previous post next post  

D-Day - We weren't the only ones there, we had Allies

By The Armorer on June 6, 2011 | | Comments (8)
The Airborne Drops.
Pegasus Bridge, securely in British hands, is crossed by military vehicles on D-Day plus 1, June 7, 1944. The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London

-Brits:
Gold Beach
Special Service troops of 47 Royal Marine Commando land at Gold Beach near Le Hamel on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London

Sword Beach
Mine- and obstacle-clearing tanks of the 27th Armoured Brigade thread toward the shore at Queen sector, Sword Beach, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London

-Canadians:
Juno Beach (en francais)

1st Hussars tanks and men of the 7th Infantry Brigade landing on a crowded beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, June 6th,1944. Photo by Ken Bell. Department of National Defence / National Archives of Canada,

VAC site: Canada Remembers.
On board their assault landing crafts, men of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles heading towards their sector of Juno Beach, June 6th, 1944. Photo by Dennis Sullivan. Department of National Defence / National Archives of Canada,

 

Share This Article:

Share |

Categories:

8 Comments

By Colin on June 6, 2011 10:41 AM
Thank you, my Uncle was there, running an LCI
 
By Grimmy on June 6, 2011 5:17 PM
Funny, aint it?

We can hardly ever mention our own forces and their actions/activities, without having to mention our allies.

Of course, read what's generally said by our allies about those times and it's usually "stupid Americans" this and "stupid Americans" that. Or, it's about "useless Americans" in general.

Of course, I tend to be an outlier in such things. Just chalk it up to my usual disgust with all things 20th Century European and the filthosophies created therein that are still causing the grief and slaughter of so many around the world, and that we're just about ready to have to start shedding blood here on the home-front over.

Other than that, hurrah for the alliance.
 
By Quartermaster on June 6, 2011 6:30 PM
 Yep, those useless Yankees. I told a Brit that parroted that about Monty's lack of decision on teh Faulaise gap (I've probably misremembered the proper spelling) that allowed 200K germans to escape. Patton fumed over that, and had some choice words for that Brit narcissist.

I have nothing but respect for Tommy, and officers like Slim. Montgomery, however, was just a product of his own advertising and wasn't much of a general. He and Alan Brooke constantly undermined Eisenhower. Fortunately, Eisenhower didn't have to manage DeGaulle and Monty at teh same time. I think if he'd been forced to do so, he would have resigned. DeGaulle was the only man worse than Monty.
 
By Roger Viggers on June 7, 2011 5:55 AM
Indeed, Montgomery was so useless that he beat his own schedule for reaching the Seine, a schedule that had been agreed by all those in command.

It is disappointing, that some Europeans bash America. However, if some Americans didn't insist on telling te rest of the world how "great" the US is, and if Hollywood didn't insist on trying to tell us that the US won WW2 alone, it would give the "bashers" less cause.

I find it strange that so many Americans try to put down Europeans, after all, apart from the Native Americans and those of African extraction, you're European or descended from us.

The bigger shame is that people use a site such as this, dedicated to the memory of those who fell in battle, to spout bile against another country.

I invite you to reflect on these words by Laurence Binyon in his poem, "The Fallen" and now spoken at every rememberance ceremony.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them".

 
By Quartermaster on June 7, 2011 6:52 AM
I don't know that Hollywood does any such thing. Most of our war movies are centered on our troops, as one would expect. There have been movies that have shown the British and Aussies in a very good light that have come out of Holloywood. I don't know of any that bashed any of teh commonwealth troops.

Regardless, Monty wasn't much of a General.
 
By John of Argghhh! on June 7, 2011 7:25 AM
He wasn't much of a General in terms of how Americans like our Generals, QM - but he was the General the Brits needed at the time, which was several years of war (and still recovering demographically and physiologically from the deprivations of WWI and the Great Depression) more than we'd been playing, and their manpower well was running low.

Patton wasn't the be all and end all he's portrayed as either.

Both were successful, in the end, which is what matters.

And French and Italian soldiers were better than the jokes made about them - the jokes should be about the Generals and Politicians who equipped and deployed those soldiers. 

All sides have their myths.  To read the Germans in German, somehow the war must have been stolen from them, given the quality of their troops, equipment, and generalship.

 
By Roger Viggers on June 7, 2011 2:47 PM
If Montgomery wasn't up to the job he wouldn't have been given command of the 8th Army, would not have beaten the Afrika Corps, would not have devised and commanded the land forces during Operation Overlord, the battle of Normandy and led the British Army until the German surrender at which he was the Allies signatory. French, American other allied officers were there as representatives and witnesses. After the war he was Commander in Chief of the UK occupation forces and then Chief of the General Staff.

I'd be interested in QM's qualifications for deriding such a highly thought of man.

I'm not interested in bashing Americans. As John says, there's good and bad on all sides. Most of the discussion stems from a lack of understanding that different people do things differently but achieve the same result.

 
By Bazoo on June 7, 2011 4:55 PM
If you ask the Russians they will tell you that they alone won the Great Patriotic War.