The Importance Of The D-Day Invasion
June 6, 1944 will always be remembered in American history as the beginning of the end of World War II. D-Day, as it is commonly known, was the largest amphibious invasion and assault in the history of the world as nearly 160,000 Allied troops swarmed the beaches of Normandy, France (History.com Staff). The decisions, preparations, and execution of D-Day define it as one the wisest military maneuvers in both American and world history. Despite attempts to find faults in the D-Day invasion, nearly all maneuvers undergone were methodically planned out and this impeccable planning was the key to the Allied victory and liberation of France, leading to the end of this great war in Europe.
The battle of Stalingrad, which resulted in over one million …show more content…
Many suggest that a land invasion of the southern border of France through Italy could have been a more efficient route for the Allied forces to take. While at first a land invasion may appear to be a better plan, there were many obstacles that would have prohibited or severely delayed the Allied forces from reaching France if they would have chosen to take that route. One of the main points of staking an invasion was diverting German troops, as the Russians were doing in eastern Europe. However, as Italy’s military was getting decimated, Germany was sending troops to southern Italy to support its ally (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen). Staging an invasion in Italy would not have required the diversion of nearly as many troops as the invasion that took place in northern France, which virtually chopped up German troops throughout all of Europe. Additionally, the mountainous terrain of southern Italy would have been devastating to Allied troops as smaller groups of Axis troops who were familiar with the land could have easily defeated their clueless counterparts. Lastly, the United States was easily able to begin building a massive force in Great Britain in 1942 because of Britain’s already present military strength. The alternative, building up forces in Sicily to invade Italy, would have been a much slower process and would have delayed the invasion. Building a force in Great Britain was substantially more cost and time effective as opposed to doing so in Italy, which eliminated any chances of invading southern France through
The battle of Stalingrad, which resulted in over one million …show more content…
Many suggest that a land invasion of the southern border of France through Italy could have been a more efficient route for the Allied forces to take. While at first a land invasion may appear to be a better plan, there were many obstacles that would have prohibited or severely delayed the Allied forces from reaching France if they would have chosen to take that route. One of the main points of staking an invasion was diverting German troops, as the Russians were doing in eastern Europe. However, as Italy’s military was getting decimated, Germany was sending troops to southern Italy to support its ally (Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen). Staging an invasion in Italy would not have required the diversion of nearly as many troops as the invasion that took place in northern France, which virtually chopped up German troops throughout all of Europe. Additionally, the mountainous terrain of southern Italy would have been devastating to Allied troops as smaller groups of Axis troops who were familiar with the land could have easily defeated their clueless counterparts. Lastly, the United States was easily able to begin building a massive force in Great Britain in 1942 because of Britain’s already present military strength. The alternative, building up forces in Sicily to invade Italy, would have been a much slower process and would have delayed the invasion. Building a force in Great Britain was substantially more cost and time effective as opposed to doing so in Italy, which eliminated any chances of invading southern France through