Normandy landings

B

Bidermann

Guest
I have been thinking over the last few years about the Normandy landings and their main objective. I wonder if the landings in France were not to free Europe from the Nazi jack boot but to save Europe from the Russian forces.

The Landings were a great military succes and alot of brave men fell on the beaches and fields of Europe, but WW2 was being decided on the Eastern front. The landings and battles on the Westen front were on such a small scale that their over all effect on WW2 I doubt if they had any large impact on the war.

Now Churchill, Roosevelt knew what a nut case Stalin was and must of seen the problems he would and did cause after the war.

So I think it was to save Europe from Stalin and not Hitler
 
Yes the invasion certainly had stopping the Russkis in mind, plus stopping the V1 and V2 attacks on London, and wiping out the German Army.
It achieved all 3 objectives but maybe the Allies should have gone further and liberated Poland and then kicked the Russkis all the way back to Moscow.
After all, they had atom bombs to back them up.
Perhaps Patton was right when he was asked by US Under-secretary of War Robert Patterson after VE day what he would do, Patton replied: "I would have you tell the Red Army where their border is, and give them a limited time to get back across. Warn them that if they fail to do so, we will push them back across it."

WIKI- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Patton
 
Unfortunately Roosvelt more and Churchil less with their unconditional support helped Stalin to occupy half of Europe, so in other terms the Nazi regime was replaced
in many countries by another,more cruel as some say,the Soviet regime.I dont think that the invasion had in mind
to stop the Russkies.
 
Bootie said:
And we have to remember the invasions were launched to appease Stalin as he had always wished for a second front to take a little bit of pressure of the Russkies in the east.
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I'm with Bootie on that one.
 
In November, 1943, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met together in Teheran, Iran, to discuss military strategy and post-war Europe. Ever since the Soviet Union had entered the war, Stalin had been demanding that the Allies open-up a second front in Europe. Churchill and Roosevelt argued that any attempt to land troops in Western Europe would result in heavy casualties. Until the Soviet's victory at Stalingrad in January, 1943, Stalin had feared that without a second front, Germany would defeat them.

Stalin, who always favoured in offensive strategy, believed that there were political, as well as military reasons for the Allies' failure to open up a second front in Europe. Stalin was still highly suspicious of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt and was worried about them signing a peace agreement with Adolf Hitler. The foreign policies of the capitalist countries since the October Revolution had convinced Stalin that their main objective was the destruction of the communist system in the Soviet Union. Stalin was fully aware that if Britain and the USA withdrew from the war, the Red Army would have great difficulty in dealing with Germany on its own.

At Teheran, Joseph Stalin reminded Churchill and Roosevelt of a previous promise of landing troops in Western Europe in 1942. Later they postponed it to the spring of 1943. Stalin complained that it was now November and there was still no sign of an allied invasion of France. After lengthy discussions it was agreed that the Allies would mount a major offensive in the spring of 1944.
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I think this sums it up quite well.
 
EAST FRONT: 163 Ger Divs
WEST FRONT and ITALIAN FRONT: 85 Ger Divs
UNENGAGED: 48 Ger Divs

EuroDivsjun44.jpg
 
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