The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1945-05-10
Invasion of France
A Triumphal March
For Allied Armies


After many anxious months of
preparations, the invasion of CONT
mental Europe from the west be-
came practicable General Eisen-
hover gave the momentous order,
and on June 6, 1914, known in mill
tary terms as "D-day," the great
landing craft began moving across
the channel from England to a
stretch of beach on the coast of
northern France, in the department
of Normandy. More than 1000 ships
and many thousand smaller craft
piled back and forth in the choppy
waters, under the protection of II 900
airplanes and units of the British
and American navies. Men and ma
terrell poured ashore in unending
streams. This landing, without port
facilities, was the greatest in his
tory, and was possible only because
of the newly developed American
landing craft.
Meanwhile, paratroopers had been
dropped over Caen, strategic town
eight miles inland. Fighting broke
out at many points along 100-mile
front, as comparatively weak Ger
man forces tried to halt the onrush-
ing horde of American and British
troops that kept arriving, hour after
hour. Bombing planes pounded
many points of Germany in the first
hours of the invasion, not only near
the beachheads, but far inland.
There was CONSERVATION reported in
Germany among the tired civilians,
and the Nazi high command seems
to have been successfully deceived
as to the time and place of the
landings.
Tanks Start Smash.
The next day, June z, Allied
tanks began to drive into the coun-
try. Gains of five to seven miles
were made, as the beachhead was
deepened. Chief areas of conflict
were around Caen and Bayeux,
where more obstinate German re-
sistance developed, as reinforce
ments came up. Nazi counter
attacks, however, were successfully
repealed, and gains continued. On
June 8, American armored col
umns reached point II miles from
Cherbourg, the large port city of
the Normandy peninsula, and one of
the major detectives of the cam
paign. On June 26, Cherbourg was
entered by victorious Allied troops.
The "big push" was accomplished
with comparatively light losses. 1t
was officially announced that up to
June 81, 1902 Americans had been
killed, 1921 wounded, and 1859 re-
ported missing. The British and Ca
madam combined force, numbering
about half the American contingent,
lost 1872 killed, $500 wounded, and
3,13l missing. German total casu-
alties were estimated at 10000,
which included large numbers of
prisoners.
Fan Out in Wide Sweeps.
The first week of August saw
American armored columns support
ed by airplanes, and closely followed
by infantry, tanning out in wide
sweeps, sometimes advancing 80
miles day. All during August SEN
sational speed was maintained, as
German resistance broke and crun-
bled. The enormous Allied army in
northern France seemed to advance
almost at will, limited only by the
necessity of maintaining supply lines.
Lieutenant General Patton's armored
spearhead, in particular, thrust
across central France at a pace that
far exceeded the Nazi blitzkrieg of,
1910.
By September /, the fifth anniver-
sary of the war, astonishing victo-
ries had been achieved Paris had
been liberated; an American thrust
had reached the fortress of Verdun,
last obstacle before the German Dor
der; another column was pushing
north toward Belgium to isolate the
rocket-bomb-launching coast. Still
other drives were advancing south
east toward Lyon to make junction
with the second invasion force NOV
ing up from southern France; small
er segments smashed southwest and
northwest in what were gigantic
mopping-up activities, clearing such
remaining points of resistance as LIE
Havre, Dieppe, Orleans and Tours.
In the three months between D.
day, June 6, and September 6, the
American and British armies had
invaded heavily fortified coast,
conquered almost all of France ex-
cept for isolated areas, and stood
ranged in force along the western
border of Germany, consolidating
for the last act.