AGRHistory / Ancestry Genes Roots History Owner/Lead Researcher Researching, advising and giving historical contents for family trees.
D- Day Operation Overlord Begins As the skies grew dark, the begging of Operation Overlord commenced. Having been in the planning for some time and with delays due to weather, a storm front that with a foreboding front threatened to derail the whole operation. With even the supreme commander of the Allied raids Cornel Dwight D Eisenhour agreeing, that the weather could be more damaging and a greater foe than even the Nazi, if they set off too soon. The date was finally set for the night of the 5th-6th to start the long-awaited Allied Forces campaign. For some time now the Allied Forces had been fighting in Italy coming up on Germany from the south and incurring huge losses as they did so. Now it was the turn of those involved Operation Overlord the full name for the various operations that were happening, to hit the enemy from the north. The two-pronged effect of attacking from both directions being what the Allied forces hoped would ultimately bring the enemy to their knees. As darkness fell the first of the operations of deceit and deception started, part of the Operation Bodyguard, set up to confuse the Nazi high command as to what the real intentions of attack were that the Allied forces had in mind. For months the Germans had been being fed false information from numerous different avenues so as to appear credible and true. Now it was time to make these, though false, look real. Operation Glimmer started on the evening of the 5th, to confuse the enemy and make them believe a large Allied Naval convoy was amassing off Dover. To do this, strips of aluminium foil were dropped over the straight of Dover, so as to confuse the enemy’s radar and make the enemy look the wrong direction. Operation Titanic was next up, as the bell of midnight passed a flurry of planes took to the skies. These planes had two roles the first of further deception, to drop parachutes with dummy paratroopers made out of burlap canvas and nicknamed ‘Ruperts’. These were not life size, but it wasn’t needed, as in the dark they would be enough to confuse those nazi lookouts that were watching the skies. The second role at 00.50am on the 6th, was that of the Airborne Division who parachuted the Pathfinders into Normandy. Their objective, to mark the zones required for the drop landings of paratroopers and gliders that followed over the coming hours. It marked the start of the D-Day, which was to be followed by aerial assault, naval bombardment and then the amphibious landings of Operation Neptune. Lest we Forget… #DDay80 #DDAY #DDayLandings #Forces #Allied #AlliedForces #American #USA #British #Canadian #RAF #Navy #Army #OperationOverlord #OOverlord #OperationGlimmer #OGlimmer #OperationTitanic #OTitanic #OperationBodyGuard #OBodyGuard #AGRHistory
