When Does Glory Fade ?

(When Does Glory Fade ?)

It was eighty years ago today that Allied forces came ashore in opposed invasion against Hitler's Atlantic Wall. On five beaches, west to east Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, on the Cavadas Coast of Normandy, France in dual operations NEPTUNE/OVERLORD. "NEPTUNE" was the amphibious portion of OVERLORD and what landed, and flew, June 6th: D-Day. As anyone will tell you, it was a "close run thing."


For the Allies to place some 150,000+ on the French shoreline on June 6th with all their equipment, with three Airborne Divisions (82nd, 101st, British 6th) was nothing short of a miracle. An Allied armada comprised of almost 7,000 fleet units ranging from battleships to individual assault craft. This impressive host opened fire on German defensive positions at around 0630 and checked fire some 90 minutes later. There was complete Allied air dominance.  After the lodgment on June 6th, it took another six days till June 12th till all five beaches were able to be joined in a single line. There were D-Day objectives that were not secured, the town of Caen behind Sword Beach and of the two "floating ports," the so-called Mulberry's, the one feeding Utah and Omaha beaches was wrecked in a storm on June 9th. A close run thing indeed. In his excellent work on the subject, historian Stephen E. Ambrose summed up the events of June 6th in the following manner. Ambrose said "the Atlantic Wall held up British and Canadian forces, landing at Gold, Juno, and Sword for about an hour. It held up the U.S. 4th Division coming ashore at Utah Beach for less than an hour. The Atlantic Wall held up the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions on Omaha Beach for about half a day." Ambrose concludes that "The Atlantic Wall has to be considered one of the worst failures in military history.


That being said, the events of D-Day, the men, the ships, the planes were only the "visible" parts of OVERLORD. There was a whole series of strategic deceptions that the Allies were able to employ. Central to these efforts were ULTRA intelligence, product produced by the compromise of the German Enigma cypher, allowing the Allies to read the most secret communications in the German Armed forces. Being able to "read" enemy mail, allowed for a foreknowledge of German intentions. To bring those intentions more into focus, and steer them in a desired direction, operations like FORTITUDE, North and South, Quicksilver that produced dummy equipment and set them about so they could be spotted by German reconnaissance and finally, General Patton with a fake army, FUSAG, First US Army Group, set to "attack across the Pas de Calais, keeping eyes away from Normandy, where the real assault would take place.


So, when can their glory fade ? 

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