Horner's Corner

D-Day, 6th June 1944 – and the Battle of Normandy.

by on Jun.05, 2009, under history

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unitprofilesphoto65 years ago my father took part in the greatest sea borne assault in history. He was with the British 2nd army, attached to the Canadians landing on the beach code named ‘Juno’ (see map). After the landings the British army held down the bulk of the German SS Panzer divisions in a series of punishing attritional battles that took the weight off the American army and so made it possible for them to break out of the Normandy lodgement. About 83,115 British/Canadians and 73,000 US troops were landed. The vast bulk of the German armour, including SS panzer divisions were battered by British attacks which kept the Wehrmacht off balance, forcing it to commit its assets in in penny packets and preventing it from developing a successful counter attack. This effort was greatly aided by Allied air power and artillery concentrations. Without this, superior German equipment and training might have prevailed. As it was, the sacrifice of the British and Canadians meant that the screen of troops and tanks against the Americans became perilously thin -  most panzer divisions were desperately fighting off the British. Thus it was that the Americans, after many failures,  were finally able to break through German line. Much more fighting was to come, but the battle was now decided – in favour of the western democracies.

Below is a gallery of photographs from the time.

If you found this of interest you might like to look at my post on The Battle of Britain.

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keep scrolling down for more pictures

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The casualty rate was higher than on the western front in World War One or the eastern front in WW2.

see below for more pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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5 Comments for this entry

  • René Maréchal
    December 24th, 2009 on 1:52 pm

    Thank you for these excellent pictures.
    I love England and the British people. I ‘ll never forget what those men have done for us.

  • Chris
    Chris
    December 24th, 2009 on 6:08 pm

    Thank you so much for your kind words. When my father landed in France in 1944 he was treated with love and hospitality. We will never forget all that the French people endured, and their part in ensuring final victory. Vive la France!

  • william shubert
    January 26th, 2011 on 5:49 am

    i have been trying to find someone who may have photos with names or perhaps even newspaper articles of casualties list at normandy my grandmother’s brother was killed june 12 1944 name walter moore he is buried at normandy american cemetary plot h row 2 grave 28 i have his flag and uniform pins but i would love to find a photo to ad to it.my grandfather and his brother was wounded also my grandfather came back crippled his name was james(hardin)shubert and his brother was john irven shubert.if any one has photos with any of these names i would love to hear from you.williamshubert38@yahoo.com god bless.

  • phil ambler
    February 14th, 2011 on 11:14 pm

    Thanks to the Funnies the British had close support armour on the beach.Thanks to Admiral King’s obdurate behaviour, the Americans were naked on Omaha.Their DDtanks were launched too far out,thanks to King;and many crews went straight to the bottom of the channel.
    Thanks to an American infantry captain,having bought an Aldis lamp at an antique shop,and then training his men to use it,the impasse at Omaha was blasted by a British Destroyer,and then an American one(breaking orders).
    The casualty rate in Normandy,and the poor connection between the infantry and air/artillery support would eventually lead to the defeated German Army suffering less death casualties than the Allies,despite overwhelming and available air support to the latter.Dug-in Tigers and Panthers should have been the object of phosphorous derision.The 25 pounder gun was a match for any dug in Tiger/Panther,as long as phosphorous shells were lobbed close enough.A fighter/bomber had to locate targets,attack, and then fly over the Channel hoping to make it.The attrition rate was high.
    Too many good men died unnecesarily,when the means was available to devastate any strong point.

  • Chris
    Chris
    February 15th, 2011 on 4:58 pm

    Phil

    You make a number of excellent points, all very true.

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