When the Rangers who were charged specifically with rushing Obama beach and scaling those Cliffs to get those Monstrous 155mm guns got a surprise.Those heavy guns had been moved. The French were the ones who reported the initial heavy armor.
The battle of Stalingrad lasted quite some time.That was the key german/Russian fight.Hitler actually thought he could sweep into Russia in early summer and within 5 months take Stalingrad.That was the fatal flaw of Hitler's overall strategy.He used up his troops and ended up Losing Stalingrad.The Russians were more determined and tougher than he figured.Plus the Winter's in Russia are devastating.
Okey Dokey Danny.Then tell us all how close it wasn't.Close to 7,ooo ships ! Are you kinda nuts.Yes,there were not many germans around to do battle with. But it was the origin of many battles,town by town to come.Ending with Berlin. Have you never seen the classic 60's TV drama ... - COMBAT - starring Vic Morrow.
160,000 Allied soldiers hit the beach against about 1/3 that number Germans. The battle of Kursk, by way of comparison, involved well over 10x that number and 10,000 tanks.
Soviet Russia started and ended WWII " with more tanks than the rest of the World combined {18 -22,ooo } ".
The Russies were good soldiers.better than the Germans.However when they entered and took over Berlin they obnoxiously Raped countless German women.
Read that book, The Last Battle that I quoted in this post... http://www.politicalforum.com/showthread.php?t=459717&p=1066268378#post1066268378 It addresses that issue in some detail. C. Ryan tells in his book that the troops that came in first and did all the fighting to take over the city were straight-up troops for the most part. The troops that came behind them were the merciless rabble that did all the raping and murdering. German doctors were doing so many abortions in the later months to the point where they weren't even recording them as the law instructs them to do.
The Germans killed Soviet civilians...if you were a Jew, they didn't bother to send you to a camp, you would be summarily executed and buried in a mass grave. These two sides hated each other, to the very core. They fought knowing there would be no prisoners and no mercy. The following is very graphic...be forewarned. There was an account of Red Army soldiers breaking into a Berlin hospital. They entered a maternity ward and raped a woman moments after giving birth. The brutality exhibited on both sides of this conflict on the Eastern Front was something that many regard as the bloodiest campaign in human history. This wasn't a war, this was extermination, this was personal, this was, well words trivialize what took place. . This doesn't excuse the mass rape incurred by many soldiers of the Red Army in occupied Germany, with estimates going into the hundreds of thousands, but the Germans inflicted similar horrors on the Soviets, and specifically targeted Russian civilians as part of a terror campaign.
If someone took roughly 17 MILLION people out of your population like the NAZI's did to the Russians, you'd probably make it personal too.
The American Troops had a different mission.To segregate those who were in concentration camps from the german civilians.The german citizens were forced to admit part of the guilt behind Hitler's Nazi Conquering and cleansing.The prevailing excuse was for Germans to act dumb as if they had no Idea there were places like Dachau The First german Concentration camp opened for business in 1933 by Himmler. As soon as Hitler was announced as Chancellor he immediately sought out the German Communists of Berlin { around 100,ooo } and had them put in concentration camps. Hitler went from caring about germans after the destruction done by the Versailles Treaty { which he used as excuse for years } and working as an original member of the small German Workers Party to one of history's most unbelievable Monsters. Again ... The Documentary - Triumph of the Will - which garned World praise and netted Hitler TIME's - Man of the Year - is Banned in Germany.
Things could have been far worse.Not just that the Paratroopers at La Fiere bridge { roughly 8 miles inland form Omaha beach } are totally stranded.There intended hookup of soldiers from Obama beach is not happening.That bridge is crucial if the Allied Forces are to keep Hitler's infamous 17th Waffen SS Panzer Unit from crossing in order to take on Allied forces at Omaha beach. Hitler did not take the Invasion seriously enough. He thought it was merely a Diversionary tactic.Therefore he did not Immediately respond with Troop movement that were scattered throughout France. The 507th Paratroop Infantry did a good job of fighting off the few incoming german tanks.But it was costly.With germans scattered in hedgerows with machine gun fire.11 Hours into D-Day the airborn troops,8 miles inland at La Fiere bridge had survived the first onslaught of German Tanks.The far side of the bridge,however,was still in enemy hands.The Paratroopers were in bad need of help and men.Plus men were missing.Because the 5o7 th Infantry had more than150 men who were dropped way off their scheduled drop point.Like 18 miles out of the drop zone.They were so far off course their maps didn't even cover where they landed. 11 hours after first landing Force O has finally secured Omaha beach.It is a Major accomplishment.
Mr. Foolardi, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Taken from an Award winning History Channel Documentary.If you scoff at what I wrote, then you are in effect calling History Buffs and World War II *experts a pack of liars. You can't have it both ways.Try to diminish what I wrote as Truthful and accurate and also not cite a single aspect with error. What part of what I wrote are you grappling with.? Or ... are you merely lacking needed attention.Plus,isn't it about time for Mommy or Grandma to tuck you in to beddie.Oh ... Don't forget to say your prayers. The actual men who fought and lived to recall what they experienced. Are they also Irrational.?
1. Stop randomly hitting enter. It makes reading what you type annoying. It's not original, it's not artistic, it's just retarded. 2. DDay was not the largest battle in history. 3. You're obviously watching The History Channel.
The Largest Amphibious Assualt { Battle } ever in History.Many Battles throughout History involved some sort of boats or ships carrying soldiers or Warriors. Dating back to the Viking age. Correct ... D-Day was NOT the largest Battle in History.The largest Amphibeous Battle,however. Plus D-Day does not mean ... what many think.It is a generalization as to meaning Day.So D + 3 means 3 days after D-day. Originally D-day was to be June 5th.But due to bad weather it was postponed until June 6th. General MacArthur used terms such as L-day { Invasion of Okinawa } If there was to be an Invasion of Japan it was to be called X-day.
Stalingrad is probably the largest battle in global history. At one point it involved one million participants on each side.
Ok ... I got already for all you contrarians who love to pick arguments on a message board.Do You have anything to add about D-day. Or for that Matter the Battle of Stalingrad.Which probably cost Hitler his career as a Waring Dictator.He misjudged the Russkies.He thought his German Army could swoop into Russia in around 5 months and take Stalingrad. The actual Battle IN Stalingrad lasted over 5 months.
However the D-day Invasion failed on the one hand and mildy succeeded on the other.It did on the first day achieve the taking over of the 5 beaches Holding " a sliver of corpse-littered beach 5 miles long and one and a half miles deep". But the initial purpose of D-Day was a surprise push inland.That failed miserably. The Germans were also not capable of easy retreat and surrender.Once given their marching orders they quickly reassembled and remounted. In the days after Obama beach the death toll in casualties will mount to 10 times. " All I saw was dead bodies.They were gettin' killed before I knew their name ". " You had to leave your buddy there.After awhile you became more like an animal than a human being ". Allied Soldiers landed { 156,115 } Casualties { 10,377 } All the more reason for why Cowboy Diplomacy { Being feared rather than Loved } was a good President Bush Foreign Relations policy. All the more reason why being the Number One Superpower is so dynamic. Why Ronnie Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot.
Musta had the guy on me mind. Was probably thinking of another thread. Phrases like " marching orders " seem too adaptable for this current White House.
Things were about to look better by the 2nd day { June 7th } but that was entirely shortsighted.The German Command was now Operational and strategic. The key city of Saint-Lo which all country roads from the beach head at Obama inland led to and through was of major importance.It was to be the next strategic battle to compare with Obama beach.The Germans had the advantage and were now Operational as far as forces uniting in and around France to cut off the D-Day Invasion. To make matters far worse,The Germans lucked out.On a landing craft and a few other places were the germans were victorious they managed to get their hands on the D-day Invasion plans.The actual papers that some military brass carried with them to follow to the letter.Since so many americans { including officers who had died or mortally wounded fighting to keep Obama beach } those strategic military plans were a Godsend for German Officers who managed to get their hands on them.More bad luck for the Allied Invasion. In fact,less than a mile off the beach the germans found a briefcase secured to a dead American officer." In it a second set of plans.Now we knew the entire American Invasion plan. " The vastly needed and important paratroopers had not a clue as to this breech in intelligence." And now General Kraiss of the German 352nd knows every objective they're going to try to take.Their main timetables,troops,elements,everything. "
The noticeable difference between Normandy and say Russia or Stalingrad as told by Sergeant Gerhard Winnecken, 19 yrs.old,from the 91st Luftlande Div. The germans knew where the Russians were at all time.In Front of them. In Normandy the Americans were in back,in front,and to the left,to the right. Of course that meant it was the same for the Allied Forces.As to where them Krauts { germans } were.Some may wonder as to how the Americans got their supplies and gunnery.Like the Paratroopers,the Allied Forces used Gliders. The Paratroopers were not heavily armed and did not have much in the way of equipment.But those Gliders {that could land in Farm fields } gave the ability to bring in heavy equipment and heavy supplies.Like 57 mm guns.That could knock out the German tanks." In general the American soldiers weren't any older than us.They seemed well trained and well equipped.But was their fighting spirit as good as ours.? " The germans also used booby traps in and around approaching towns.This stunned and made the Allied Efforts that much more difficult and time consuming,eliminating almost entirely the element of surprise.
The Battle by the 507th Paratroop Infantry and other Americans to maintain supremacy at La Fiere and that strategic bridge was costly for the opposition. Even though the germans had the high ground and the americans had to make do with the swamped-out low ground of flooded farm marshlands,the germans became war weary { low on food & ammunion } and eventually manpower. The bloody causeway which cost around 560 casualities { dead or wounded } in The costliest small-unit action in U.S. Airborn history.However that 91st Luftlande Div. eventually surrendered.The war finally ended for those germans at La Fiere Farm beside the Merderet river.This was accomplished on June 9th as the Allies control the bridge at La Fiere and the inland routes from Obama beach. However what made the german SS soldier so dangerous is their loyal allegiance to their Fuhrer.Plus the immense war machinery Germany had been producing at record pace for years.Using funds from Countries they overtook and from prisoners. The German 352nd Infantry which " devastated American forces on Omaha beach " had moved inland.The Germans used Schmeissers { *machine pistols }.Germans had orders to shoot and kill any American/Allies captured. * an authentic Assualt weapon.
