It took some time to complete their first objective of loading all their equipment into Landing Ship Tanks. Once they were through, the waiting game would begin. Here, a group of American soldiers await their orders to begin the massive invasion across the English Channel, on June 5, 1944.
They look full of life, bursting with energy and conversing about the war. It was supposed to begin on June 4th, however, the top dogs decided to move it due to bad weather. They would not take a risk after all the work they’d done, and eventually the order would be announced on June 5th to deploy 156,000 soldiers across the English Channel. The actual battles started on the morning of June 6th.
Loading All the Necessities For The Attack
With a war that involved more than a hundred million people from over thirty countries, these soldiers were shipped in full force. They were trained to prepare for the worst, and rightfully so.
Loaded in this Landing Craft Vehicle, just one of so many that were deployed, are the tools and equipment of the armed forces. Firearms, medical supplies, explosives, heavy machine guns. This photo was taken on June 1st, in Southern England, as a US Army ambulance wheels in. M4 Tractors, Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles, Harley-Davidson WLAs, Heavy Transport Vehicles, Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Jeeps, and more, were also part of its vital cargo.
An Explosive Meal
This photo shows a young American soldier taking a short break from work. Millions like him would find themselves laying their meals on ammunition stockpiles to eat, mostly in a buddy-system, talking about what’s to come in the days ahead. In the army, one has to adapt to every situation or be left behind.
Their cargoes were massive, mostly covering for the infantry divisions that would storm the defensive beaches. They moved 188,000 automatic rifles, 1.5 million crew-served machine guns, 2.3 million submachine guns, 2.8 million revolvers and pistols, and a whopping 11.6 million carbines and rifles. They would take whatever was necessary to overrun the enemy’s defenses. Imagine all that load, and not to mention close to 60 billion rounds of small arms ammunition.
Ready To Fight
It was difficult to size up just how strong particular enemy defenses were. The lack of high-tech equipment at the time was compensated for with military strategies designed to lure the enemy into making mistakes in positioning before battles started. Gen. Eisenhower, commander of D-Day Operation Overlord, made it look like the Allied Forces were coming in through the Pas-de-Calais, the narrowest point between England and France.
He misled the Germans with the use of fake equipment, posturing a ghost army close to the narrow pass, and sending fake radio transmissions. Meanwhile, this photograph shows US soldiers fitted with life vests while on their way to the French Coast. They were ready for war, and their success was highly dependent on the covertness of the operation.
Getting Ready To Engage
Allied troops came in enormous proportions to overpower enemy defenses nestled in the beaches of Normandy. Platoons of soldiers were relayed from smaller landing crafts to larger ones, a sequence that would give them better cover as they stormed onto the beach by the thousands.
It would seem like a suicide mission, but luckily, paratroopers would distract defenses by attacking them from behind enemy lines. These special forces would glide down covertly and confuse the enemy, securing bridges, and exit roads for the amphibious invasion. All in all, around 10,000 soldiers lost their lives in their first major attack; a price they would pay to successfully overrun the beaches of Normandy.