63 years ago, forces of good crossed the English channel and began the invasion of Europe at Normandy which would free that part of the world. Led by the American’s, British, Canadian’s, Australian’s and many others, this was only the start of a long war.
If they had been defeated on the beach, the world would be a different place. A dictatorial structure with few of the countries that exist today would be the pan-European status. There is a lesson here, that you have to fight for freedom, and it comes at a price. At Normandy, it was a steep price for many. More than 3 times the number lost so far in Iraq were lost that day, the official casualties are listed here. I don’t want to downplay even one who has served and paid the ultimate price in the middle east, they are doing the same thing the brave soldiers did on June 6, 1944, serve their country and help keep the world free from the forces of evil.
Brian of Hot Air describes it:
A great invasion force stood off the Normandy coast of France as dawn broke on 6 June 1944: 9 battleships, 23 cruisers, 104 destroyers, and 71 large landing craft of various descriptions as well as troop transports, mine sweepers, and merchantmen—in all, nearly 5,000 ships of every type, the largest armada ever assembled. The naval bombardment that began at 0550 that morning detonated large minefields along the shoreline and destroyed a number of the enemy’s defensive positions. To one correspondent, reporting from the deck of the cruiser HMS Hillary, it sounded like “the rhythmic beating of a gigantic drum” all along the coast. In the hours following the bombardment, more than 100,000 fighting men swept ashore to begin one of the epic assaults of history, a “mighty endeavor,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it to the American people, “to preserve … our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.”
The attack had been long in coming. From the moment British forces had been forced to withdraw from France in 1940 in the face of an overwhelming German onslaught, planners had plotted a return to the Continent. Only in that way would the Allies be able to confront the enemy’s power on the ground, liberate northwestern Europe, and put an end to the Nazi regime.
Here is an audio of Eisenhower’s order of the day for the invasion. It includes a statement in case of failure that day.
The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944 brought together the land, air and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest invasion force in human history. The operation, given the codename OVERLORD, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. The beaches were given the codenames UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO and SWORD. The invasion force included 7,000 ships and landing craft manned by over 195,000 naval personnel from eight allied countries. Almost 133,000 troops from England, Canada and the United States landed on D-Day. Casualties from the three countries during the landing numbered 10,300. By June 30th, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed on the Normandy shores. Fighting by the brave soldiers, sailors and airmen of the allied forces western front and Russian forces on the eastern front led to the defeat of German Nazi forces. On May 7, 1945, German General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender at Reims, France.
Thank you to those brave men who made the charge up the beaches and cliffs, you are hero’s and we remember you today. What you did then allows us to be here now.
Update: Michelle Malkin has more links and video.
