Reasons for D-Day General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Stalin wanted a second front in Europe to ease the pressure on his troops fighting in East Allies had already won victories in North Africa (1942) and Italy (1943) France had been occupied since 1940, the time had come to liberate the country Since 1942 US troops & equipment steadily building up in Britain  starter activity

Reasons for D-Day General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Stalin wanted a second front in Europe to ease the pressure on his troops fighting in East Allies had already won victories in North Africa (1942) and Italy (1943) France had been occupied since 1940, the time had come to liberate the country Since 1942 US troops & equipment steadily building up in Britain  starter activity

Could you manage to stage your own D-Day? Planning Operation Overlord, 6 th June 1944

 Your task D-Day, 6 June 1944, marked the start of the allied invasion of Europe, the greatest amphibious operation in history. Code-named OVERLORD, this vast cross- Channel attack enabled the United Kingdom, the United States and their allies to land substantial forces on mainland Europe and defeat the enemy in battle. Your task is to imagine you are a military general planning the invasion of Europe. Have you got what it takes to land your troops and break through the German defences?

You need to gather your troops and supplies near departure zone. How do you conceal them so they won’t be spotted by German reconnaissance planes?

Operation Fortitude US troops, vehicles, supplies arrive in southern England US troops, vehicles, supplies arrive in southern England Training Training Deception – operation FORTITUDE Deception – operation FORTITUDE Bombing Bombing Reconnaissance Reconnaissance January 19424,000 July ,000 January ,000 July ,000 January ,000 May 19441,500,000 Table showing build up of US troops in UK

Which site do you choose for the invasion? Calais is much nearer but heavily defended. Normandy & Brittany are further away, but there is more chance of getting past the German defences.

 Calais too heavily defended  Normandy relatively near, but less well defended  Coastline more suitable for landing invasion army & equipment  Germans expecting Allies to land in Calais

Once you have chosen your landing site, how do you deceive the Germans into thinking you are not going to land there?

Allied bombing of Calais intensified Allied bombing of Calais intensified Misinformation & decoys – e.g. ‘Man Who Never Was’ Misinformation & decoys – e.g. ‘Man Who Never Was’ 9 separate major decoy operations including, e.g. Operation Titanic (10 SAS paratroopers simulated major invasion of Boulogne) 9 separate major decoy operations including, e.g. Operation Titanic (10 SAS paratroopers simulated major invasion of Boulogne) RAF dropped foil strips to blind German radar RAF dropped foil strips to blind German radar

There are only a few days to go now until D-Day. With so many people involved, how do you stop news of your invasion plans leaking out?

Soldiers restricted to military bases Soldiers restricted to military bases Leave cancelled Leave cancelled News blackout News blackout Movement around coastline restricted Movement around coastline restricted Crossword in Telegraph contained many Overlord codewords Crossword in Telegraph contained many Overlord codewords US troops in Portsmouth before D- Day, aka ‘The Longest Day’

You arrive at the beaches and find they are heavily defended with mines, barbed wire and anti-tank weapons. How do you get your troops ashore with the minimum number of casualties?

Aerial bombardment Aerial bombardment Landings at low tide Landings at low tide Hobart’s funnies - ‘Swimming’, bridge & flail tanks Hobart’s funnies - ‘Swimming’, bridge & flail tanks Infantry follow behind armoured vehicles Infantry follow behind armoured vehicles Heavy machinery, e.g. bridge-laying Heavy machinery, e.g. bridge-laying Swimming tanks Bridge tanks

Sherman ‘flail’ tank Diagram showing Allied invasion strategy

Your troops have landed, but they need constant supplies of weapons, food and fuel. How do you manage to maintain your supplies throughout the heavy fighting?

‘Mulberry’ harbours ‘Mulberry’ harbours Pluto – undersea fuel pipeline Pluto – undersea fuel pipeline Mulberry harbours

You are facing heavy resistance from the Germans. How do you break through and push towards your primary objective – Berlin?

Build-up of Allied troops & equipment Air superiority used to attack German positions Resistance fighters disrupted communications & destroyed supplies Strategic cities besieged, e.g. Caen

August 1944 Paris liberated August 1944 Paris liberated September 1944, Allies reached Rhine September 1944, Allies reached Rhine December 1944, Ardennes counter-offensive December 1944, Ardennes counter-offensive Soviets pushing in from East, Germans retreat through Italy Soviets pushing in from East, Germans retreat through Italy 30 th April 1945 Hitler commits suicide in Berlin 30 th April 1945 Hitler commits suicide in Berlin

 Your task General Eisenhower has asked you to produce a report on the success/failures of the D-Day landings. Assess the reasons why you think the campaign was so successful making reference to the following: General Eisenhower has asked you to produce a report on the success/failures of the D-Day landings. Assess the reasons why you think the campaign was so successful making reference to the following: Preparations Preparations Military equipment Military equipment Technical support Technical support Mention too the risks you faced & the difficulties encountered once in France Mention too the risks you faced & the difficulties encountered once in France

Satisfactory report (not much to mark you out for promotion) Successful report (shows promise, one to look out for!) Star report (officer material!) Covers some, not all the factors. Limited use of technical vocab. Little effort to give the appearance or use the language of a report Good range of factors and use of technical vocab, e.g. codenames & new technologies. Convincing attempt at produce a document which resembles in tone & appearance a military report. Full range of factors, before, during & after D-Day. Detailed factual information and accurate and abundant technical vocab. Excellent presentation skills and appropriate register.