American school kids are probably familiar with this map, which shows how US troops achieved the Normandy landings.
Absolutely – they did just that. But a slightly bigger map shows that they were just the western part of a much bigger operation.
Nothing can detract from the bravery of those American troops, but I’m sure the veterans would be the last to claim that the invasion was just an American operation. Specially since their tanks were not designed, and their crews inadequately trained for offshore beach assaults from rough seas and a lot of them sank. Omaha beach was heavily defended and lack of armour on the beach led to many losses.
The reason that the British and Canadians didn’t take part in the Normandy Landings, is much more interesting (and simple) than you might think.
At the time the landings were planned, way back in 1939 by Hollywood, the Brits and Canadians (as well as the Aussies, Kiwis, the Indians and many other nations) were all busy fighting the war, (it was a world war even before the US joined, quite some considerable time later).
Because the allies (minus the US) were busy fighting a war, they weren’t available for the major parts in the script. Bit busy old chap.
But because there were lots of Americans sitting at home, they were all available for all the major parts.
And because the Americans are just terrible at British accents, it was decided that it would be better to pretend (as usual) that the Americans are the beginning and end of everything, and just cut everyone else out of the script.
To be fair, the US did provide almost half of the troops on the actual (not the movie) day and their efforts and sacrifice as well as everyone else’s, are very much appreciated.
If taking the credit is so important to some of those in the US today, let them have it.
Those who know, know.
Those who don’t know but want to know, can find out very easily.
I’m American. I’ve off and on studied or least dabbled in military history, particularly WW 2 history, for 60 years. At about 9 years old, I got a sort of inspiration when I learned that my late father was a US Navy Pacific 1944 – 46 combat vet.
I discovered that he was aboard a USN destroyer at Saipan in June ’44 (less than 3 months after he had enlisted), which survived a monster typhoon in Nov. and in Dec. was clobbered by a Japanese kamikaze off the Philippines, when he saw his best shipboard friend get killed before his eyes.
His ship and fleet stood off Iwo Jima in ‘45. (Iwo and Okinawa were the biggest combined air sea land operations of the Pacific, dwarfed only by D-Day itself.) I do believe he suffered some degree of PTSD (decades before the term or diagnosis) from his witness of death, explosions and great stress at so tender an age of 18.
I delved into WW 2 in large part to get some views about my father’s own experience, and by extension all American seamen, and then Marines, and Army. In both theaters. Including North Africa, Italy, the North Atlantic, and the Pacific Islands. And, then by extension, the entire massive scale of the war. Russia. UK. Canada. Germany. More.
I learned about D-Day Normandy very early on. At 9 or 10 I saw The Longest Day, a star-studded if kind of stodgy—by modern standards—epic movie of D-Day June 6, 1944. I was really charged up. I read the book by Cornelius Ryan. I read many other books about it.
By age 10, I apparently knew much more about this day in WW 2 than the adult who asked this question. He —meaning, you — are either incredibly lazy, as x,000 books have been written about D-Day, its planning, preparation and execution, so try reading at least ONE OF THEM IF IT’S NOT TOO MUCH FUCKING EFFORT AND TROUBLE! — or you are a pathetically gullible absorber of propaganda. Meaning, rah rah USA, red white and blue we do it all for you!
Yes, you are right, the D-Day landings could not have succeeded without American military might, prowess, courage, material, industry and ordnance. Conversely, the US landings (and Allied victory in Western Europe) could not have occurred without British and Canadian military might, prowess, courage, material, industry and ordnance. Further east a few miles on the shoreline, on the beaches assigned to them — Gold, Sword and Juno — they were doing it on their own.
See how that equation works? The fact that you seem to not have looked into this, or appreciated it, is really pathetic. It is very disrespectful to the British and Canadian soldiers who got their asses shot off, exploded or drowned, who were absorbing German bullets and shells so Americans could come ashore elsewhere.
And for your own country, the USA, that you would choose not to learn many more facts, and wallow in misinformation, at best, and ignorance, at worst, for however many years, about how valiant US soldiers were executing their mission on Omaha and Utah, as a team, with their allies.
Nearly all WW2 veterans are dead now. The surviving combat soldiers of D Day, among all the participants of that war, are now certainly down to a mere handful. If the youngest man June 6 1944 was 18 then, like my father, he would now be 99 years old. Clearly, many today are not learning what those men have taken to their graves. I am fearful of a future in which so many choose to forget, or to not learn at all.
