OPERATION OVERLORD

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Introduction

Amidst the ongoing global efforts in World War II by the United States and its allies, the time had come to open up what would become the vital front towards ending the War. In 1942 planning began for what would be the greatest amphibious assault operation ever undertaken in the history of warfare, Operation Overlord. The plan included landing five divisions on a roughly 60 mile stretch of beach. This would be the decisive entry of the U.S. led allied forces in to Europe to reclaim France, as a stepping stone to drive the German Nazi Army back from its recently conquered European allied nations. The Overlord force, commanded by General Eisenhower, would be comprised of troops from over nine nations, with the U.S. forces greatest in number. By the time the beach was taken, by the allied force death toll would top an estimated 4400[1]. Despite this catastrophic death doll, the United States would continue to victory through unwavering commitment. While the U.S. led Allied force would suffer many more high casualty battles in the days to come, in less than a year they would retake Paris in less than a year and accept Germany unconditional surrender.

History
In 1942 as Nazi Germany started to lose momentum, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began to pressure his U.S. and British allies into opening up a second western front, to seize the initiative needed to end the war. While the U.S. was still in the early preparation stages of entering its Army into the conflict, the concept was well supported by American Commanders. Although the U.S. Marines had been active in the war since the Guadalcanal landing in 1942, the Army had slowly begun to mobilize from its stateside position. In preparation, the Army began statio...

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...ons of our Soldiers in combat. Modern conflicts have seen the shift in focus toward scandals of key leaders, mistreatment of prisoners, and other negative aspects. We need to continue to support Soldiers rather than to be so quick to pass judgment on situations the public can not realistically always relate to.

Works Cited

Tony Hall. D-Day, The Strategy, The Men, The Equipment, (Wisconsin: MBI Publishing, 2001).
Steven Zaloga. D-Day 1944. (United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing, 2003).
Marcia Moen, and Margo Heinen. Reflections of Courage on D-Day, (Minnesota: Quality Books Inc., 1999).
Britannica, “Guide to Normandy 1944.” Accessed November 10, 2013 http://www.britannica.com/dday
Humanities 360, “The World Wars.” Accessed November 10, 2013
http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/german-defenses-on-the-normandy-beaches-during-the-d-day-invasion-60746/

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