Operation Epsom, Operation Jupiter, Stalingrad in Normandy, Normandy Operation 1944  

Preparations for the Normandy landing operation
            By the summer of 1944, the situation in the theaters of military operations in Europe had changed significantly. Germany's situation has deteriorated significantly. On the Soviet-German front, Soviet troops inflicted major defeats on the Wehrmacht in the Right-Bank Ukraine and in the Crimea. In Italy, the Allied troops were south of Rome. A real possibility was created for the landing of American-British troops in France.

            Under these conditions, the United States and Britain began preparations for the landing of their troops in Northern France (Operation Overlord) and in Southern France (Operation Anvil).

            Four armies were concentrated in the British Isles to carry out the Normandy landing operation (“Overlord”): the 1st and 3rd American, the 2nd British and the 1st Canadian. These armies consisted of 37 divisions (23 infantry, 10 armored, 4 airborne) and 12 brigades, as well as 10 detachments of English "commandos" and American "rangens" (airborne sabotage units).

            The total number of forces invading Northern France reached 1 million people. To support the Normandy landing operation, a fleet of 6,000 military and landing ships and transport ships was concentrated.

            The Normandy landing operation was attended by British, American and Canadian troops, Polish formations, which were subordinate to the government in exile in London, and French formations formed by the French Committee of National Liberation (“Fighting France”), which proclaimed itself the Provisional Government of France on the eve of the landing.

            The overall command of the American-British forces was carried out by American General Dwight Eisenhower. The landing operation was commanded by the commander of the 21st Army Group, English Field Marshal B. Montgomery. The 21st Army Group included the 1st American (commander General O. Bradley), the 2nd British (commander General M. Dempsey) and the 1st Canadian (commander General H. Grerar) armies.

            The plan of the Normandy landing operation provided for the forces of the 21st Army Group to land naval and airborne assault forces on the coast of Normandy in the area from the Grand Vey Bank to the mouth of the Orne River, about 80 km long. On the twentieth day of the operation, it was supposed to create a bridgehead 100 km along the front and 100-110 km in depth.

            The landing area was divided into two zones - western and eastern. American troops were to land in the western zone, and Anglo-Canadian troops in the eastern zone. The western zone was divided into two sections, the eastern - into three. At the same time, one infantry division, reinforced with additional units, began to land on each of these sectors. In the depths of the German defense, 3 Allied airborne divisions landed (10-15 km from the coast). On the 6th day of the operation, it was supposed to advance to a depth of 15–20 km and increase the number of divisions in the bridgehead to sixteen.

            Preparations for the Normandy landing operation lasted three months. On June 3-4, the troops allocated for the landing of the first wave headed for the loading points - the ports of Falmouth, Plymouth, Weymouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Newhaven. The start of the landing was planned for June 5, but due to bad weather conditions it was postponed to June 6.

German defense in Normandy
            The High Command of the Wehrmacht expected the Allied invasion, but it could not determine in advance either the time or, most importantly, the place of the future landing. On the eve of the landing, a storm continued for several days, the weather forecast was bad, and the German command believed that in such weather a landing was impossible at all. The commander of the German troops in France, Field Marshal Rommel, just on the eve of the Allied landings, went on vacation to Germany and learned about the invasion only more than three hours after it began.

            In the German main command of the ground forces in the West (in France, Belgium and Holland), there were only 58 incompletely equipped divisions. Some of them were "stationary" (did not have their own transport). In Normandy, there were only 12 divisions and only 160 combat-ready combat aircraft. The superiority of the grouping of allied forces intended for the Normandy landing operation ("Overlord") over the German troops opposing them in the West was: in terms of personnel - three times, in tanks - three times, in guns - 2 times and 60 times by plane.

Beginning of the Normandy landing operation
(Operation Overlord)
            On the night before, the landing of the Allied airborne units began, in which the Americans participated: 1662 aircraft and 512 gliders, the British: 733 aircraft and 335 gliders.

            On the night of June 6, 18 ships of the British fleet conducted a demonstrative maneuver in the area northeast of Le Havre. At the same time, bomber aircraft dropped strips of metallized paper to interfere with the operation of German radar stations.

            At dawn on June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord (Normandy Landing Operation) began. Under the cover of massive air strikes and naval artillery fire, an amphibious landing began on five sections of the coast in Normandy. The German navy offered almost no resistance to the amphibious landings.

            American and British aircraft attacked enemy artillery batteries, headquarters, and defensive positions. At the same time, powerful air strikes were carried out against targets in the area of ​​Calais and Boulogne in order to distract the enemy's attention from the actual landing site.

            From the Allied naval forces, 7 battleships, 2 monitors, 24 cruisers and 74 destroyers provided artillery support for the landing.

            At 6:30 in the morning in the western zone and at 7:30 in the eastern zone, the first detachments of amphibious assault landed on the shore. The American troops that landed on the extreme western sector ("Utah"), by the end of June 6, had advanced up to 10 km deep into the coast and connected with the 82nd Airborne Division.

            On the Omaha sector, where the 1st American Infantry Division of the 5th Corps of the 1st American Army landed, the enemy's resistance was stubborn, and during the first day the landing parties hardly captured a small section of the coast up to 1.5–2 km deep.

            In the landing zone of the Anglo-Canadian troops, enemy resistance was weak. Therefore, by the evening they connected with units of the 6th Airborne Division.

            By the end of the first day of the landing, the Allied troops managed to capture three bridgeheads in Normandy with a depth of 2 to 10 km. The main forces of five infantry and three airborne divisions and one armored brigade with a total strength of more than 156 thousand people were landed. During the first day of the landing, the Americans lost 6,603 people, including 1,465 killed, the British and Canadians - about 4 thousand people killed, wounded and missing.

Continuation of the Normandy landing operation
            The 709th, 352nd and 716th German infantry divisions defended in the allied landing zone on the coast. They were deployed on a front of 100 kilometers and could not repel the landings of the Allied troops.

            On June 7-8, the transfer of additional Allied forces to the captured bridgeheads continued. In just three days of landing, eight infantry, one tank, three airborne divisions and a large number of separate units were parachuted.

On the morning of June 9, the Allied troops located in different bridgeheads launched a counter offensive to create a single bridgehead. At the same time, the transfer of new formations and units to the captured bridgeheads continued.

            On June 10, one common bridgehead was created 70 km along the front and 8-15 km in depth, which by June 12 was expanded to 80 km along the front and 13-18 km in depth. By this time, there were already 16 divisions on the bridgehead, which numbered 327 thousand people, 54 thousand combat and transport vehicles and 104 thousand tons of cargo.

An attempt by the German troops to destroy the Allied foothold in Normandy
            To eliminate the bridgehead, the German command pulled up reserves, but believed that the main blow of the Anglo-American troops would follow through the Pas de Calais.

On June 12, German troops struck between the Orn and Vir rivers in order to cut through the Allied grouping located there. The attack ended in failure. At this time, 12 German divisions were already operating against the allied forces located on the bridgehead in Normandy, of which three were armored and one was motorized. The divisions that arrived at the front were introduced into battle in parts, as they were unloaded in the landing areas. This reduced their striking power.

            On the night of June 13, 1944 the Germans first used the V-1 AU-1 (V-1) projectile. London was attacked.

Expansion of the Allied foothold in Normandy
            On June 12, the 1st American Army from the area west of Sainte-Mere-Eglise launched an offensive in a westerly direction and occupied Caumont. On June 17, American troops cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, reaching its western coast. On June 27, American troops captured the port of Cherbourg, taking 30 thousand people prisoner, and on July 1 they completely occupied the Cotentin Peninsula. By mid-July, the port at Cherbourg had been restored, and the supply of allied forces in Northern France increased through it.

The Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) still believed that the main blow of the Allies would be delivered through the Pas de Calais, so they did not dare to reinforce their troops in Normandy with formations from North-East France and Belgium. The transfer of German troops from Central and Southern France was delayed by allied air raids and sabotage by the French "resistance".

            The main reason that did not allow to strengthen the German troops in Normandy was the strategic offensive of the Soviet troops in Belarus (Belarusian operation) that began in June. It was launched in accordance with an agreement with the allies. The Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht was forced to send all reserves to the Eastern Front. In this regard, on July 15, 1944, Field Marshal E. Rommel sent a telegram to Hitler, in which he reported that since the beginning of the landing of the allied forces, the losses of Army Group B amounted to 97 thousand people, and the reinforcements received were only 6 thousand. people

            Thus, the supreme command of the Wehrmacht was unable to significantly strengthen the defensive grouping of its troops in Normandy.

The troops of the 21st Allied Army Group continued to expand the bridgehead. On July 3, the 1st American Army went on the offensive. In 17 days, she deepened 10-15 km and occupied Saint-Lo, a major road junction.

            On July 7–8, the 2nd British Army launched an offensive with the forces of three infantry divisions and three armored brigades on Caen. To suppress the defense of the German airfield division, the Allies brought in naval artillery and strategic aviation. Only on July 19 the British troops completely captured the city. The 3rd American and 1st Canadian armies began to land on the bridgehead.

            On July 23, American troops occupied Len Lo.

            By the end of July 24, the troops of the 21st Allied Army Group reached the line south of Saint-Lo, Caumont, Caen. This day is considered the end of the Normandy landing operation (Operation Overlord). During the period from June 6 to July 23, German troops lost 113 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, 2,117 tanks and 345 aircraft. The losses of the allied troops amounted to 122 thousand people (73 thousand Americans and 49 thousand British and Canadians).

            The Normandy landing operation ("Overlord") was the largest landing operation during the Second World War. In the period from June 6 to July 24 (7 weeks), the 21st Allied Army Group managed to land expeditionary forces in Normandy and occupy a bridgehead about 100 km along the front and up to 50 km in depth.

Fighting in France in the summer of 1944
            On July 25, 1944, after a "carpet" bombardment by B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft and an impressive artillery preparation, the Allies launched a new offensive in Normandy from the Len Lo area with the aim of breaking through from the bridgehead and entering the operational space ( Operation Cobra). On the same day, more than 2,000 American armored vehicles entered the breach towards the Brittany Peninsula and towards the Loire.

            On August 1, the 12th Allied Army Group was formed under the command of the American General Omar Bradley as part of the 1st and 3rd American armies.

On August 15, the main forces of the German 5th and 7th tank armies were surrounded, in the so-called Falaise "cauldron". After 5 days of fighting (from 15 to 20), part of the German group was able to get out of the "cauldron", 6 divisions were lost.

            Great assistance to the allies was provided by the French partisans of the Resistance movement, who acted on German communications and attacked the rear garrisons. General Dwight Eisenhower estimated guerrilla assistance at 15 regular divisions.

            After the defeat of the Germans in the Falaise Cauldron, the allied troops rushed east almost unhindered and crossed the Seine. On August 25, with the support of the rebellious Parisians and French partisans, they liberated Paris. The Germans began to retreat to the Siegfried Line. The allied troops defeated the German troops stationed in northern France and, continuing their pursuit, entered Belgian territory and approached the Western Wall. September 3, 1944 they liberated the capital of Belgium - Brussels.

            On August 15, the allied landing operation Envil began in the south of France. Churchill objected to this operation for a long time, proposing to use the troops intended for it in Italy. However, Roosevelt and Eisenhower refused to change the plans agreed upon at the Tehran Conference. According to the Anvil plan, two Allied armies, the American and the French, landed east of Marseille and moved north. Fearing being cut off, German troops in Southwestern and Southern France began to withdraw towards Germany. After the connection of the allied forces advancing from Northern and Southern France, by the end of August 1944, almost all of France was cleared of German troops.