The Normandy Campaign, D-Day

Abstract

The Allied invasion of Normandy France was one of enormous proportion that forever changed the course of history. It would involve a mass of forces put together by the Allied nations unified under a single common goal and a single command for operation. The relationship of the overall Allied commandant commander, General Eisenhower with his subordinate combatant commanders was a formula for success. On the opposing side of the Allied forces was a Gennan force equally prepared to defend against the invasion. The Achilles heel for the Gennan defenders was the inability of their Field Marshall Erwin Rommel to have the flexibility of maneuvering his forces. Unlike the Allied force commanders, who were able to adjust the plans issued according to the enemy situation, Rommel and his commanders could not. Rommel would not be allowed to counter the Allied strikes has they occurred due to a system of command directives that separated Gennan forces and required permission form Higher Headquarters in Berlin before repositioning. This process caused took time away, allowing the tactical advantage to be on the side of the Allies. This paper will focus on the success of the Allied invasion while the Gennan counter focuses on Rommel having the ability to freely maneuver his forces like his Allied counterparts.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 17, 2005
Accession Number
AD1121552

Entities

People

  • Christopher W. Pickett
  • David N. Swaine
  • Janos Gervai
  • Mark A. Pickett
  • Sean M. Brewer

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Anti-Tank Weapons
  • Bridges
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Deception
  • Landing Craft
  • Machine Guns
  • Maneuvers
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Tactics
  • New York
  • Parachutes
  • Paratroopers
  • Reconnaissance
  • Second World War
  • Training
  • United States
  • War
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.