6 June 2011 D-Day 6 June 1944 On the beaches of Normandy

            Thousands of soldiers waded ashore under the guns of Nazi troops defending against the invasion of Europe by Allied soldiers, sailors, and marines.  Heroes all, they faced opposition that made capturing and holding a beachhead all but impossible.  Men waded ashore in neck-deep North Atlantic water to reach an exposed beach with no cover to protect them from machine guns and other weapons trained on them from cliffs towering over 100 feet above the  beach.  Singly and in units, they somehow survived and climbed the cliffs to secure a beachhead that allowed reinforcements and supplies to be landed. 

“In the largest amphibious landing the world has ever seen, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in France. The D-Day cost was high with more than 9,000 Allied soldiers killed or wounded as the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.”

 “Normandy Invasion

Supreme Commander--General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Ike's D-Day Message,

 Order of the Day, 6 June 1944
Allied Expeditionary Naval Forces--Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay
21st Army Group--General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery
Allied Expeditionary Air Forces--Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh- Mallory

United States Army       United Kingdom Land Forces

First Army                                Second British Army

V Corps                                    1st British Corps

VII Corps                                 30th British Corps

1st Infantry Division                3rd British Infantry Division

4th Infantry Division                           6th British Airborne Division

29th Infantry Division             50th British Infantry Division

82nd Airborne Division          3rd Canadian Infantry Division

101st Airborne Division

Air Forces

U.S. Army Air Forces     Royal Air Forces

Eighth Air Force         2nd Tactical Air Force

Ninth Air Force

Allied Expeditionary Naval Forces

Western Task Force       Eastern Task Force

(United States)          (British)

Surprisingly, other than a reprinted Charles Schultz comic strip, I saw no mention of this being the 67^th anniversary of D-Day.

Schultz'w thoughts beneath the strip ring sadly true today