Litrenta
Five years into World War II, Hitler and Axis Forces occupied the mainland of Europe. The coast of France was filled with German defense mechanisms to keep the Allies out. These defenses included wooden stakes and ramps, and steel barricades and spikes.[footnoteRef:0] From west to east, the Allies codenamed these beaches Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.[footnoteRef:1] On June 6, 1944, the Allies fought for their lives trying to defeat the Germans on the beaches in Normandy. Today, many know of this day as D-Day. The well planned strategies of deception, equipment, and tactics led to Allied success on D-Day. [0: David Howarth, D Day The Sixth of June, 1944 (New York: McGraw Hill Book Company, 1960)15-16] [1: John Keegan, Six Armies …show more content…
The vehicles that were used for the actual invasion were all too real, as the Germans would find out. British Major- General Sir Percy Hobart was responsible for crafting equipment and tactics to perform tasks in support of the troops during and after the D-Day landings. He based some of his new vehicles off of existing designs, while also developing new and amazing technologies. These vehicles became known as ?Hobart?s Funnies?. One of the main tanks of Hobart?s armoury was the ?Swimming? Sherman tank that could float and ?swim? through the use of a canvas screen that could be raised to give the vehicle a boat-like quality. When on shore, the canvas would be lowered making the tanks fully operational. Overall on most of the landing beaches these tanks were successful, however, there was a downside to them. The swimming tanks were a success on Gold, Sword, and Utah. However, on Juno, only some of the tanks made it to shore because the waves of the rough water caused them to sink to the bottom of the English Channel. The Sherman Tank?s biggest failure was on Omaha Beach where 27 out of the 29 tanks sank due to the six foot waves. The other tanks used could clear mines, cover ditches, and even layed mats down on the sands of the beaches so it would be easier to cross. The advanced technology of these tanks got the Allies to where they needed to be in an easier and faster …show more content…
Several other pre-landing Allied strategies were not as successful as hoped. Operation Neptune was an Allied operation that sent the naval ships across the English Channel. Admiral Bertram Ramsay was one of the men in command of the naval operations. Neptune required an estimate of 6,000 ships. The large amount of ships caused many problems. Holding so many ships was going to be extremely difficult. They could not be held in the south because they would be open to bombing raids by the Germans. If any of the ships broke down, who would replace them and carry out their tasks? It was also unknown how fast the ship could travel between England and Normandy. Ramsay?s plan was that the armada would be led by 287 minesweepers. They would make the area clear for the 138 warships traveling behind. These warships were to bombard the German defences set up on the beach. The troop that was carrying the fleet of ships would sail from the ports of Southern England that were protected by frigates and corvettes. Ramsay had to also organize how the 146 pieces of ?Mulberry? Harbor would move across the channel by usings tug boats. The ?Mulberries? were harbors that were artificial and could be floated across the English Channel and sunk into position on the opposite side.[footnoteRef:3] This structure was extremely important and could not be