The Roanoker - March/April 2019 - DDay9

JUNE 6, 1944:
THE OVERVIEW

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. . . .
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
COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Above: General Dwight
D. Eisenhower
addresses paratroopers
on June 5, 1944, just
before they board their
airplanes to participate
in the first assault in the
invasion of the
continent of Europe.
Left: A U.S. Coast Guard
landing craft, tightly
packed with helmeted
soldiers, approaches the
shore at Normandy,
France, during initial
Allied landing
operations, June 6,
1944. These Higgins
Boats ride back and
forth across the English
Channel, bringing wave
after wave of
reinforcement troops to
the Allied beachheads.

God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Excerpts of Order of the Day, June 6, 1944

he day began with a massive air-

borne operation, before the Allied
amphibious invasion of the
Normandy beaches. Over 13,000 elite paratroopers of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne
Divisions, as well as several thousand from the
British 6th Airborne Division were dropped at
night by over 1,200 aircraft. Almost 4,000 more
paratroopers would later be brought in by gliders, known as Waco or Horsa Gliders, during
daylight hours. In total 23,000 paratroopers and
glider troops would be used in Normandy.
Heavy anti-aircraft fire from German guns
resulted in many planes going off target, leading
to most of the C-47s dropping their sticks of
paratroopers at the wrong time and location.
And the C-47 pilots tended to not slow down to
the proper speed for the troopers to exit, resulting in paratroopers having their weapons or
other equipment ripped off as they leapt into the
prop blast behind their aircrafts' engines. The

situation became even more chaotic as German
machine guns targeted planes and floating paratroopers alike.
The largest naval bombardment ever began at
5:50 A.M. on D-Day. Alongside ships from several
Allied nations, the American battleships USS
Arkansas, USS Nevada and USS Texas each
launched explosive projectiles the weight of
small cars. They were the main muscle of the
American bombardment. However, these battleships were also supported by several cruisers and
dozens of destroyers. Together they shelled the
gun emplacements and defensive positions on
and around the American beaches.
At dawn, landings commenced on five beachheads covering some 50 miles of the Channel
coast of Normandy. To the east, the British landed
on beaches codenamed Sword and Gold, while a
force of mostly Canadian soldiers landed at Juno
Beach. The Americans covered the westward
flank, with landings at Omaha and Utah Beaches.
75TH ANNIVERSARY

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The Roanoker - March/April 2019

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