Czech contribution to the D-Day landings

[2RHPZ]

The Longest Day - A look back at the heroic Czech contribution to the D-Day landings

By Brian Kenety

Czechoslovak participation in the first weeks of "Operation Overlord" — the invasion of Normandy — was almost exclusively limited to the air, as soldiers from occupied Czechoslovakia's 1st Armoured Brigade did not deploy to France until several weeks after the Allied landing's first wave. But hundreds more Czech fighting men took part in the D-Day landings doing battle under the flags of other Allied nations. Brian Kenety reports.

"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 hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you."

June 5th, 1944. Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, prepares the order for D-Day, to start the invasion of Normandy in what was to be the greatest combined land, sea, and air operation in military history.

http://img.radio.cz/pictures/historie/vylodeni2.jpg

...more... (http://www.radio.cz/en/issue/54667)

[2RHPZ]

'Den-D': The Czech role in the Allied invasion of Normandy


"Na Mnozstvi Nehledte" was their motto—"Disregard their numbers"—and Czech airmen of the 311th told Radio Prague last year, ahead of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, that they simply didn't think about how the odds were stacked against them.


Another modified article (http://www.radio.cz/en/article/67140)

[mudbunny]

I don't dispute this, most of the credit usually goes to the U.S and Britian, because of the percentages obviously, but there were a LOT of great contributions from other countries as well. Canadian forces did a tremendous job during the D-Day landings but recieved little credit.

[2RHPZ]

I don't dispute this, most of the credit usually goes to the U.S and Britian, because of the percentages obviously, but there were a LOT of great contributions from other countries as well. Canadian forces did a tremendous job during the D-Day landings but recieved little credit.

Of course, from the point of view of big nations the Czech contribution looks funny, then. But we are still proud of our grandfathers what they did.