Pray' its just easier under presure. The soldiers also said they were mad at the Canadian government because they werent prepared(weapon wise) and they wanted weapons like the Americans (M1 garand/carbine)