Canada's Performance in the Battle of Normandy in World War II

Review of the classic battles of World War II: Normandy Landing

At 08:50 on May 5, 2005, CCTV News Channel.

CCTV News Channel will broadcast the Great Turning Point-Normandy Landing of World War II classic series The Battle of the Turning Point at 20: 00 tonight, and replay it at 2: 00 and 65: 438+00 tomorrow. Please watch it.

A major turning point-Normandy landing

1944, Europe has been waiting for liberation for two years. Hitler still controls the whole European continent, but he has

I'm in a defensive position everywhere. German troops are withdrawing from the Soviet Union. Allied forces landed in Italy and marched into Rome. They will definitely land in the west this year. Hitler built a defense line in the western part of the European continent, from Norway in the north to Normandy coast in France in the south. Hitler ordered it to be built into an indestructible fortress.

German field marshal Rommel, the "desert fox", commanded German Army B, and was responsible for the 900-mile coast of Holland, Belgium and northern France. Rommel said that if the war started on this coast, he would drive the British and American troops back to the sea. Rommel was dissatisfied with the defense on Normandy coastline: Why is it so easy for the enemy to attack here? He planted wooden stakes and concrete pillars here, which made it very difficult for the allies to land. When the allies attacked, they were naked and stayed under the German guns for a long time.

He dropped many mines and mines on the coast and offshore.

But what Rommel didn't know was that the French resistance had mastered all their plans for the Atlantic war and successfully arrived in London. The allies already know where each of their troops is, how many guns they have and how each infantry division is doing.

At the Casablanca meeting, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to continue fighting until Germany surrendered unconditionally. Churchill wanted to March south to Germany so that he could reach Berlin before the Soviet Union. But at the Tehran meeting, Roosevelt and Stalin insisted that the attack should start from the west. The second French government, established two years ago, will also land somewhere on the French coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Marshal Marshall, the army chief of staff, is the core figure of the US military command. He wanted to undertake the offensive mission in western France alone, but Roosevelt thought he was needed more in the Pacific and Japan. Marshall recommended Eisenhower, a close confidant of the commander of the Allied Mediterranean Theater, for this post. So on Christmas Day of 1943, Eisenhower was appointed as the supreme commander of the European Allied Expeditionary Force.

Eisenhower: "In fact, at the beginning of this ordeal, the ending has been determined. Although the whole world will undergo a severe test, I have enough confidence to believe that the soldiers of our armed forces and all the people of the United Nations will show them that the power of democracy is the greatest. "

Eisenhower held a meeting of chiefs of staff at the British seaside. Four Britons and three Americans attended the meeting. 1February 944, the allied air force has begun to prepare for the ground attack. French pilots also joined the tactical bombing.

In four months, 6,000 planes flew 22,000 sorties in the occupied area of France and dropped 76,000 tons of bombs. All intersections, railway stations and bridges were bombed in a planned way. This has caused fatal damage to Germany in the coming war.

1in may, 944, all the allies arrived in the south of England. It is time to attack.

The soldiers only knew that they were going to capture France, so the landing should be somewhere in France, but where exactly? Soldiers can only pass the time by grinding weapons now. They should sharpen their weapons as sharp as possible to deal with the Germans waiting for them across the strait. The soldier is writing a letter to his family in Oklahoma. This may be his last letter. These letters need to be examined. These days, even ambassadors of various countries can't contact their own governments without authorization, and their letters have to be cut.

Finally, just before landing, the officer showed you the specific path of landing on a very detailed thumbnail. Every tree is marked, but the specific place name is not said. Is it Constantine Peninsula? Normandy? Or Calais?

American general Patton, who frightened the Germans, led troops to attack Calais, but this was another strategy used by the Allies to deceive the Germans. This move really completely misled the Germans, who were waiting for the allied attack in Calais. Calais is just one of many attack points along the Atlantic coast. Nervous and tired, Rommel was determined to lead the German army into battle. It was his wife's birthday, and he was going to meet Hitler to cover the war. At this time, someone reported the weather forecast to him. The weather forecast says it will be bad tomorrow. He comforted his soldiers before leaving.

At the same time, in the port of England, all the soldiers loaded all their equipment.

The soldiers huddled on the deck, waiting for orders. But one day, two days and three days passed and nothing happened. The sun is still shining, and what scares the soldiers most is this inaction. Fighting people are most afraid of losing their fighting spirit in this slack atmosphere, and playing poker has become a way for soldiers to decompress. Now everything depends on the weather, but also on the high tide and the moon. However, the weather forecast is unreliable. They wanted to land on June 5, but they had to turn back because of the storm in the Strait. June 6 th is a good time to attack, and July 7 th is fine, and August 8 th is a little late.

Eisenhower saw that this delay was a blow to the morale of the army, but what could he do? There is nothing he can do about the weather. At 9 o'clock on Sunday night, the person in charge of weather forecast came to the allied headquarters and reported to them that it would be sunny on the 6 th. Everyone looked at Eisenhower.

Eisenhower: No one spoke at that time, and the meeting was very quiet. Maybe after 35 or 45 seconds, someone gave a report and my chief of staff gave a five-minute report. But in that case, five minutes feels like a year. Then, about 35 to 45 seconds later, I said, "OK, let's get started." Then, everyone in the room disappeared within 2 seconds.

On the 20-mile-long front, the most spectacular battle in history took place nine centuries ago, and William of Germany became the ruler. At this moment, 5000 ships will be escorted by 700 warships, and 13000 planes will cover the sky and carry 14000 soldiers.

However, in the strait, the storm has not subsided, and the weatherman underestimated it.

Then, the order was announced. Not Calais, Normandy.

At the same time, at the British airport, 20,000 paratroopers are preparing to land on the battlefield in Germany. Two of them are American airborne divisions, one is the 10 1 division under the command of General Taylor, and the other is the 82nd Division under the command of General Raleigh and General Gary. There is also a British airborne division under the command of General Gill. Eisenhower personally performed heroic deeds for these soldiers. He joked that he could lay off 80% of these people because none of them had experienced war. Within a few hours, they played the role of Indians and cowboys. They regard this battle as a game.

These paratroopers must go through more difficult battles. In thousands of hours of flight training before them, they were often taught to just look at the plane in front and not worry about anything. The wind is blowing violently over Constantine Peninsula. At this time, the pilot opened the cabin. "Jump, jump, jump." All the people jumped up and scattered 24 miles on the ground.

Everyone fell down, some in the tree, some on the ground, and some drowned in the swamp. By morning, a unit of the 82nd Airborne Division had successfully captured the target.

A third of the paratroopers landed right in the German camp.

What they want to occupy is the road between Dhaka, Tan Lang and Saint Mel. The successful landing of two airborne detachments from the United States and Britain ensured the completion of this task.

From dawn, planes and warships began to attack the beach.

Landing activities should be carried out simultaneously on five beaches with different codes. Jiantan, located at the mouth of Yi 'an River and on both sides of Caen Canal, is in the charge of the British; The Juno beach on both sides of the Searle River estuary is in the charge of Canadians; Golden Beach is located in the east of Bassin Port, 5.2 kilometers long from La riviere to Romonqui, which is also managed by the British. The other two are Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, both run by Americans. Omaha Beach is located at the southern tip of Cotantan Peninsula, with a length of 6.4 kilometers from the Weir estuary to Besing Port, while Utah Beach is located on the eastern coast of Cotantan Peninsula, with a length of 14.5 kilometers from the south of Kneyville to the north of the Karantan estuary. The Allies always dispatched 9 divisions with about 200,000 people. On the contrary, there are nine German divisions with the same strength. The allies have no numerical advantage on the ground.

All in all, everything went well in Utah Beach. The commander of the 4th Division of the 7th Army of the US Army who landed here was 57-year-old Teddy Roosevelt, the president's cousin. The air force has bombed the port, and the Germans were shocked by the heavy bombing and surrendered without much fighting. The American army quickly went deep into the mainland and reached St. Mel.

The shocked Norman could hardly believe his eyes. The children opened their mouths and looked at the soldiers falling from the sky. But where are the Germans now? Here they come. Lieutenant Colonel Fontaine led the soldiers of the Sixth Italian Army to ambush. They have been specially trained to stop airborne troops, and now they are on their way waiting for the American troops to go to Dhakarantan.

German soldiers are well trained, and they are confident to defeat these allied soldiers who have no combat experience. They think that these allied soldiers rushed ashore, which is like a crazy gamble. However, not many people realize what they are going to face. Lieutenant Colonel Tan Feng, the anti-airborne division in charge of commanding Tan Lang in Dhaka, saw a terrible scene at this time. A group of brave allied soldiers had attacked the shore. They shot at the bushes where the Germans were lying in ambush, waiting for the first large-scale attack of the allies, and they also hid in the bushes. The Germans attacked these American troops, and the first captured American admitted: Yes, this is a landing. Germans began to think about what they would face.

In Omaha Beach, the situation is very bad.

The allied air force missed the target, and Germany's defense was very tight.

The first batch of landing teams suffered heavy casualties, and others moved on, the second batch, the third batch and the fourth batch. The tide is rising. Thousands of soldiers landed in the cold sea. The enemy's dense bullets forced them to jump into the sea to avoid being hit. However, under the leadership of General Kota and Colonel Taylor, the American army fought bravely and finally landed on Omaha Beach, but it paid a heavy price. More than 2000 people were killed, injured or missing.

After landing, 225 soldiers followed Lieutenant Colonel Ruda to attack a hill in Germany with a rope ladder.

When they occupied the mountain, Lieutenant Colonel Ruda had lost half his soldiers. He found that the enemy had disappeared, and it turned out that some of them were hiding underground.

Since the British coast, planes have dropped 6000 paratroopers on the banks of the Orne River every day and night. Whether it can land safely depends more on luck.

The task of these British paratroopers is to ensure the safety of the allied forces fighting on the Orne River.

As far as Jiantan and Jin Tan, which were under British responsibility, were concerned, a British general said before the war, "I will be very busy after a while. I must beat them, not let them beat me. " Lieutenant Colonel Dawson, the chief of staff, commanded the coordinated landing of the two armies.

Due to the serious casualties, the allied generals decided to leave the wounded in the casino area. Then, the big troops moved on. Among the commanders of the allied forces, there is the youngest general in Britain, but he is already a battle-hardened soldier. He is just 30-year-old Scottish general Basil. He likes playing bagpipes. Thirty years later, he returned to play bagpipes on the banban bridge where he fought 30 years ago 1944.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Rommel's only armored 22nd division launched a counterattack.

The Germans were attracted by some allied equipment, for example, they quickly used the jeep captured by the allied forces when they landed. At the end of the day, German tanks came to the beach, which was the only German support. Rommel was right. The battle was fought here. But it's too late now. They should have come earlier.

Rommel returned from Germany on June 6th. He inspected the front line and personally questioned the captured paratroopers of the allied forces. He also met with senior officers of the German Western Front. Rommel was very angry. He wants to send armored troops to shorten the front line so as to fight back quickly. But Hitler just didn't want to use his elite troops. To make matters worse, however, Hitler doesn't trust anyone now. He said, "What if this landing is a trap?"

But all German generals now pin their hopes on a new secret weapon: V- 1 missile. This small surface-to-surface missile has long range, high speed and strong lethality. 15 days, more than 2000 V- 1 missiles were launched to London, causing huge losses.

But Britain has suffered similar attacks before, so it is difficult for the Germans to change the course of the war.

In the end, Hitler believed that the attack was real. So he transported all the European troops of the Soviet Union, Germany and France to Normandy.

"You will succeed, you will succeed." The BBC has been broadcasting. The French resistance joined the fight.

In France, there are more than 30,000 guerrillas who are only equipped with simple guns and explosives. Their task is to harass the Germans who are heading for the western battlefield and stall them. This action is called "Operation Tortoise". Eisenhower said that their actions saved the allies of five divisions.

The Germans retaliated quickly and brutally. They brutally suppressed, killed and tortured other innocent French people.

However, the actions of these French guerrillas worked, and the Germans arrived in Toulouse four days late. Depressed Germans put everyone in the city in the church. In Tours, they hung the hostages from the balcony. The closer to the battlefield, the slower their pace will be.

Goebbels propaganda agency tried to boost morale and lied that Eisenhower's attack didn't surprise us. But when American fighter planes and bombers bombed these German soldiers, the propaganda didn't help.

The German fighter plane disappeared, and the Allied Air Force could hit the target at will. The German Air Force has been driven back to Germany by the Allied Forces. Due to the lack of energy and pilots, this once formidable air force is not what it used to be.

28: 59 (Solution) By the evening of June 6th, the Allies had not achieved all their goals. Utah beach in the west has been connected with Tara beach; Victoria Beach and Omaha Beach are tightly surrounded by the Germans; The British army itself was also divided by the German counterattack forces; The primary goal is still in the hands of the Germans. The Americans arrived in Constantine Peninsula, only to find that it had been razed to the ground by the Germans. For the Normans, liberation had two sides: war and France. In the process of contact with the US military, they learned several English words: Jeep, OK.

After the bitter struggle between Malone and Mondego, the American troops arrived in Cherbourg. The Germans are well defended here. Hitler's telegram told them that even if the situation was worse, Cherbourg would defend to the last man. All Germany is watching you.

Every room in this town was searched for a week.

Cherbourg was occupied, but German general von Schlieben and Brigadier General Hennicke built strong fortresses in the suburbs.

"German soldiers surrender, this is your last chance." Allied psychologists shouted with loudspeakers in the gunfire. The Germans have no fighting capacity. On June 30th, General Schlieben led the remaining 800 Germans to surrender to Allied General Collins.

Hitler refused to accept this defeat and publicly called Shriben a coward.

Cherbourg has been occupied, but it has nothing left. 19 days, American experts restored order in this port city in record time.

Within two weeks, the Allies have built two artificial ports. And Britain's secret plan to build a large-scale project and prepare to cross the English Channel after the allied forces landed in Normandy is also obvious. Dozens of ships are used to transport concrete and other building materials. These huge caissons are 200 feet long and weigh 6000 tons.

Finally, a 1 1 mile-long bridge connected by hundreds of caissons was built. The bridge was built in Alamand, one end of England, and was named "Winston" in memory of Prime Minister Churchill, because it was his idea to build such a building. The other end was built by Americans in Saint Laurent, France. On June 19, there was a big storm, which was the biggest storm ever this season.

The American bridge was destroyed by the storm, but the British "Winston" stood the test.

Two months later, 2 million people and 500,000 motor vehicles were transported from Alamand, England, across the bridge to the European continent, making full preparations for the allied forces to further attack Germany.

Within a week after landing, Americans built 45 temporary airports in Italy. From now on, soldiers can fight.

On an abandoned beach in southern England, this strange ice cream shop is actually a secret pumping station. In order to provide energy for the allied European Expeditionary Force, Churchill came up with a way to build an oil pipeline. He wants to lay this oil pipeline under the English Channel leading to Normandy.

This pipeline will directly supply oil to the allied forces marching into Germany.

For four years, Churchill has been waiting for this moment; For four years, Churchill kept saying to others, "If you ask me what my goal is, it is one word: victory." Now that he has won, he wants to land in Europe with the British army himself. When the king of England heard the news, he ordered, "Well, if the Prime Minister wants to go in person, I will also go." He was the only one of the allies who fought in the war at the age of 70. King York VI congratulated Montgomery on his success.

For General Eisenhower, what he is worried about now is diplomatic issues, that is, a free France. Roosevelt refused to recognize the French interim government of General Charles de Gaulle, and he wanted to establish an American military regime in France until the end of the war. Churchill was in a dilemma because he had always supported free France, which was very important to realize the alliance front. He now has to face the hostility of the United States to his views and unite with France to confront them. He can't stand Americans controlling occupied France in front of him.

There was a political crisis in Jiantan camp. If Charles de Gaulle does not cooperate with the United States, and the United States does not recognize his leadership authority, then the Allies will be in great trouble. Finally, Charles de Gaulle agreed to take part in the battle. Eisenhower had a long meeting with Charles de Gaulle on the eve of landing, and the two sides reached an understanding. When Charles de Gaulle successfully landed on the beach of Gasai on June 14, the action itself was very successful, both politically and militarily. For him, the truly legitimate French government will never accept defeat.

Three weeks after Caen was besieged, Montgomery decided to launch a large-scale attack on June 26th. However, due to the cloudy sky, allied planes could not take off to assist their Sherman tanks. Five German armored divisions are waiting for the Allies. They are equipped with a 48-ton tiger tank and a famous 88 mm cannon.

Tiger tanks are very powerful. A tank player killed 1 6 Sherman tanks in1hour. The attack had to be suspended.

These German soldiers who worked for Hitler were still proud, but soon the weather cleared up and allied planes appeared over them. The Germans stormed the allied planes with artillery, and the allied air force bombed them violently.

Montgomery wanted to destroy the Germans and end the war here. On July 7, he sent 467 heavy bombers to bomb the Germans in Caen.

On July 8, ground troops entered Caen. Canadian tanks entered Caen.

After 10 days of street fighting, the British army occupied Caen.

Montgomery now let the Allies pursue the victory and advance all the way to Paris. On July 18, the German troops stationed in Cantar, north of Orn, were heavily bombed.

18 At 5: 30 in the morning of July, the British army continued to push southeast from Caen. German tiger tanks were not destroyed by allied bombing, but also took part in the battle. The Germans took deep echelon defense, used a large number of 88mm anti-aircraft guns to shoot tanks horizontally, and constantly organized counterattacks in favorable terrain, causing great casualties to the British army, losing more than 0/50 tanks/KLOC-,and the British attack was forced to stop.

In the west, General Bradley's San Luo battlefield had to be temporarily stopped. It is difficult to move forward in such a place where German snipers and airborne troops are lying in ambush everywhere.

Only these small planes can help the allies to fight the enemy, but they are often shot down.

Even with tanks, progress is very slow. I walked 12 division 17 days and walked 6 miles. But at this time, the US military encountered a new trouble: tanks were often entangled in something. Fortunately, they prepared some spurs during the landing operation. At this time, they tied the spurs in front of the tank, and the tank could move forward smoothly.

/kloc-in July of 0/8, American troops invaded Sanluo. The first Tanqueray to enter the city contained the body of Harry, an American major who had just been killed in battle. The body was wrapped under the American Stars and Stripes. Because Major Harry vowed to be the first to enter San Francisco, his men respected his wishes.

Allied tanks all broke through, and they liberated one French city after another.

At the same time, Hitler proudly raised his bandaged hand and smiled. Why are you wearing a bandage? This is because he miraculously escaped an assassination on July 20.

In the conference room of the headquarters in Gladsonburg, Lieutenant Colonel von Steinberg, one of the masterminds of the murder, planted a heavy bomb. But Hitler left early that day, just uncomfortable, so he got away with it. Hitler's loyal men congratulated him. "God is with me." Hitler told the German people on the radio.

/kloc-in July of 0/7, Rommel was seriously injured by an allied plane and was replaced by Marshal Kruger. At this time, the German army was in a very dangerous situation and could not resist the attack of General Patton's army. At the same time, Montgomery decided to March from Caen to Paris, and the Allies now decided to end the fighting.

Five German tank divisions marched at night, preparing to raid the US army, but during the day they waited for the relentless bombing by the British 10 fighter squadron. This result is devastating to the German high command.

163 German tanks were destroyed. This is the first time in military history that the ground attack was completely stopped by aircraft alone. Allied soldiers poured in on the beaches of Normandy.

On August 1 day, the 2nd French Armored Division landed on Utah Beach. Three years ago, General Clare, who was fighting in Africa at that time, vowed: "Never lay down your arms until the French flag flies over Paris again." 65,438+6,000 soldiers, 4 10 tanks and 650 French cannons joined the American army and marched into the south of France. Allied generals all thought that the remaining Germans would retreat south. The British air force blocked the northern sky.

On August 6th, 900 tanks entered Paris under the cover of 1000 bombers and 720 cannons.

16 in the morning, Canadians captured the William Conquest Hall in Paris. Montgomery sent a telegram to Bradley, saying: We will meet at the customs. /kloc-in August of 0/9, the allies met in this small town.

German 10 division captured.

When attacking Paris, the Allies met with stubborn resistance from the Germans. Montgomery said to them, "You are like stoppers in the bottle mouth." The allies blocked the Germans in the city. This is the second Stalingrad.

Two days later, two German divisions were annihilated in Paris. Within two days, Hitler lost his best troops: paratroopers and SS tank divisions. He hesitated for a long time before putting them into battle.

200,000 Germans were killed or captured, and the Normandy campaign lasted for 2 months, 15 days. This is also the end of Germany's conquest of the West.