D-DAY, 1944 term paper

The most important question of the war for the Allies (Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States) concerned the opening of a second front, a Western Front to match the Eastern Front that had existed since the summer of 1941 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The campaign in Italy in 1943 was not adequate, in the opinion of the Soviets, and so Overlord, a massive cross-Channel invasion of Europe was planned for 1944. It was an impressive logistical feat to assemble the men, supplies, ships, and aircraft needed for the invasion. The Allies also carried out an elaborate and successful deception to convince Nazi Germany that the landing would take place in the Pas de Calais area instead of in Normandy.

On the night of 5–6 June, after delays because of bad weather, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Expeditionary Force, gave the go-ahead for the invasion. It began with British and U.S. airborne troops parachuting into France. Early on the morning of 6 June, British, Canadian, and American troops came ashore on beaches code named Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Omaha. Initial losses were heavy, and at Omaha Beach American forces met especially fierce resistance. Nevertheless, by the end of the day the Allies had gained control of the beaches.

The question then became whether the Allies could reinforce the initial assault before the Germans could concentrate enough troops to drive the Allies back into the sea or contain them within a small area. The Germans lost the “battle of the build-up” for several reasons. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox” of North Africa, who had been brought in to improve the “Atlantic Wall,” was away on leave when the invasion began. The Germans continued to believe that the main invasion would be in the Pas de Calais area and kept back troops and tanks badly needed in the Normandy sector. Hitler tried to manage the defense from his headquarters.
Nevertheless, the German forces made good use of the bocage, hedgerows so impenetrable that ordinary tanks could not get through. Air superiority was a key factor in the ability of the Allies to wear the German forces down. By the first part of August, Allied forces had broken out in open country. By 24 August, Free French forces had entered Paris. Although the war continued for eight more months, the cross-Channel invasion was a success. Nazi Germany was now caught between the gigantic pincers formed by the Soviet forces in the east and the Allied forces in the west. Defeat was only a matter of time.
Suggestions for Term Papers
1. The Soviets pressed the Americans and British from 1942 on to establish a second front in Europe. Review the history of the diplomacy associated with the second front, especially the Teheran Conference.
2. Investigate the conditions of life in Britain before the launching of the invasion. In particular, examine the reception of American soldiers by the British.
3. Read some of the oral histories provided by those who came ashore on D-Day and write a short story or play based on the experiences of ordinary soldiers.
4. Review the efforts by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to strengthen the “Atlantic Wall.” What difference would it have made to the German defensive efforts if Rommel had been present 6 June 1944?
5. What role did General Charles de Gaulle and the Free French play in the campaign?
6. Evaluate Field Marshal Bernard “Monty” Montgomery’s role in the planning and conduct of Overlord (see Suggested Sources).

Research Suggestions

In addition to the boldfaced items, look under the entries for “The Battle of Stalingrad, 1942–1943” (#33) and “The Yalta Conference, 1945” (#36). Search under Field Marshal Bernard “Monty” Montgomery, General George Patton, General George C. Marshall, General Charles de Gaulle, and the Teheran Conference.
SUGGESTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Report by the Supreme Commander to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the Operations in Europe of the Allied Expeditionary Force, 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1946. General Eisenhower’s report on D-Day and subsequent efforts to defeat Nazi Germany.

Voices of D-Day. Edited by Ronald J. Drez. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. Oral histories of participants in D-Day from the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans.

Secondary Sources

Ambrose, Stephen E. D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. The best single book on D-Day, based on 1,400 oral histories.

D-Day Remembered . 1994, 53 minutes. Distributed by Direct Cinema Limited. Part of the highly regarded American Experience series and based on oral histories contributed by veterans of the campaign.

D’Este, Carlo. Decision in Normandy. 1983. Reprint, New York: Dutton, 1994. A careful study by a prominent American military historian.

Hastings, Max. OVERLORD: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy.New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984 (reissued in 1993). An excellent account that compares the performances of the American and German armies.

Keegan, John. Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris: June 6th–August 25th, 1944. New York: Viking Press, 1982. A unique and valuable approach, the book follows the fortunes of the American, Canadian, Scottish, English, German, and Polish armies in northern France in the summer of 1944.

Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. The Desert Fox in Normandy: Rommel’s Defense of Fortress Europe. New York: Praeger, 1997. A look at D-Day from the German perspective. Mitcham is somewhat uncritical of Rommel.

Normandy: The Great Crusade. CD-ROM. Bethesda: Discovery Channel CD-ROM, 1994. Based on the documentary film.

Ryan, Cornelius. The Longest Day. 1959. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Until the appearance of Stephen Ambrose’s book, the best-known history of the invasion. Source for the motion picture The Longest Day. Saving Private Ryan. Directed by Steven Spielberg, 1998. A searing depiction of D-Day.

The Simon and Schuster D-Day Encyclopedia: A Multimedia Exploration! CD-ROM. Hatboro, PA: Context Systems, 1994. The print version of the encyclopedia expanded by video and audio material.

Weinberg, Gerald L. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. The best one-volume account of the war available.

Wilt, Alan F. The Atlantic Wall: Hitler’s Defenses in the West, 1941–1944. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1975. The best account of this important effort by the German military.

World Wide Web

“D Day.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/amex/dday. The transcript of the documentary D-Day Remembered and other interesting features.

Encyclopedia Britannica Web site on D-Day. http://normandy.eb.com. Comprehensive information including maps and bibliography.

“Stephen Ambrose on ‘Booknotes.’” http://www.booknotes.org/transcripts/10005.htm. A transcript of Ambrose’s comments on D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II.