World War II was intense, suspenseful, and very upsetting in terms of industrial warfare and civilian causalities. Originally the United States was not involved in this war, but there were a couple of events that caused the US to become involved. The development of the U-boat gave the Germans an advantage in preventing their enemies from conducting war trade overseas with America. The U-boats would sink American commercial ships, which were providing the allies with military supplies. Another event leading up to the United States involvement in World War II was sparked on December 7, 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor declared the axis was indeed picking a fight with the US.
The planning of the invasion of Normandy started in 1943 when the allied troops started gathering to invade France from Great Britain. The English Channel would be used to cross into France, which was held by Germany at the time. A major advantage to the allies was that Germany was unaware of the location of the impending attack. The Attack was planned by Canadian, British and American troops with american General Dwight D. Eisenhower taking the lead.
On June 6, 1944, the invasion of Normandy began. Together British, American, French, and Canadian troops fought to gain control of the beaches and push back German forces. German defenses included machine guns, cannons, rocket launchers, and thick concrete bunker walls as protection. Eventually the Allies gained control of the beaches, but not with out loss. Americans suffered the loss of 2,700 or more men on D-Day. The next day the Normandy shore was red and reeked of death. Thousands of men either died or went missing in action, as they had to cross the distance of three football fields to finally engage fire with their enemies. We may have won the war but its sad to know thousands of men had to die in order for peace to be replaced in the hands of those who seek democracy and freedom.
The featured image painting was created by the author as an artistic response showing the geography and strategy of D-Day. Below is a graphic but realistic video scene of the Omaha beach landing from the movie Saving Private Ryan which is based on a true story of the 5 fighting Sullivan brothers.
