Success of DDay
- Created by: Bethany Ball
- Created on: 06-05-15 19:23
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- Why was there an allied success of DDay.
- Date
- 6th June 1944
- The weather was appalling , however the allies had weather stations in the western/northen atlantic - predicted a gap in the weather that the Germans couldnt see.
- Most commanders were at Rennes doing command exercises - including Rommel.
- The German Navy were not patrolling that night due to the weather.
- If they had waited 2 weeks after, it would have been conducted in the worst storm seen for 40 years.
- Well planned.
- Practised on Slapton Sands, Devon. Exercise Tiger. - marshalling, embarking, boats, tanks and army.
- Historian Beevor claims it was the most well planned of any operation.
- Wooden guns on coast of england, wooden planes, tans, dummies, mirrors on ships to confuse direction, ghost army, inflatable tanks and Pas de Calais.
- False landings at Vendetta and Ferdinand.
- Good leaders - Dempsey and Spaatz (bombed oil rigs.)
- Superiority ashore.
- Clear force superiority.
- Landed 2 million - Germans were preoccupied with a battle of attrition.
- Massive ground and naval artillery.
- Overwhelming air supply. It destroyed german food, fuel and ammunition supplies.
- Germans did not see it coming.
- Plan fortitude was a deception operation, persuaded the Germans that Normandy was the 1st phase and the real attack was going to be at Pas de Calais.
- Worked well, Germans held the bulk of their army back at Pas de Calais.
- If the majority had been in Normandy, the allies would have struggled to have brought in rapid reinforcements.
- fake field armies (based in Edinburgh and the south of England) which threatened Norway (Fortitude North) and Pas de Calais.
- Worked well, Germans held the bulk of their army back at Pas de Calais.
- The Germans were caught by surprise. The Luftwaffe /kriegsmarinewere less effective than planned and so the RAF and US airforce did a good job of keeping them grounded.-few E boats attacked.
- Not a single mine sweeper sunk, casualties relatively low.
- Plan fortitude was a deception operation, persuaded the Germans that Normandy was the 1st phase and the real attack was going to be at Pas de Calais.
- German weakness.
- Attention on Pas de Calais.
- Extensive confusion - phone lines cut by spies.
- Hitler mistrusted Generals and misjudged the severity of the operation. He wasn't even alerted, his Generals were too scared to wake him.
- Lower quality of forces defending, better ones in land.
- They were spread out and confused - deception operations worked.
- Bombing placed a ceiling on the effectivity of the German War Economy - Blitzkrieg was ineffective.
- Date
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