June 6th, 1944, the Normandy invasion of German-Occupied France by Allied forces consisting of British, Canadian, ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand), and American forces has begun. What follows through until May 8th of the following year is a push through Europe, from the combined arms of the western allies in France, over the Maginot Line, past the dense Ardennes Forest with the Battle of the Bulge, past the Rhine river and into Germany's capital, Berlin. However, while the Western Allies were taking on a large part of Germany's forces, the Soviet Union had been fighting Germany for 3 years before the Western Allies had begun the largest naval invasion in our history. We are taught that the United States was the sole reason World War 2 was …show more content…
won by the Allies in 1945. However, the Allied assault into Germany, with the USSR in the Eastern Theatre, United States and the British/ANZAC forces in Italy and pushing into France, as well as paranoia and rash decision-making by Germany's leadership were major reasons as to why the Allies together had won World War 2. Soviet Union and German non-aggression pact. Pre-Soviet invasion of Poland, the German Reich and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact called the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact", declaring certain areas in Europe were "off-limits" to either side to invade or assimilate, while also stating clear lines of where the new border territories in Poland would be. Then, on September 17 of 1939, 16 days after Germany had declared war on Poland, the Soviet Union had declared war and had begun the first stages of the pact. The invasion lasted for about a month and had concluded with the exiled military leaders of Poland forming a "government-in-exile" like France had done with their own country being invaded. German declaration of war on the Soviet Union. The German Government had declared war on the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941, with the German invasion titled "Operation Barbarossa". The first part of the offensive was to take out major Soviet command stations, which were vital to communications and strategy to the main Soviet forces from Moscow. The German Air Force(Luftwaffe) reconnaissance units plotted Soviet troop concentration, supply dumps and airfields, and marked them down for destruction, as well as additional Luftwaffe attacks were carried out against Soviet command and control centers in order to disrupt the mobilization and organization of Soviet forces. Due to Stalin's belief that the German forces were acting not under Hitler's' orders, he had ordered artillery and their observers to stand down initially. While Stalin was making sure his country had not just been betrayed and invaded, about 1500 aircraft had been destroyed by the Luftwaffe, in the first day. When Stalin had finally been assured of the intentions of the German government, over 3000 aircraft had been destroyed, severely limiting the counter-attack potential the Soviet Union had. While the German Air Force had flexed their superiority over the Soviet Union, the German tank divisions had pushed into the Baltic States and had taken out the Soviet 8th and 11th armies. While the Germans had seemed to be unstoppable, the Soviets staged a counter-attack against the German 4th Panzer Group. Unfortunately for the Soviets, the mechanized divisons they had sent out to defeat the German tanks were defeated. With the two Soviet divisions down, the Germans had the opportunity to continue on their main objective in the Northwestern Campaign of Operation Barborassa: Leningrad. In September of 1941, the German Army has encircled the city of Leningrad, with civilians and Soviet armies alike trapped in the city. For 872 days men, women and children alike were bombed, shot, and starved to death with no way of escape and dwindling supplies. Over 3 million Soviet soldiers had been killed, while over 600,000 civilians had been killed during the siege, as well as a further 400,000 killed during evacuation attempts by the Soviets. The German armies were gaining information from the Finnish intelligence, the information they had gathered allowed Germany to order Finnish forces to encircle the northern part of Leningrad, while the Germans could encircle the south and cut off the Soviet forces to the east from the city. When German high command decided to not occupy the city, instead choosing to lay siege to save on food supply, "Early next year we enter the city (if the Finns do it first we do not object), lead those still alive into inner Russia or into captivity, wipe Leningrad from the face of the earth through demolitions, and hand the area north of the Neva to the Finns."(Reid, 133). Hitler had also sent an order to remind the German Army overseeing the siege of Leningrad, informing them to not accept surrender. The siege had lasted until January 1944, with over 4 million people dead either from starvation, bombings, or being shot. The following year after the initial Siege of Leningrad, Stalingrad had been encircled by the Axis forces, and for 5 months the Axis had been battling the Soviets for control over the city. But Soviet commanders and strategists had comprised a plan. In "Operation Uranus", the Soviets devised a plan to destroy the German war machine surrounding the city beholding their leaders' name. The first stage of the plan was to seize the opportunities the Germans had left open for the Soviets, mainly that the Germans had overextended themselves and had not prepared for winter, So with the Axis forces on inconsistent supply lines, with little to no winter equipment, the Soviets had the perfect opportunity to strike back. The Soviets first engaged the Romanian Army to the west of Stalingrad, and while the Romanians had repelled attacks two times, the third time was a success. The forces that were supposed to assist the Romanians further west had not been prepared and had no success fighting against the Soviets in blizzard conditions. While the Romanian forces had been routed, and the German tank division that was supposed to assist had been knocked out, the Soviet army could begin a swooping maneuver southwards and eastwards towards Stalingrad. The Soviets had moved southward with their mechanized corps but had been delaying because of fog. When all divisions had received orders to carry on with their attack on the German southern flank, the Soviet Armored Divisions had been brought into battle. While this deployment was in full swing, the Soviet Army had stumbled on its offensive, allowing the Germans to bring in reserves to strengthen their line of defense. Against the Soviet tanks and the infantry, and with little in the way of supplies and manpower, the Romanian forces that had been reinforcing the Don River (a river to the southwest of Stalingrad), were the only thing in the way of a Soviet spearhead through the Axis defenses. On November 22nd, Soviets had crossed the Don River and had been heading to the city of Kalach, on the West side of the Volga River, Stalingrad was to the East of the river. From both North and South, the Soviet Army had taken the town of Kalach, and thus encircled the Germans fighting in and around Stalingrad. You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. (Eisenhower, 1944) The largest naval invasion in human history was conducted with the Western Allied naval invasion codenamed, "Operation Overlord". American forces had been transported to Britain in preparation of the amphibious and air assaults of the mainland of France. Most Americans were housed in temporary camps in the south-west of England, ready to move across the Channel to the western section of the landing zone. All forces were preparing to diverge from 20 different points to the landing zones. Airborne forces were dropped behind the beaches of Utah and into Brittany (a territory southwest of Normandy beaches), to capture bridges and canals and river passages the night before the amphibious assault. In the early morning of June 6th, 1944, the allied invasion of Normandy had begun. The American forces being landed on Utah and Omaha beaches, British landing on Gold and Sword beaches, and Canadian forces landing on Juno beach, the Allies have now given Germany two fronts to fight on. Something Hitler had been desperately trying to avoid since his invasion of France. Germany now has the Allied forces of the Soviet Union to the East and the Allied forces of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Free France, and New Zealand to the West.
The Soviet forces implementing their "Prague Offensive", as well as "Operation Bagration" which was to push into Eastern Poland, with remaining Polish forces and Soviets alike was a major rupture in the German war machine's effectiveness, resulting in about a quarter of the German forces in the Eastern front being either killed or captured, including officers. The German army could not replace the numbers and experience that they had lost in the Soviet offensives. The Western Allies having been able to push the Germans out of France, thus liberating the country, and pushing into the Ardennes forest, unfortunately for the Allies, "Operation Market Garden" an offensive hoped to have been what was needed to put a spearhead into the German line had failed. But with the mismanagement of supplies and men, the …show more content…
rash commanders of the German armies had decided to push the Allies in France away from Germany, and thus ensued the Battle of the Bulge, in the Ardennes forest. The Battle of the Bulge has been recalled as one of the most dreadful battles of the Western Front, as both Germans and Americans were undersupplied and in wintery weather and dense forestry.
Valera states, "Eventually, more than 1,000,000 men fought for this important forest and its moral implications..." (Valera, 34). The Germans, hoping to push the Americans away from Germany, attempted a mix of a strategy of "encirclement" and a "spearhead". Encirclement was a strategy which two or more armies or detachments would go around the enemy forces, provided they were not secured on either flank, and force the enemy to fight on three or more fronts, eventually overwhelming the enemy and winning the battle. The German Armies had used this strategy multiple times, as well as the Allied forces. The most notable uses of this strategy were Stalingrad, against the Germans, the Invasion of France by Germany, and the Siege of Leningrad. Unfortunately for the Germans, the encirclement strategy failed, as the Americans had the opportunity to have supplies airdropped when the weather had calmed down. "Taking advantage of the foggy weather and of the total surprise of the Allies, the Germans penetrated deep into Belgium, creating a dent, or "bulge," in the Allied lines and threatening to break through to the N Belgian plain and seize Antwerp."(Columbia, 2017) The Germans had successfully implemented a spearhead, but had not captured the American lines to their flanks, and allowed the
American armies to encircle the Germans and end the Battle of the Bulge. "The Germans lost approximately 100,000 men, who could not be replaced, while Allied casualties were placed at about 80,000, killed, wounded, and captured."(Dabrowski, 2009) The battle had started on December 16th, and ended on Janurary 25th, 1945.
In 1942, the Allies decided to help out the Soviet Union and opened up another front to the war in Western Europe. The United States and Britain did not have a large enough military to mount an invasion at the time but they had drawn up plans to prepare for an invasion in case Germany’s western front weakened or the Soviet Union was put into dire straits. In August of 1942 the Canadians attempted an invasion of the French port city of Dieppe. It was a poorly planned and coordinated invasion that was meant to be a test the defense that Germany had established that ended in disaster, nearly 5,000 troops were either killed, wounded, or captured. In July 1943, British, American, and Canadian troops invaded Sicily as the western front expanded from Africa into Europe. The valuable experience from the amphibious landings in southern Europe would be used to launch to launch the largest invasion force in the world to crack open the solid ...
During the fall of 1944, the “Atlantic Wall” had diminished after the invasion of Normandy and the American and allied forces were making their way towards Germany. One of the offensives directed to counteract this; Adolf Hitler focused in on and was attacking the inadequately defended Ardennes front. Had this plan succeeded, through the capture of Antwerp, the Germans would have divided the American and British forces in the area, depriving the American Soldiers and allies of a seaport for resupply.
1. What do you think of when you drive by that big B-52 at the museum? Being the history buff that I am, I think about Vietnam, where that old “Buff” was used the most. “Why should I care about Vietnam?” you ask yourself. Well, last time I checked there’s a history section in the PFE guide, so there might be a test later! The intent of this paper is to inform you about Operation Linebacker II. I’ll explain the events leading up to the operation, discuss the strategy, and finally I’ll sum up the results of a bombing campaign Sir Michael Knight characterized In the book Strategic Offensive Air Operation as “...may have played a role not unlike two B-29s over Japan 27 years earlier”. (Knight: 77) I’ll start by explaining why President Richard Nixon gave the order to begin this new bombing campaign.
Introduction Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. This operation would test our military’s readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. The primary mission was to kill/capture Taliban/Al Qaeda forces occupying towns and villages in the vicinity of Shahi Khot in order to gain control of the valley.1 The US needed the towns, villages, mountains, and more importantly, the intricate and hard to access caves cleared of enemy fighters. Units participating in the operation included elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and Coalition forces from seven nations including Afghanistan.2 With so many different nations fighting along with our own branches of military, it would test our ability to conduct joint operations on multiple levels. History On September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.”
The 1944 Allied landing at Normandy met a strong, networked German defense that initially disrupted the timing of the invasion, slowed down the Allied advance, and inflicted extensive casualties. The German shore defenses were a result of extensive preparations that began when the German High Command appointed Field Marshal Rommel to defend the western European coast. Rommel believed the best strategy against an Allied inv...
The prelude to the Battle of the Bulge began on a winter day in mid-December of 1944. Three powerful German divisions, were the last German offensives in the west at that time during World War II. They began after the Normandy invasion in June 1944. Allied had forces swept rapidly through France but became stalled along the German border earlier that year in September. On December 16, 1944 taking advantage of the weather, which kept the Allied aircraft on the ground, the Germans launched a counteroffensive through the semi-mountainous and heavily-forested Ardennes region in Germany, and advanced 31 miles into Belgium and northern Luxembourg near the Meuse River. Their goal was to trap four allied armies, divide the Americans and the British to force negotiated peace along the western front, and retake the vital seaport of Antwerp in Belgium. Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American staff commander chose to keep the thin line, so that manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes known as the "bulge" in the Allied lines. These American lines were thinly held by three divisions in the Allied Army and part of a forth division, while fifth division was making a local attack and the sixth division was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal defensive fronts, therefore there were more men scattered along a larger area. The German advance was halted near the Meuse River in late December. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight. Within three days, the determined American stand and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach. In snow and sub-freezing temperatures the Germans fell short of their interim objective- to reach the rambling Meuse River on the edge of the Ardennes. But they managed to avoid being cut off by an Allied Pincer movement.
In the late May in 1918, the German forces put together four divisions and launched the Aisne offensive. The bombardment began at one in the morning on May 27th. The British and French front lines were torn apart by the current waves of German infantry and artillery. Both armies began to disintegrate before the might of the Germans, and were unable to halt the advancement of their awesome force. The Germans didn’t press further after the Marnes River, giving the French time to call in reinforcements and American assistance. When the American forces arrived, a French office asked Marine Colonel Wendell C. Neville if a tactical retreat would be in order, he replied with th...
The battle of the bulge occurred between December 16th, 1944 and January 25th, 1945. It was the largest land assault in World War II. There were more than 200,000 German troops and 83,000 American soldiers. The battle of the bulge was Germanys last ditch effort to try and salvage any chance of taking over and winning the war in Europe. Germany went all in with troops, tanks in a huge blitzkrieg attack towards the American soldiers in the
“The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944 – 1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War Two. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves” (Trueman).
The Germans took an unrealistic approach in the decision making process for the battle. During the debate in the German High Command about what to do in the summer of 1943, two options were introduced. The realistic option, which was supported by the best German field commanders and many soldiers, was to compensate for the large Russian numerical advantage by fully utilizing the superiority of the German commander and soldiers in tactics, command and fighting, by a strategy of dynamic mobile defense that would cause great losses to the Russians in a series of local clashes. This would delay the Russians and was a realistic goal as it was easily achievable. However, Adolf Hitler wanted to follow the enthusiast-optimistic option of having a major decisive battle against a large portion of the Russian armour in order to destroy them. He thought that the best suited place for such a battle was the Kursk salient, where the Russians had already established battle grounds. In fact, aerial photos taken by German airplanes clearly revealed that the Russians had already built dense and deep fortifications at the Kursk salient in order to counter an attack. Also, it was evident that many Russian tanks were moved deeper behind the front line. Finally, the Blitzkrieg tactic that was often used by the Germans would have to be changed.
Outline of Operation Market Garden In early September 1944, Montgomery, in order to maintain the momentum of the Allied movement from Normandy towards Germany , conceived an operation to outflank the German "West Wall" defensive line. Montgomery persuaded Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower that his daring plan of forcing a narrow corridor from Eindhoven northward to Arnhem and establishing a bridgehead across the Rhine River held the promise of causing a German collapse by the end the year. Market Garden became the biggest airborne operation in our history. Montgomery's Operation Market-Garden consisted of two parts.
During the late summer of 1942, Germany’s position in the Soviet Union appeared to be dominant. The Russian winter offensive in front of Moscow had succeeded in relieving the pressure on the capital but had failed to make any substantial gains beyond a few miles of breathing space. The Germans had managed to stabilize the situation, inflicting severe casualties on the Russians before opening their own offensive in southern Russia in the spring and summer of 1942. This offensive, like the initial attack on the Soviet Union, caught the Russians (who expected a second assault on Moscow) completely off guard. Germany’s success was immense, and by the end of July the Wehrmacht had reached the Caucasus Mountains and the Volga River, with the oil-rich cities of Astrakhan, Grozny, and Baku in its sights.
In the spring of 1940 Europe was enveloped in war. The German military machine had already conquered Poland, Denmark, and Norway. However, not content with northern and eastern expansion, Adolf Hitler wanted to control the western countries in Europe. Hitler had long been obsessed with attacking and controlling France. After their defeat in World War I, the German people, government, and military were humiliated by the enormous post war sanctions leveraged against them from the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler wanted to defeat and humiliate the French people in the same way that his country had to experience. For him, revenge was necessary. The German plan was to swing into France using a new tactic know as Blitzkrieg or “Lightning War”. Blitzkrieg used speed and surprise along with highly concentrated tank corps, supported by mechanized infantry and airplanes.
The largest airborne operation ever organized, Market-Garden cost the Allies between 15,130 and 17,200 killed, wounded, and captured. The bulk of these occurred in the British 1st Airborne Division which began the battle with 10,600 men and saw 1,485 killed and 6,414 captured. German losses numbered between 7,500 and 10,000. Having failed to capture the bridge over the Lower Rhine at Arnhem, the operation was deemed a failure as the subsequent offensive into Germany could not proceed. The failure of Market-Garden has been attributed to a multitude of factors ranging from intelligence failures, overly optimistic planning, poor weather, and the lack of tactical initiative on the part of commanders. Despite its failure, Montgomery remained an advocate of the plan calling it "90% successful."
Hitler then ordered the attack on Belgium, Holland and France. The British and French had predicted that the German attack would come through Belgium. So the British and French forces moved north into Belgium to meet the German advance. The Germans again used overpowering blitzkrieg tactics and quickly overwhelmed Holland. The main German attack began further to the south, as...