The Breakthrough: D-Day

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The Breakthrough When asked about World War II, many would instantly recall their learning of the events that occurred on June 6,1944 or largely know as “D-Day”. On D-Day, the allied forces hit the beaches of Normandy swiftly pushing inland towards France, but what happens after the success of D-Day is largely unknown to most. It would have been grand D-Day would have ended WWII right? Many will tell you that same statement, but D-Day was only the start of long and difficult campaign. What came next would quadruple the number of casualties during D-Day, in the Battle of Normandy. This battle is an afterthought behind D-Day, even after over two months of fighting. This would start the collapse of the Nazi regime and allow the allies to push…show more content…
The U.S.A would push west and hit the beaches of Utah and Omaha; the British and Canadians would push east hitting Gold, Sword, and Juno. Each of the allies would run into hefty resistance and suffered a multitude of casualties. The British initial plan, lead by Gen. Bernard Montgomery, was to break through quickly and take control of Caen and Hill 112 in one day. The U.S. initial plan, lead by Gen. Omar Bradley, was to break through the west and capture the western ports in Brittany and move to France. The British allied troops felt additional German defense as Hitler ordered the troops to defend Normandy. If Montgomery can add pressure and make Hitler keep sending troops to the east, this allows the American troops and Gen. Bradley to advance rapidly for the breakout into the west and the ports of Brittany. Gen. Montgomery, some would say, marched to the beat of his own drum. He had his own master plan when it came to events after D-Day. He stated how he wanted to seize Caen in one day, advance to Falaise and after break through to Paris. As known, this did not work out the way it was planned, but little did Montgomery know, he was making Germany send its panzer divisions east, giving the American time in the west (Beevor, McFarnon 4). Over 4 weeks of little advance, the British lost around 26,000
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