Norman operation

The coast of Northern France, Belgium and Holland was defended by the German Army Group B (Commander Field Marshal Rommel ) in the 7th and 15th armies and the 88th separate corps (39 divisions in total). Its main forces were concentrated on the coast of the Pas-de-Calais , where the German command was waiting for the enemy to land. On the coast of the Senskaya bay on the 100-km front from the base of the Cotentan peninsula to the mouth of the r. Orn defended only 3 divisions. There were a total of about 24,000 Germans in Normandy (by the end of July the Germans had sent reinforcements to Normandy, and their number had grown to 24,000 ), plus about 10,000 more in the rest of France.

The Allied Expeditionary Forces (Supreme Commander General D. Eisenhower ) consisted of the 21st Army Group (1st American, 2nd British, 1st Canadian Army) and 3rd American Army — only 39 divisions and 12 brigades. The naval and air forces of the United States and Great Britain had absolute superiority over the enemy ( 10,859 combat aircraft against 160 from the Germans and over 6000 combat, transport and landing ships). The total number of expeditionary forces was over 2 876 000 people. Later this number increased to 3,000,000 and continued to increase, as new divisions from the United States regularly arrived in Europe. The number of assault forces in the first echelon was 156,000 people and 10,000 units of equipment ^[6] .

Allies

The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces is Dwight Eisenhower .

• 21st Army Group ( Bernard Montgomery )
  • 1st Canadian Army ( Harri Crerar )
  • 2nd British Army ( Myles Dempsey )
  • 1st American Army ( Omar Bradley )
  • 3rd American Army ( George Patton )
• 1st Army Group ( George Patton ) - formed for the disinformation of the enemy.

Other American units arrived in England, which later formed the 3rd, 9th and 15th armies.

Also in Normandy, Polish units took part in the battles. In the cemetery in Normandy, where the remains of those killed in those battles lie, about 600 Poles are buried ^[7] .

Germany

The supreme commander of the German troops on the Western Front is Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt .

• Army Group "B" - (Commander Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ) - in northern France
  • 7th Army (Colonel-General Friedrich Dollman ) - between the Seine and the Loire ; headquarters at Le Mans
    • The 84th Army Corps (commander-in-chief from artillery Erich Marx ) - from the mouth of the Seine to the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel
      • 716th Infantry Division - between Kahn and Bayeux
      • The 352nd Motorized Division - between Bayeux and Quarantine
      • 709th Infantry Division - Cotentin Peninsula
      • 243rd Infantry Division - North of Cotentin
      • 319th Infantry Division - Guernsey and Jersey
      • The 100th Tank Battalion (armed with obsolete French tanks) - near Quarantine
      • 206th Tank Battalion - west of Cherbourg
      • 30th Mobile Brigade - Coutances , Cotentin Peninsula
  • 15th Army (Colonel General Hans von Zalmut , subsequently Colonel General Gustav von Zangen )
    • 67th Army Corps
      • 344th Infantry Division
      • 348th Infantry Division
    • 81st Army Corps
      • 245th Infantry Division
      • 711th Infantry Division
      • 17th Airfield Division
    • 82nd Army Corps
      • 18th Airfield Division
      • 47th Infantry Division
      • 49th Infantry Division
    • 89th Army Corps
      • 48th Infantry Division
      • 712th Infantry Division
      • 165th Reserve Division
  • 88th Army Corps
    • 347th Infantry Division
    • 719th Infantry Division
    • 16th Airfield Division
• Army Group "G" (Colonel-General Johannes von Blaskowitz ) - in southern France
  • 1st Army (Infantry General Kurt von Chevalieri )
    • 11th Infantry Division
    • 158th Infantry Division
    • 26th Motorized Division
  • 19th Army (Infantry General )
    • 148th Infantry Division
    • 242nd Infantry Division
    • 338th Infantry Division
    • 271st Motorized Division
    • 272nd Motorized Division
    • 277th Motorized Division

In January 1944, the “West” tank group subordinate directly to von Rundstedt was formed (from January 24 to July 5, 1944, commanded by , from July 5 to August 5 - Heinrich Eberbach ), transformed from August 5 to 5th Tank Army ( Heinrich Eberbach , August 23 - Joseph Dietrich ). The number of modern German tanks and assault guns in the West to the beginning of the landing of the Allies reached a maximum level.

In developing the invasion plan, the Allies relied heavily on the belief that the enemy was unaware of the two most important details - the place and time of the Operation Overlord. To ensure secrecy and surprise landing, a series of major misinformation operations were developed and successfully carried out - Operation Bodyguard , Operation Fortitude, and others. Most of the plan for the landing of the Allied forces was conceived by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery ^[9] .

In developing a plan to invade Western Europe, the Allied Command studied all of its Atlantic coasts. The choice of landing site was determined for various reasons: the power of the enemy’s fortifications, the distance from the ports of Great Britain, and the range of operations of the Allied fighters (since the Allied fleet and the landing force required aviation support).

For the landing, the Pas-de-Calais , Normandy and Brittany areas were most suitable, since the remaining areas — the coast of Holland, Belgium, and the Bay of Biscay — were too far from the UK and did not meet the sea supply requirement. In Pas-de-Calais, the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall were the most powerful, as the German command considered this to be the most likely landing point of the Allies, since it is closest to Britain . Allied command refused to land at Pas-de-Calais. Brittany was less fortified, although it was relatively far from England.

The best option, apparently, was the Normandy coast - there the fortifications were more powerful than in Brittany, but not as deeply echeloned as in Pas de Calais. The distance from England was more than to Pas-de-Calais , but less than to Brittany. An important factor was the fact that Normandy was in the range of the Allied fighters, and the distance from British ports met the requirements necessary to supply the troops with maritime transport. Due to the fact that the operation was planned to use the artificial harbor " Mulberry ", at the initial stage, the allies did not need to seize the ports, contrary to the opinion of the German command. Thus, the choice was made in favor of Normandy.

The start time of the operation was determined by the ratio between tide and sunrise. Disembarkation should occur daily with a minimum tide level shortly after sunrise. This was necessary so that the landing craft would not be stranded and would not receive damage from the German underwater obstacles in the tide zone. These days were in early May and early June 1944. Initially, the Allies planned to start the operation in May 1944, but due to the development of a plan to land another landing on the Cotentin Peninsula (Utah sector), the landing date was postponed from May to June. In June, there were only 3 such days - June 5, 6 and 7. The start date of the operation was chosen on June 5th. However, due to the sharp deterioration of the weather, Eisenhower scheduled the landing on June 6th - it was this day that went down in history as “D-Day”.

After the landing and the strengthening of its positions, the troops had to make a breakthrough on the eastern flank (in the region of Caen). In this zone were to concentrate the enemy forces, which would face a long battle and retention by the Canadian and British armies . Thus, by linking the enemy armies in the east, Montgomery envisioned a breakthrough along the western flank of the American armies under the command of General Omar Bradley , who would have relied on Kahn. The attack was supposed to go south to the Loire , which would help turn in a wide arc to the Seine near Paris for 90 days.

Montgomery announced his plan to field generals in March 1944 in London . In the summer of 1944, hostilities were carried out and carried out in accordance with these instructions, but thanks to the breakthrough and rapid advance of the American troops during Operation Cobra, the crossing of the Seine began as early as the 75th day of the operation.

On May 12, 1944, Allied aviation carried out massive bombardments , which resulted in the destruction of 90% of factories producing synthetic fuel . German mechanized units experienced an acute shortage of fuel, losing the possibility of a wide maneuver.

On the night of June 6, the Allies, under the cover of massive air strikes, landed a parachute assault : the 6th British Airborne Division north-east of Cana , and two American ( 82nd and 101st ) divisions north of Carantan .

British paratroopers were the first of the Allied troops to set foot on French soil during the Normandy operation — after midnight on June 6 they landed northeast of the city of Caen , seizing a bridge over the River Orne , so that the enemy could not send reinforcements to the coast.

The American paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st divisions landed on the Cotentin peninsula in the western part of Normandy and liberated the city of Saint-Mer-Eglise , the first city in France liberated by the Allies.

In the morning, amphibious landings were landed. The most fierce resistance by the Germans was in the American sector of Omaha. According to the plan, before the amphibious assault landing, powerful artillery preparation and bombing was conducted. In the Omaha sector in the morning due to fog, bombers and naval artillery missed, and the fortifications of the Atlantic Shaft here did not receive significant damage. In the remaining landing areas, where the artillery preparation and bombardment failed, the German fortifications and troops received significant damage, and there the allies met much less resistance than on Omaha. By the end of the day, the Americans lost about 1,700 people on Omaha, only about 3,000 soldiers were injured, while the losses in the Utah area were only 197 killed and about 500 injured ^[10] . Soon, the naval assault force joined the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st divisions on the Cotentin peninsula. On the remaining landing sites, the Allies successfully completed the assigned tasks with minimal losses. In the first echelon of June 6, 156,000 American, British and Canadian soldiers landed on the coast of France and about 10,000 units of various vehicles. By the end of June 6, the Allies captured 3 bridgeheads and landed 5 infantry divisions and 3 armored brigades from the sea.

After the successful landing, Eisenhower's adjutant found in his pocket a prepared appeal text in case of defeat: “Our landing in the Cherbourg - Le Havre region did not lead to the retention of the bridgehead, and I withdrew the troops. My decision to attack at this time and in this place was based on the information that I had. The troops, aviation and navy did everything that courage and loyalty to duty could accomplish. If someone is guilty of the failure of this attempt, then it is only me ” ^[11] .

By the end of June 12, a bridgehead with a length of 80 km along the front and 10-17 km in depth was created; there were 16 Allied divisions (12 infantry, 2 airborne and 2 tank). By this time, the German command brought up to 12 divisions (including 3 tank divisions), 3 more divisions were on the way. German troops were brought into battle in parts and suffered heavy losses (besides, it must be borne in mind that the German divisions were fewer than the allied divisions). By the end of June, the Allies expanded the bridgehead to 100 km along the front and 20–40 km in depth. Over 25 divisions were concentrated on it (including 4 tank divisions), which were opposed by 23 German divisions (including 9 tank divisions). On June 13, 1944, the Germans unsuccessfully counterattacked near the town of Karantana, the Allies repulsed the attack, forced the river Merder and continued their advance on the Cotentin peninsula.

On June 18, the troops of the 7th Corps of the 1st American Army, advancing to the western coast of the Cotentin Peninsula, cut off and isolated German units on the peninsula. On June 29, the Allies captured the deep-water port of Cherbourg , and thereby improved their supply. Prior to this, the Allies did not control a single large port, and “artificial harbors” (“Mulberry”) operated through the Seine Bay, through which the entire supply of troops took place. They were very vulnerable due to unstable weather, and the Allied Command understood that they needed a deep-water port. The capture of Cherbourg accelerated the arrival of reinforcements. The capacity of this port was 15,000 tons per day.

Supply allied troops:

• By June 11, 326,547 people, 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supply materials arrived at the bridgehead.
• By June 30, more than 850,000 people, 148,000 units of equipment, and 570,000 tons of supplies.
• By July 4, the number of troops landed on the bridgehead exceeded 1,000,000 people.
• By July 25, the number of troops exceeded 1,452,000 people.

On July 16, Erwin Rommel was seriously wounded when he was driving his staff car and was hit by a British fighter. The driver of the car died and Rommel was seriously injured and was replaced by Field Marshal Gunter von Kluge as commander of Army Group B, who also had to replace the displaced German commander in the west of Roundstedt . Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt was dismissed because he demanded that the German general staff make a truce with the allies.

By July 21, the troops of the 1st American Army advanced 10-15 km to the south and occupied the city of Saint-Lo , the British and Canadian troops, after fierce fighting, captured the city of Kan . At that time, the Allied Command was developing a plan for a breakthrough from the bridgehead, since the bridgehead captured during the Normandy operation by July 25 (up to 110 km along the front and 30–50 km deep) was 2 times less than the plan operations. However, in conditions of absolute air supremacy, allied aviation proved possible to concentrate enough forces and means on the captured bridgehead to conduct a major offensive operation in North-West France in the future. By July 25, the number of Allied troops was already more than 1,452,000 people and continued to increase continuously.

The advancement of the troops was severely hampered by the “ bokazhi ” - hedges planted by local peasants, which for hundreds of years turned into insurmountable obstacles even for tanks, and the allies had to invent tricks to overcome these obstacles. For these purposes, the Allies used the M4 Sherman tanks, to the bottom of which were attached sharp metal plates that cut the Bochages. The German command was counting on the qualitative superiority of its heavy tanks " Tiger " and " Panther " before the main tank of the allied forces M4 "Sherman". But the tanks here had little to do — everything depended on the Air Force: the Wehrmacht’s tank forces became an easy target for the allied aviation that dominated the air. The overwhelming majority of German tanks were destroyed by the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt attack aircraft. The superiority of the Allies in the air decided the outcome of the battle for Normandy.

The 1st Allied Army Group (Commander J. Patton ) was stationed in England - in the area of ​​the city of Dover opposite the Pas-de-Calais , so that the German command had the impression that the Allies were going to deliver the main attack there. For this reason, the 15th German army was in Pas-de-Calais, which was unable to help the 7th army, which suffered heavy losses in Normandy. Even 5 weeks after D-Day, misguided German generals believed that the landing in Normandy was a “sabotage”, and everyone was waiting for Patton in Pas-de-Calais with his “army group”. Here the Germans made a fatal error. When they realized that the allies had deceived them, it was already too late - the Americans launched an offensive and a breakthrough from the bridgehead.

The Normandy breakthrough plan — Operation Cobra — was developed by General Bradley in early July and on July 12th presented to the higher command. The purpose of the Allies was a breakthrough from the bridgehead and access to open terrain, where they can use their mobility advantage (on the beachhead in Normandy, their advance was hampered by the “hedges” - bokaz , fr. Bocage ).

The springboard for the town of Saint-Lo, which was liberated on July 23, became a springboard for the concentration of American troops before the breakthrough. On July 25, more than 1,000 American guns of divisional and corps artillery rained more than 140,000 shells at the enemy. In addition to massive shelling, for the breakthrough, the Americans also used the support of the Air Force. On July 25, German positions were bombarded by the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft . The leading positions of the German troops near Saint-Lo were almost completely destroyed by bombardment. A gap in the front was formed, and through it, on July 25, American troops, using their superiority in aviation, made a breakthrough near the city of Avranches ( Operation Cobra ) on a front 7,000 yards wide (6,400 meters). In an offensive on such a narrow section of the front, the Americans used more than 2,000 armored vehicles and quickly broke through the “strategic hole” formed in the German front, advancing from Normandy to the Brittany Peninsula and the Loire Country . Here the advancing American troops did not interfere as much with the Bocage as it was to the north in the coastal regions of Normandy, and they used their superiority in mobility in this open area.

On August 1, the 12th Allied Army Group was formed under the command of General Omar Bradley , its 1st and 3rd American armies. The 3rd American Army of General Patton made a breakthrough and in two weeks liberated the Brittany Peninsula, surrounded the German garrisons in the ports of Brest, Lorian and Saint-Nazaire. The 3rd Army reached the Loire River, reaching the city of Angers, seized a bridge over the Loire, and then headed east, where it reached the city of Argentan. Here the Germans could not stop the advance of the 3rd Army, so they decided to organize a counterattack, which also became a gross mistake for them.

In response to the American breakthrough, the Germans tried to cut off the 3rd Army from the rest of the Allies and cut off their supply lines, capturing Avranches. On August 7, they launched a counterattack, known as Operation Lütich ( German Lüttich ), which ended in a crushing failure.

The first blow was dealt to Morten in the area of ​​altitude 317. Morten was captured, but the Germans went farther. The 1st American Army successfully repelled all attacks. The 2nd British and 1st Canadian armies from the north and the 3rd Patton's army from the south pulled up to the combat area. The Germans launched several attacks on Avranches, but failed to break through the enemy defenses. Patton’s 3rd Army, bypassing the enemy, attacked from the south the German troops in the Argentan area on the flank and rear of the advancing forces at Avranches — troops of the 15th US Corps under the command of Wade Heislip, after rapidly advancing in the Loire Country , came into contact with the enemy in area of ​​Argentan, attacking him from the south and southeast, that is, from the rear. Further to the 15th Corps, other American units advancing from the south joined. The attack of American troops from the south put the German 7th and 5th tank armies under a real threat of encirclement, and the whole system of the German defense of Normandy collapsed. Bradley said: “This opportunity is opened to the commander once in a century. We are going to destroy the enemy army and reach the very German border ” ^[12] .

In the west, near the city of Morten, German attacks held off units of the 1st American Army. From the north, Anglo-Canadian troops commanded by Montgomery. By August 15, the German 7th and 5th Panzer armies were encircled, in the so-called “ Falesa cauldron ”. The Germans were able to get out of the "boiler", but at the cost of heavy losses: in just 5 days from August 15 to August 20 the Germans lost as many as 6 divisions. The retreating German troops were subjected to constant raids by Allied aviation and artillery shelling.

The Allied offensive in Normandy in August 1944 caused the collapse of the entire German Western Front and the German troops were able to restore the new front line only in September 1944 on the western border of Germany with the help of the Siegfried Line.

The 12th Allied Army Group, advancing from Normandy to the east, joined the 6th Allied Army Group in the Dijon region on September 12, advancing from the south of France. Parts of the 1st German Army, which did not have time to retreat, were cut off and isolated in the south-western part of France between the Loire River and the Pyrenees and on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. Later this territory will be cleared by the American 94th division and the French troops.

Between the 17th and 25th of September 1944, the Allies attempted to circumvent the Siegfried Line from the north and seize the Dutch ports to solve the supply problem and then invade the industrial areas of Germany. Having achieved these goals, the Allies planned to end the war on Christmas. To implement these plans, Operation Market Garden was developed, during which the main goal was not achieved, but the 21st Army Group freed the southern part of Holland and secured access to the Belgian port of Antwerp, which was important for supplying the Allied forces.

On September 19, American troops, defeating the German garrison, took the port of Brest on the Brittany Peninsula. The German garrisons in the ports of Lourient and Saint-Nazaire remained surrounded and isolated from the outside world and surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war. All other German garrisons on the coast of France and Belgium were isolated and defeated by the Allies. This led to the complete disintegration of the German Atlantic Wall.

During the fall of 1944, the Allies reached the western border of Germany throughout its length, and in some places even crossed it. In particular, American troops broke through the Siegfried Line near the city of Aachen on a stretch of about 65 km between October 2 and 21. In November 1944, American and French troops launched an offensive in northeastern France through the Vosges Mountains and liberated most of Alsace and Lorraine and advanced to the Upper Rhine in Alsace. Thus, the Wehrmacht lost almost all of its positions in Western Europe. During the period from August to the end of November 1944, the Allies destroyed 29 German divisions.

The Allied offensive was temporarily suspended due to a shortage of supplies that they had established by the beginning of winter - the offensive was continued after the defeat of the German forces in the Ardennes operation in December 1944 - January 1945 and the subsequent Alsatian-Lorraine , Colmar and Maas-Rhine operations.

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  Memorial at the church in Saint-Mer-Eglise in memory of Private John Steele

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  Tank M4 "Sherman" in the city of Bayeux in Normandy

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  The monument to Pointe-du-Oc in the landing zone of Omaha, where the 2nd Battalion of American Rangers landed on June 6, 1944

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  German Cemetery in La Combe , Bayeux, France

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  Mulberry artificial harbor

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  The landing of the 9th Canadian Brigade

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  Tank "Sherman" with anti-mine device

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  American soldiers. Shambo, France

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  Eisenhower examines the battlefield. Shambo, France

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  German technology, destroyed at Mont-Ormel

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  German technology, destroyed at Mont-Ormel

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  Captured German officers. Hotel Majestic. Paris, 1944

Movies

• The Longest Day (1962)
• Rescue Private Ryan (1998)
• TV series " Brothers in Arms " (2001)
• d / f "Bloody Omaha" (Bloody Omaha)
• d / f "They filmed the war in color. Release
• Overlord (2018)

Music

• Sabaton's “Primo Victoria”

• Operation "Rankin"
• Landing in Dieppe (1942)
• South French operation
• Ardennes operation (1945)
• Alsatian-Lorraine operation
• Colmar operation
• Maas-Rhine Operation
• Siegfried Line
• World War II Western European Theater
• Battle of Caen
• The plot of July 20
• Red Ball Express
• Intrusion stripes

• Cornelius Ryan. The Longest Day: The D-Day Story, June 6th, 1944 (English) . - New Edition. - New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2010. - ISBN 978-1-84885-387-4 .
• Robert Belitsky. Normandy, 1944. - Translation from Polish. - M .: AST , 2002. - ISBN 5-17-014476-8 .
• Niklas Zetterling. Normandy 1944: German military organization, combat power and organizational effectiveness. - 2000. - ISBN 0-921991-56-8 .
• Milton Shulman. Defeat in the West: 1947: [ eng ] . - Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger, 2007. - ISBN 0-548-43948-6 .
• Chester Wilmot. The Struggle For Europe: 1952: [ eng ] . - Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1997. - 766 p. - ISBN 1-85326-677-9 .
• Omar Bradley . Soldier's Notes = Soldier's Story: 1951 / Translated from English by V. S. Stolbov and N. N. Yakovlev. - Author's collection. - M .: "Foreign Literature Publishing House", 1957. - 608 p.

• Front photos of the Normandy operation
• Normandy 1944 Research Community
• Mark Salzberg. D-day! On the seventieth anniversary of the victory in Normandy (Neopr.) . Internet newspaper "Continent" (June 3, 2014). The appeal date is December 28, 2017.