Captain Ed and D-Day

Captain Ed talks about D-Day and indulges in some American Uber Alles chest thumping.

Sixty-four years ago today, Allied forces swept onto the beaches of Normandy to liberate France and put an end to Nazi domination of Europe. The D-Day assault comprised American, Canadian, and British forces, but the Americans led, and for the most part the Americans bled, especially on Omaha. This position of leadership and sacrifice heralded the emergence of America as the primary Western power, but on that day, no one could say for sure that we would succeed.

Just to clear up the historical record. 4 of the 8 divisions landing on D-day were British and Canadian. Except for Eisenhower, the entire Allied Top Command was British. Montgomery Land C-in-C, Leigh Mallory Air C-in-C, and Ramsey Naval C-in-C. And Eisenhower's SHAEF deputy was Tedder. The man in charge of the original D-day plan was Morgan, another English General. And at least half the planes and most of Naval ships were English - not American.

American lead? Hardly. Also, we ahouldn't forget that while 60 German Divisions faced us in France 160 German Divisions were fighting the Russians. Or that while we lost 7,500 men on D-Day, the Germans had been losing 50,000 KIA a month for the last two years before D-Day.

When we finally landed in France in June 1944, the Germans had lost almost 2 Million men KIA, POW, and crippled on the Eastern front. By comparison the US Army and Air Corps (Force) had lost about 35,000 KIA from Dec 1941 to June 1944. IOW, up to D-day we had lost as many men fighting the Germans as the Germans had lost in one month on the Eastern Front.

In the next six months, while we pushed Germans out of France and fought the Battle of the Bulge, the Soviets ran the Germans out of the USSR, Finland, the Baltic countries, Rumania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and most of Yugoslavia. They killed and captured twice as many Germans and were always fighting the bulk of the German army.