Pagina 1 Western Front

7/28/2019 Pagina 1 Western Front

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The Western Front

World War II


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The Second FrontIn 1942, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt issued a statementthat the western allies would work as quickly as possible to open asecond front to relieve pressure on the Soviets. Though united in thisgoal, disagreements soon arose with the British who favored a thrustnorth from the Mediterranean, through Italy and into southern Germany.This, they felt, would provide an easier path and would have the benefitof creating a barrier against Soviet influence in the postwar world. Against this, the Americans advocated a cross-Channel assault whichwould move through Western Europe along the shortest route toGermany. As American strength grew, they made it clear that this wasthe only plan they would support. Despite this, operations didcommence in Sicily and Italy, however the Mediterranean wasunderstood to be a secondary theater of the war.


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The Atlantic Wall

Confronting the Allies was Hitler's Atlantic Wall.Stretching from Norway in the north to Spain in thesouth, the Atlantic Wall was a vast array of heavycoastal fortifications designed to repel anyinvasion. The Germans believed that the Alliedinvasion would come at the Pas de Calais, theclosest point between Britain and France. Thisbelief was encouraged by an elaborate Allieddeception scheme which used dummy armies,radio chatter, and double agents to suggest thatCalais was the target.


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D-Day: The Allies Come AshoreThough originally scheduled for June 5, the landings in Normandy were postponed oneday due to foul weather. On the night of June 5/6, the British was dropped to the east of the landing beaches to secure the flank and destroy several bridges to prevent theGermans from bringing up reinforcements. The Americans were dropped to the westwith the goal of destroying artillery that could fire on the landings.

The assault on the beaches began shortly after midnight with Allied bombers poundingGerman positions across Normandy. This was followed by a heavy naval bombardment.In the early morning hours, waves of troops began hitting the beaches. To the east, theBritish and Canadians came ashore on the beaches. After overcoming initial resistance,they were able to move inland.

On the American beaches to the west, the situation was very different. At Omaha Beach,US troops quickly became pinned down by heavy fire and failed to destroy the Germanfortifications. After suffering 2,400 casualties, small groups of US soldiers were able tobreak through the defenses opening the way for successive waves.


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Breaking Out of the Beaches After consolidating the beachheads, Allied forces pressed north to takethe port of Cherbourg and south towards the city of Caen. As Americantroops fought their way north, they were hampered by the bocage(hedgerows) that crisscrossed the landscape. Ideal for defensivewarfare, the bocage greatly slowed the American advance. Around Caen,

British forces were engaged in a battle of attrition with the Germans. This typeof grinding battle played into Montgomery's hands as he wished the Germansto commit the bulk of their forces and reserves to Caen, which would allow the

Americans to breakthrough lighter resistance to the west.

Beginning on July 25, elements of the US First Army broke through the German

lines near St. Lo. By the Americans were advancing at will against lightresistance. Sensing that a German collapse was imminent, the US Generalordered to the forces to turn east as British forces pressed south and eastattempting to encircle the Germans. On August 21, the trap closed capturing50,000 Germans near Falaise.

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Pagina 1 Western Front