Operation Overlord

Essay by DannyB0yUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, November 2014

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The Importance of Operation Overlord

Reflection Essay

Nipissing University

Brent Mace

0561851

12/03/13

HIST 2227

Dr. Connor

On June 6th, 1944 allied forces organized and executed an invasion of German occupied France, in an area known as Normandy. This plan was known as Operation Overlord, it consisted of seven hundred naval warships and eighty three hundred various transport and support ships. The operation began with the allied invasion of Normandy at various different landing beaches along the coast of France and by midnight, the allies had over one hundred and fifty thousand troops on the ground. The invasion consisted of the allies landing on five beaches, with the Americans landing on Utah and Omaha, the British landing on Gold and Sword, and the Canadians landing on Juno. The first day of the Normandy invasion is commonly known as D-Day, while the entire operation was called Operation Overlord. While D-Day seems to get the most notoriety, in regards to film and various other types of media, it was only one day of many.

The whole operation continued to commence up until the end of August 1944, when allied forces defeated the German counterattack, liberating Paris on August 25th, 1944. If not for the success of Operation Overlord, it is likely that the Second World War could have had a much different conclusion and it is also possible that modern Europe could have ceased to exist. Between 1890 and 1991, the most significant event in the making of modern Europe was the allied invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Overlord. This paper will focus on the importance of Operation Overlord in relation to the liberation of Western Europe, the potential casualties if the operation failed, the acceleration of the Red Army's liberation of Nazi concentration camps, and the...