Normandy landings (Rommel Shifts)

The Normandy landings were landing operations on Tuesday the 6th June, 1944 as part of the begining of Allied operations in Normandy. Codenamed Operation Neptune and reffered to as D-Day it was the largest amphibious landing in history so far. The operation was launched to wrest control of German- occupied Europe from the Nazis and was the begining of the allied victory on the Western front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion. The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. With the beaches only lightly manned and the Atlantic wall largely unifinished on the beaches initial landings went well for the Allies with them taking the beaches with limited casulities. The Allies achieved most of their goals for the first day. Bayeux, Caen and Isigny were all captured on the first day. The allies connected four beacheads leaving only Utah beach unconnected. This lodgement allowed the Allies to expand and push the Germans out. German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 5,000 to 10,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 4,000, with 1,892 confirmed dead.

Background
After the German invasion of the USSR, Joseph Stalin had been putting pressure on the Western Allies to open up a second front in Northwestern Europe. The British were reluctant to launch operations in western Europe in either 1942 or 1943 and convinced the Americans to launch operations with the British in North Africa and Italy. After Soviets victories in the east, landings became clearly needed.

While hampered by a lack of avaliable landing craft, they had to chose from four potential landing sites: Brittany, Cotein, Normandy and Pas de Calais. Brittany and Cotein could be easily cut off while the Pas de Calais was obvious being closest to Germany and Britain but due to the canals and strength of German defences offered little room for advancement. Normandy gave the Allies options for breakout and the lack of avaliable ports was planned to be countered by mullberry harbours.

Repeated delays due to the acquring of landing craft for 5 divisions meant the operation didn't occur until June. At which point thirty nine divisions in total were committed.

Operations
Operation Overlord was the name assigned to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement on the Continent. The first phase, the amphibious invasion and establishment of a secure foothold, was codenamed Operation Neptune. To gain the air superiority needed to ensure a successful invasion, the Allies undertook a bombing campaign (codenamed Operation Pointblank) that targeted German aircraft production, fuel supplies, and airfields. Elaborate deceptions, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, were undertaken in the months leading up to the invasion to prevent the Germans from learning the timing and location of the invasion.

The landings were to be preceded by airborne operations near Caen on the eastern flank to secure the Orne River bridges and north of Carentan on the western flank. The Americans, assigned to land at Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, were to attempt to capture Carentan and St. Lô the first day, then cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and eventually capture the port facilities at Cherbourg. The British at Sword and Gold Beaches and Canadians at Juno Beach would protect the American flank and attempt to establish airfields near Caen. A secure lodgement would be established and an attempt made to hold all territory north of the Avranches-Falaise line within the first three weeks. Montgomery envisaged a ninety-day battle, lasting until all Allied forces reached the River Seine.

German order of battle
Nazi Germany had at its disposal fifty divisions in France and the Low Countries, with another eighteen stationed in Denmark and Norway. Fifteen divisions were in the process of formation in Germany. Combat losses throughout the war, particularly on the Eastern Front, meant that the Germans no longer had a pool of able young men from which to draw. German soldiers were now on average six years older than their Allied counterparts. Many in the Normandy area were Ostlegionen (eastern legions) – conscripts and volunteers from Russia, Mongolia, and other areas of the Soviet Union. They were provided mainly with unreliable captured equipment and lacked motorised transport. Many German units were under strength.

Cotein Penisula

 * 709th Static Infantry division
 * 729th Grenadier Regiment
 * 739th Grenadier Regiment
 * 919th Grenadier Regiment

Normandy

 * 716th Static infantry division (Defending the Normandy zone)
 * 726 Infantry Regiment
 * 736 Infantry Regiment
 * 716 Artillery Regiment
 * 352nd Infantry division ( In reserve at St Lo)
 * 914. Grenadier Regiment
 * 915. Grenadier Regiment
 * 916. Grenadier Regiment
 * 352. Panzerjäger Abteilung
 * 352. Artillerie Regiment
 * 352. Pioniere Battalion
 * 352. Fusilier Battalion (1. Kompanie was bicycle mounted)
 * Feld-Ersatz Battalion
 * Supply Train / Signals Troops

Atlantic wall
After raids on Dieppe and St Nazaire, Hitler ordered the construction  of fortifications all along the Atlantic coast, from Spain to Norway, to protect against an expected Allied invasion. He envisioned 15,000 emplacements manned by 300,000 troops, but shortages, particularly of concrete and manpower, meant that most of the strongpoints were never built. As it was expected to be the site of the invasion, the Pas de Calais was heavily defended. In the Normandy area, the best fortifications were concentrated at the port facilities at Cherbourg and Saint-Malo.

Rundstedt believed that the Atlantic wall was largely an illusory defence for propagnda purpouses only. He made little attempt to improve the quality of the Atlantic Wall having no control over Organisation Todt and not believing in the importance of fortifications directed on the coast and wanted further layers of defences inland to delay the Allies rather than believing in stopping them at the beaches.

Little attempt was made at placing lines of obstacles on the beaches themselves with most preperation going into the concrete casemates and bunkers. Further blockhouses and other structures were made inland in Normandy. Normandy in itself was not considered a likley target for Allied landings in part because of it's lack of port facilities, being further away from Britian and Germany than the Pas de Calais and extensive deceptions efforts as prt of Operation Bodyguard.