Seldom in the course of human events does one day, leave such an indelible mark as to permanently alter the course of history. On June 6, 1944, forces from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower assembled the greatest armada in history to initiate Operation Neptune. The goal of this invasion force was to establish a foothold along the western coast of France which would serve as the launching point for reclaiming Europe from German occupation.
The target of the invasion centered on five beaches named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Each of these beaches would serve as a causeway to get men and equipment up from the water and onto the French mainland.
The actual idea of an invasion of Europe was not an unforeseen event. The Germans were anticipating an allied attack somewhere along the western coast of France. As such, Adolf Hitler tasked Erwin Rommel to establish and maintain an "Atlantic Wall" of military fortifications. While there was a small window of time where the tides and moonlight allowed for a successful invasion, the exact date of the attack was unknown. Coincidentally and unfortunately for the Germans, on June 6, Rommel happened to be away in Germany.
The attack began with air and naval bombardment of the German fortifications. Early morning paratroopers and along with gliders filled with men and equipment dropped behind the costal fortifications to secure towns and roadways that would be vital thoroughfares and staging points for the coming invasion troops. Later the amphibious landings began. Waves of men and equipment assaulted the beaches eventually gaining a foothold in each sector and by nightfall, the beaches were secure. Troops and equipment began moving up through locally flooded fields and began securing key towns in the area.
D-Day marks the initiation of the war in Europe that liberated the European nations from the control of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. The Reich that was once supposed to last for 1000 years had less that 1 year left to live. But the impact of D-Day reaches far beyond the apparent and immediate success of the operation (as consequential as that may be). The longer lasting impact of D-Day is the impact that it would have on the future of European geopolitics.
Up until the early 20th century, Europe was a constant shifting map of hegemonic attempts at empires or constant feuding between neighboring countries. To keep some semblance of peace, nation states relied on a balance of power approach. Unfortunately, this is a rather fragile system as a small perturbation in the balance of power can set of cataclysmic conflicts.
World War 2 completely reshaped the geopolitical landscape of the west. With the American, British and Canadian victory over Nazi Germany, Europe emerged with a new equilibrium and political order of democratic cooperation This has sparked a massive growth in prosperity and flourishing in the western nations. However, balance the of power dynamic did persist post World War 2 but now focused on Western Europe and its eastern neighbor, the Soviet Union.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. My wife and I attended the annual D-Day reenactment in Northeast, Ohio. While I knew some about the events of D-Day, after attending this event, I decided that I wanted to read more about the events surrounding the battle at Normandy. So, I did a quick google search for books about D-Day. The query resulted in several books, but the highest rated book is this book.
The Longest Day is a great read for anyone interested in World War 2 history. While I am not an historian by training, I do appreciate a good deal of scholarship in the works that I read. It is too easy to jot down a few words and opinions and call it a book. To have a substantive work, it is important to go through the effort of research and analysis. What I appreciated about this book is that it is one of the earliest major, historical account of D-Day. It was published just 15 years after the battle. In the process of doing the research, the author drew from previously written works, primary source documents, and interviews with hundreds of American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers who fought in Normandy.
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