June 1944
(France – Normandy)
Operation Overlord was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare, which included naval and aerial collaboration as well as troops on the ground. Operation Overlord was the codename for the D-Day landings of mainland Europe on the 6th June 1944. British, Canadian and America Armed Forces launched an invasion against the German occupied coastline of Normandy, northern France. In May 1940, the Germans had swept through Europe, then invaded and occupied north-west France. When America entered the war in December 1941, the Germans began to prepare an Atlantic Wall against the invasion which they knew would eventually come. By the beginning of June 1944, 156.000 Allied soldiers together with their naval and air support were assembled on the southern coast of England. The landings were divided into five separate beaches and were located east to west. The British attacked Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches and the Americans attacked Omaha and Utah Beaches. After a two day bad weather delay Operation Overlord began on the 6th June 1944.
British troops landed on Sword Beach and their objective was to capture the City of Caen. Glider landed commandos captured Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge as part of theselandings. Although the two bridges were secured, by the end of the day Caen had not been captured.
The landings on Juno Beach was under–taken by theCanadians whose objective was to join up with troops from Sword and Gold Beaches. By the end of the day they were in contact with the troops on Gold Beach. They failed to make contact with Sword Beach, leaving a gap between them.
The British landed on Gold Beach with the objective being the capture of Bayeux, then advancing on to Arramanches. Having reached Arramanches the first British built Mulberry Harbour was established and supplies were soon being off-loaded. By the end of the day the Bayeux-Caen road had been reached and Bayeux fell the following day. It was on Gold Beach that Sergeant Major Stan Hollis was awarded the Victoria Cross for his “Utmost bravery” by destroying German bunkers. This was the only VC awarded on the day.
The Americans landed their troops on Omaha Beach from landing craft a long way from the shore. Unlike the British, who sent in specialised tanks to clear the beach obstacles prior to the troops landing, the Americans had their troops landed before the tanks arrived. The terrain of the beach ranged from sand onto shingle culminating into high sandy bluffs. Five natural exits through the bluffs forced the assault troops to concentrate for the break-out. Each natural exit was protected by concrete bunkers. The landing craft suffered heavy losses through heavy seas before the troops reached the shore. The strong current caused most of the landing craft to land their troops too far to the east. Of the thirty-two specialised amphibious tanks, launched 6,000 yards from the shoreline, only five arrived. Once the troops were on the beach the defenders in the concrete bunkers concentrated on the five natural exits. However, naval destroyers engaged the bunkers at point-blank range and determined groups of soldiers fought their way up the bluffs. With the troops off the beach a second British built Mulberry Harbour was established. The Americans lost more soldiers on Omaha Beach than the combined losses on the other four beaches. At the days end they held a strip of land but failed to penetrate inland as planned.
The Americans landings at Utah Beach was obstructed by a strong current and the smoke from the naval bombardment. The landing craft carrying the troops actually landed 2,000 yards off the planned position, far closer to Omaha Beach. This proved to be fortunate as the area was less heavily defended. Thirty-six specialised amphibious tanks landed late, accompanied the assault troops. The clifftop height of Pointe du Hoc was attacked by Rangers to capture six concrete gun emplacements. Grappling irons fired by rocket launchers plus ladders enabled the Rangers to reach the top. The gun emplacements were taken out and the Rangers held off German counter-attacks until relieved by troops from Omaha Beach on the 8th June1944.
To assist the attack on Utah Beach two U.S. Airborne Divisions were parachuted into the region. However, inexperienced pilots flew into heavy cloud, missing their target areas, and the descending paratroopers were soon totally lost. The 101st landed behind Omaha Beach to secure the five natural beach exits. The 82nd landed north-west of Utah Beach and some 82nd forces reassembled and secured St.-Mére-Église. By the days end the Airborne Division had met up with the assault troops from Utah Beach and pushed inland to the Cherburg-Bayoux road.
To supply and re-inforce the Allied invasion of Normandy, two temporary portable harbours were manufactured to facilitate the rapid off-loading of cargo onto the beaches. Within hours of the Allies successfully creating beach-heads, towed prefabricated harbours were placed in position and old ships were scuttled to act as break-waters. The harbours, Mulberry ”A” (American) was located on Omaha Beach, and Mulberry ”B” (British) was located at Gold Beach at Arramanches. On the 19th June 1944 a Channel storm severely damaged Mulberry “A” as it was not as secured to the seabed as Mulberry “B”. The damage was considered to be unrepairable by the invasion commanders and further assembly ceased. With the storm moving west to east along the coast, the well-anchored Mulberry ”B” survived the storm. The damage received was quickly repaired and Mulberry ”B” was the sole off-loading facility on to beach. Mulberry ”B” was in operation until it was finally de-commissioned six months later.
The port of Cherbourg is located on the northern coastline of the Contentin Peninsular west of Utah Beach. Following the successful Allied landings in Normandy, the Allied commanders had decided it would be necessary to secure the German occupied deep water port of Cherbourg. On the 9th June 1944 the U.S. 101st Airborne Division had fought their way to the eastern coastline of the peninsular. By the 18th June 1944 the U.S. 9th Infantry Division had reached the west coast of the peninsula, thereby isolating Cherbourg from any potential reinforcements. Cherbourg was finally liberated on the 26th June 1944 when the Germans surrendered.
(France)
The Day the Soldiers Came was on the 10th June 1944, four days after the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day. The village of Oradour-sur-Glane is located in west central France in the (New) Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The village was destroyed and 643 civilian men, women and children were massacred. The German Waffen-SS, based in southern France, had been ordered north to help stop the Allied advance but resistance activity hindered their progress. As retribution, all the villagers and any surrounding non-residents were assembled in the village square. The men were separated from the women and led to barns and sheds. Upon arrival they were shot in the legs, doused with fuel, and the premises set alight. The women and children had been placed in the local church and when the SS men returned they placed an incendiary device alongside. When the device ignited, 247 women and 205 children tried to escape through doors and windows, only to be met by machine-gun fire. Several days later approximately 20 survivors, who had fled as soon as the SS appeared, were allowed to bury the dead. German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel concluded the SS had exceeded their authority and ordered an investigation. Before any investigation was undertaken, many of the SS were killed in action during the Battle of Normandy. General Charles de Gaule, after the war ended, decided the village should never be rebuilt, but remain as a memorial to the cruelty of the Nazi occupation.
(Britain)
Prompted by the successful Allied landings in Normandy, the German Wehmacht launched the first VI ”Flying Bomb” against London on the 13th June 1944. The VI was a bomb fitted with wings and propelled by a pulse-Jet engine mounted on the top and had an operational range of 150 miles (250 km). When the engine ran out of fuel and stopped the bomb dropped, and on impact with the ground exploded. Almost 10,000 “Flying Bombs” were launched against London until Allied forces overran the sites in October 1944.
On the 19th June 1944 two USAAF B-17 bombers of the 379th Bomb Group collided over the Thames Estuary off Canvey Island in Essex. Homeward bound, they were on their second raid of the day against the VI rocket site of Zudausques, Enguine, Gatte, France. Having reached the Thames they began to prepare for their landing at the USAAF Kimbolton airfield near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. Flying at approximately 20,000 feet lead aircraft “Heavenly Body II”, piloted by 1st Lt. Lloyd Burns and wingman aircraft “44-6133”, piloted by 2nd Lt. Armand Ramaciti flew into low cloud. Confusion now occurred as to what actually happened, but the outcome was that “44-6133” collided with the port side of ”Heavenly Body II”. All the crew members of “44-6133” were killed with the exception of 2nd Lt. Cecil Tognazzini. Three members of ”Heavenly Body II” were killed but the remaining six crew bailed out and parachuted to safety. The crew members who died were:- Co-pilot 2nd Lt. Fred Kaufman who had swapped seats with the pilot, Navigator F/O Edward Sadler and Tail Gunner S/Sgt Louis Schulte who had swapped seats with Waist Gunner S/Sgt Richard (Dick) Andrews. The impact of the crash resulted in “44-6133” breaking apart immediately and falling into the river. “Heavenly Body II” veered to the east and losing height with one engine on fire. She crash-landed into marshy ground, still on fire and emitting clouds of smoke then possibly blew up.
For the 75th Anniversary of the crash, 19th June 2019, three family members of the crews attended the ceremony. Family members were for Dick Andrews, who survived the crash, and Louis Schulte, the second “Heavenly Body II” crew member. The family of Cecil Tognazzini were the sole members of 44-6133.
The B-17 Collision incident has special relevance to the Bay Museum as there is a permanent memorial to “Heavenly Body II”.
(Eastern Front)
In preparation for the Soviet Unions’ blitzkrieg against Germany, the Red Army launched the Battle of Tali-Ihantala against Finland on the 25th June 1944. The battle was part on the Continuation War which had begun in 1941 between Nazi supplied Finland and the Soviet Union.
(Pacific – Burma)
The British Colony of Burma was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1941. The British retreated into India while the Japanese occupied Burma. By early 1944 the British had re-armed and re-trained and were preparing to attack the Japanese. Operation U-Go was the Japanese plan to attack India and capture the supply depots at Imphal and Kohima. The British and Indian forces defended the supply depots and a siege of Imphal was lifted on the 20th June 1944, when the Japanese were desperately short of supplies and food. In the meantime, the Allied offensive in Burma began on the 21st June 1944 with the troops being supplied by air. The Japanese retreated from Kohima on the 22nd June 1944 as Japanese troops were starving through lack of supplies and the Battle of Kohima ended. For the Japanese Operation U-Go was the last major offensive and the emphasis from then on was defensive.
(Pacific)
With The Japanese having been forced to a defensive mode following the retreat from Kohima, the U.S. Naval & Marine offensive began on the 13th June 1944. The offensive advanced across the Great Central Pacific Ocean capturing the Gilbert Islands, some of the Marshall Islands and most of the Marianas Islands. They by-passed many Japanese Army garrisons, leaving them behind, militarily impotent and with no chance of receiving supplies.
(Other Theatres)
In the Greek occupied village of Distomo German Waffen S.S. murdered a total of 228 men, women and children on the 10th June 1944. The massacre was part of savage reprisals for a partisan attack on the units’ convoy. For over two hours the S.S. troops went from door to door massacring Greek civilians. Undoubtedly a war crime but a tribunal found in favour of the S.S. even though they admitted they had gone beyond standing orders.
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The Bay Museum & Research Facility 