Some had 100 feet of water to wade through' Radio operators were weighed down with additional equipm

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Some had 100 feet of water to wade through. Radio
operators were weighed down with additional
equipment and sank beneath the water. They were
all strafed with small arms fire, and unable to
see the wounded, tanks rolled on to the beaches
over soldiers too injured to move.
However, as the day wore on it became evident
that the Allies had established a foothold on
Gold and Sword, where British forces landed, on
Juno, where Canadian forces landed, and on Utah
where the Americans landed. On Omaha the
Americans found it much more difficult. The
bombers had missed their targets here and the
Atlantic Wall was stronger here than at any other
point in Normandy.
Allied control of air and sea was a vital part of
success. German U-boats in the Channel were
thwarted. Against 12,000 Allied aircraft, the
Germans could muster only 170. Moreover, the
Germans were taken by surprise because of Allied
intelligence, and because of this German defences
were not as effective as the Allies had feared.
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So, how important was Britain in the final
onslaught against Germany.
Having established position on the coast, the
plan now was for the Americans to gain control of
Cherbourg and the British to gain control of
Caen. Then the Allies would sweep into Germany
just as the Russians were advancing from the
east. Cherbourg was taken by June 26th but the
British, under Montgomery, are often criticised
for not taking Caen within the first few days.
Eisenhower and Montgomery had different views on
how the breakout should be conducted. Eisenhower
wanted an allout action all along the line, while
Montgomery wanted to conserve manpower, and focus
on particular areas. Thus Eisenhower feared that
Montgomery was half hearted in Caen.
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However, what Montgomery wanted to do, and
succeeded in doing was to tie up a large
proportion of the German forces, giving the
Americans under Bradley more able to fight out of
Cherbourg and the Cotentin Peninsula. This was
the objective of Operation Goodwood. At Caen, the
British faced seven and a half divisions and
over 700 tanks, while in the American sector the
were only half a division and 140
tanks. Certainly Goodwood weakened the German
forces. Caen was decimated by heavy bombing as
constant attacks wore down precious German
manpower and tanks. Caen fell at the end of July.
All of this made an impact on the Germans even
though they were holding back the Allied
advance. Since D-Day, the Germans lost over 2,000
tanks and 113,000 troops and had been reinforced
by 17 tanks and 10,000 men. Meanwhile Allied
reinforcements exceeded one and a half million
troops and 330,000 vehicles.
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However, Eisenhower was angry at the slow rate of
progress. Operation Cobra, the breakout from the
Cotentin Peninsula, began on 25th July. Using
Rhinoceros tanks to smash through the
undergrowth, this offensive was quickly
successful. The American advance, led by the
ebullient George Patton, was supported by a
constant barrage from Thunderbirds fighters.
The Germans collapsed quickly, though Hitler
refused to accept that the Germans should
surrender.
Paris was liberated on August 25th.
It took only a week to clear the Germans from the
rest of France.
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However, the advance was so rapid supply lines
were stretched and Eisenhower insisted on a
period of consolidation before the final push
against the Germans.
In renewing the attack, Montgomerys idea of a
specific assault was accepted in Operation Market
Garden, an attempt to use airbourne troops to
seize control of key bridges. Unfortunately it
failed, with the bridge at Arnhem proving to be a
bridge too far.
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While the Americans achieved some success, the
British venture ended in failure, with te
American shocked at the apparent lack of urgency
on the part of he British. Out of 10,000 men
dropped into Arnhem, only 2,300 came out.  1,400
were dead and over 6,000 were taken prisoners of
war. Operation Market-Garden had failed, and with
it the opportunity to end the war in 1944.  The
Dutch population suffered the most, and the
coming winter would see mass starvation of
civilians.
This gave the Germans the time to organise a
counter offensive, where Hitler threw his last
reserves of tanks and aircraft against the
Allies. The Germans took the Americans by
surprise with an attack through the Ardennes in
what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, but
it failed to make any lasting impression.
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However, Montgomery was able to redeem a little
pride after Arnhem by coming to the aid of the
Americans, looking as one America observed like
Christ coming to cleanse the Temple. 
Many Germans escaped before the Bulge was closed,
but the bulk of German armour was
destroyed. Montgomery took full credit for
saving the American armies during the battle, and
insinuated that he had handled the battle.  He
also managed to knock American leadership.
Bradley, Eisenhower, and Patton were furious.
Churchill had to make a public statement to the
House of Commons to calm things down praising the
Americans for the their conduct in the battle.