The Battle for France 1944

Abstract

Planning for the invasion of France had begun in January, 1943. Thus, when British reluctance to commit themselves firmly to it was overcome at the Teheran Conference, the outline of the plan now codenamed Overlord was already in place. Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander at the end of 1943. British fears that the landings would be repulsed led to the plans being enlarged from three divisions to eight, including three airborne. This put back the date from May to June, 1944. As finally conceived, British, American and Canadian forces would land on five beaches, preceded by airborne landings to prevent the Germans from making too effective an early response, and by heavy naval bombardment, which had proved its worth in the Pacific. Normandy was chosen because it provided the necessary flat beaches. A key requirement was port facilities to supply the troops. It was anticipated that any port would be blocked by the Germans and would require up to three months to clear. Two artificial harbours, codenamed Mulberries, were therefore devised to be installed on the beachheads to facilitate unloading of supplies.