D-Day

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D-Day

• June 6, 1944
• Battle of Normandy
• Beginning of the Western Allied effort to
  liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation
  during World War II

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SOLs

• USII.6 The student will demonstrate knowledge
  of the major causes and effects of American
  involvement in World War II by
• identifying the causes and events that led to
  American involvement in the war, including the
  attack on Pearl Harbor
• describing the major events and turning points of
  the war in Europe and the Pacific
• describing the impact of World War II on the
  homefront.

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Purpose of D-Day

• After Germany invaded most of Europe, the Allies
  determined that Germany had to be defeated.
• Germany had killed millions and was willing to
  spread it's fear of foreigners to even more of
  the world and considered England to be the next
  target.
• Had Germany just left England alone for a while,
  Hitler would have probably succeeded in his quest
  for power.

http//www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/col
umnists/columnists.html?in_page_id1772in_article
_id466554in_author_id464
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Purpose of D-Day

• D-Day and the invasion points were guarded
  secrets.
• The purpose was to get troops on the ground in an
  attempt to liberate France.
• After Allied troops gained a foothold in
  Normandy, they were able to destroy much of the
  German occupation forces, liberate France and
  continue to march across Europe and ultimately
  destroy Germany.

http//www.time.com/time/80days/440606.html
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Project Overlord

• Operation Overlord was a huge assault on Normandy
  beaches in France.
• It was the largest focused military operation of
  all time.
• Developments such as nuclear weapons and missiles
  make it unlikely that such a concentration of
  ships and assault troops will ever be assembled
  again.
• Operation Overlord nearly failed due to weather,
  operational errors, and stiff resistance by well
  prepared German forces.
• In the end, Overlord succeeded, the Allies surged
  into France, and the fate of Hitler's Third Reich
  was sealed.

Information from http//www.olive-drab.com/od_hist
ory_ww2_ops_battles_1944normandy.php Picture from
http//www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004
/winter/top-images.html
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Before the Invasion

• During the first six months of 1944, the United
  States and Great Britain gathered and trained
  land, naval, and air forces in England.
• At the same time, the Soviet Union tied down a
  great portion of the enemy forces.
• Allied airplanes photographed enemy defenses,
  dropped supplies to the resistance, bombed
  railways, and attacked Germanys industries.

Information from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-D
ay Picture from http//www.usaaftroopcarrier.com/

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D-Day Diagram
Picture from http//images.google.com/imgres?imgur
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AAAAAAAASw/DU3shZ4G-sA/s800/P6051198.JPGimgrefurl
http//picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9VAwHVcorEnp
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bnidHcfyrGSVTHjGlMtbnh107tbnw143prev/image
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D-Day Landings
Click on Map
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H-Hour630 A. M. on June 6th

• The first wave of assault troops of the 29th
  Infantry Division had four rifle companies
  landing on a hostile shore. After long months in
  England, National Guardsmen from Virginia,
  Maryland, and the District of Columbia found
  themselves in the vanguard of the Allied attack.
• In those early hours on the fire-swept beach the
  116th Infantry Combat Team, the old Stonewall
  Brigade of Virginia, clawed its way from Les
  Moulins to Vierville-sur-Mer.

Http// www.skylighters.org/memories/dirienzo.htm
l http//www.kansasheritage/org/abilene/iked
day.html
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H-Hour630 A. M. on June 6th

• It was during the movement from Les Moulins that
  the battered but gallant 2d Battalion broke loose
  from the beach, clambered over the embankment,
  and a small party, led by the battalion
  commander, fought its way to a farmhouse, which
  became its first Command Post in France.
• The 116th suffered more than 800 casualties this
  day - a day that will long be remembered as the
  beginning of the Allies' "Great Crusade. They
  were part of the National Guard.

Http// www.skylighters.org/memories/dirienzo.htm
l http//www.kansasheritage/org/abilene/iked
day.html
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D-Day Timeline
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Stats

• Over 5,000 ships carried assault forces along the
  Normandy coast
• More than 1,000 transports dropped paratroopers
  to secure the flanks and beach exits of the
  assault area
• Amphibious craft landed approximately 130,000
  troops on 5 beaches along 50 miles of Normandy
  coast
• On D-Day, an estimated 2,500 Allied soldiers were
  killed.

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D-Day Action Maze
Worksheet

• http//www.schoolshistory.org.uk/dday.htm

http//www.ww2inthehighlands.co.uk/folders/workshe
et_page.htm
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Crossword Panic of 1944
Word Search
Click
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Works Cited

• Video Yearbook Collection 1944. United Learning.
  2004. unitedstreaming. 12 March 2008
  http//streaming.discoveryeducation.com/gt
• Video Yearbook Collection World War II After
  Pearl Harbor 1941-1945. United Learning. 2004.
  unitedstreaming. 12 March 2008 http//streaming.di
  scoveryeducation.com/
• Archives of War World War Two The Leaders.
  United Learning. 2004. unitedstreaming. 12 March
  2008 http//streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

http//api.ning.com/files/acw62zTukGcVmWhIIcPMorHR
yvY2xl3FXOdNZLNwfyc_/D20DAY20MEN20ON20BEACH20Use20
dday04.jpg
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Assessment

• Using the picture below, Pretend you are a US
  soldier on this shipabout to get off and storm
  the beaches of Normandy.write a journal entry or
  a letter home describing what is happening and
  what you see in as much detail as possible