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D-Day (1 Viewer)

Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces.
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From a google search, but over 425,000.  I mean there are only 44 cities in the United States with populations greater than 425K, very sobering.

 
Bucky86 said:
I got to visit the beaches 1 month before the 60th anniversary. 

Amazing place. Couldn't imagine what they had to go through.
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Never made it there while I was stationed in Germany.I did however visit a place  that gave me the eeriest and gloomiest feeling I have ever had.Place called Dachau it was a German concentration camp.Never ceases to amaze me the evil man inflicts upon one another.

 
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That 425k number above is a little out of context. It is an estimated number starting from D-Day until August 30th.

Link

 
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Andy Dufresne said:
That 425k number above is a little out of context. It is an estimated number starting from D-Day until August 30th.

Link
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You are correct.  What I wrote could be interpreted as misleading although in my defense I did say "Battle of Normandy" but D-Day was, in fact, the first day of the allied invasion of France.  But to be completely clear, here's the entire content where that information was taken from :

“Casualties” refers to all losses suffered by the armed forces: killed, wounded, missing in action (meaning that their bodies were not found) and prisoners of war. There is no "official" casualty figure for D-Day. Under the circumstances, accurate record keeping was very difficult. For example, some troops who were listed as missing may actually have landed in the wrong place, and have rejoined their parent unit only later.

In April and May 1944, the Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men and over 2,000 aircraft in operations which paved the way for D-Day.

The Allied casualties figures for D-Day have generally been estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. Broken down by nationality, the usual D-Day casualty figures are approximately 2700 British, 946 Canadians, and 6603 Americans. However recent painstaking research by the US National D-Day Memorial Foundation has achieved a more accurate - and much higher - figure for the Allied personnel who were killed on D-Day. They have recorded the names of individual Allied personnel killed on 6 June 1944 in Operation Overlord, and so far they have verified 2499 American D-Day fatalities and 1915 from the other Allied nations, a total of 4414 dead (much higher than the traditional figure of 2500 dead). Further research may mean that these numbers will increase slightly in future. The details of this research will in due course be available on the Foundation's website at www.dday.org. This new research means that the casualty figures given for individual units in the next few paragraphs are no doubt inaccurate, and hopefully more accurate figures will one day be calculated.

Casualties on the British beaches were roughly 1000 on Gold Beach and the same number on Sword Beach. The remainder of the British losses were amongst the airborne troops: some 600 were killed or wounded, and 600 more were missing; 100 glider pilots also became casualties. The losses of 3rd Canadian Division at Juno Beach have been given as 340 killed, 574 wounded and 47 taken prisoner.

The breakdown of US casualties was 1465 dead, 3184 wounded, 1928 missing and 26 captured. Of the total US figure, 2499 casualties were from the US airborne troops (238 of them being deaths). The casualties at Utah Beach were relatively light: 197, including 60 missing. However, the US 1st and 29th Divisions together suffered around 2000 casualties at Omaha Beach.

The total German casualties on D-Day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4000 and 9000 men.

Naval losses for June 1944 included 24 warships and 35 merchantmen or auxiliaries sunk, and a further 120 vessels damaged.

Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces. Of the Allied casualties, 83,045 were from 21st Army Group (British, Canadian and Polish ground forces), 125,847 from the US ground forces. The losses of the German forces during the Battle of Normandy can only be estimated. Roughly 200,000 German troops were killed or wounded. The Allies also captured 200,000 prisoners of war (not included in the 425,000 total, above). During the fighting around the Falaise Pocket (August 1944) alone, the Germans suffered losses of around 90,000, including prisoners.

Today, twenty-seven war cemeteries hold the remains of over 110,000 dead from both sides: 77,866 German, 9386 American, 17,769 British, 5002 Canadian and 650 Poles.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed, mainly as a result of Allied bombing. Thousands more fled their homes to escape the fighting.
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wikkidpissah said:
that a human being can agree to be little more than fodder in the name of a cause is as incomprehensible to me as anything of which i'm aware and care about. thank heaven for those who did...
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I would like to think I would be brave enough to do what they did but I just don't know if I could.

 
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rustycolts said:
Never made it there while I was stationed in Germany.I did however visit a place  that gave me the eeriest and gloomiest feeling I have ever had.Place called Dachau it was a German concentration camp.Never ceases to amaze me the evil man inflicts upon one another.
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I am going to Europe next week with my family and we have tickets to tour the Dachau concentration camp.  Any tips?  Thanks!

 
Don't Noonan said:
I am going to Europe next week with my family and we have tickets to tour the Dachau concentration camp.  Any tips?  Thanks!
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That was a long time ago mid 70s. I just remember the feeling I had.It is very somber experience.I would however make sure to visit The Black Forest while you are there very beautiful as the whole country is.Also you will be within spitting distance of Munich be sure to visit the beer halls.Also the Olympic site where the terrorist group Black September murdered the Israeli athletes.

 
@Sullie I wasn't trying to call you out or anything. I saw the same number you did but just thought it was interesting to know where that number came from.

 
rustycolts said:
That was a long time ago mid 70s. I just remember the feeling I had.It is very somber experience.I would however make sure to visit The Black Forest while you are there very beautiful as the whole country is.Also you will be within spitting distance of Munich be sure to visit the beer halls.Also the Olympic site where the terrorist group Black September murdered the Israeli athletes.
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Thanks, we are staying in Munich.  I forgot about the Olympic shootings.

 
Don't Noonan said:
Thanks, we are staying in Munich.  I forgot about the Olympic shootings.
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Hey I know you probably won't make it there but if you happen to make it to Kitzigen could you take some pics and post them.It is a beautiful little town.I was stationed there I know I will never get the chance to go back and I would love to see some pics of it now.It is about 2 hours away from Munich.There are some interesting sights there too. Draculas Grave and the leaning tower of Kitzigen plus the best beer in Germany is brewed there along with the best wine.I know you probably won't make it there but just in case thought I would ask.Local legend says this is Draculas grave.

https://imgur.com/a/i6GEc82

 
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wikkidpissah said:
that a human being can agree to be little more than fodder in the name of a cause is as incomprehensible to me as anything of which i'm aware and care about. thank heaven for those who did...
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well said.  I can’t think of anything equivalent since then.  hard to fathom....

 
rustycolts said:
I would like to think I would be brave enough to do what they did but I just don't know if I could.
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I was born very late into my parents lives, Dad was 49 when I was born in 1964. If you do the math he was a little old but certainly well in the wheel house for getting called up. Luckily for me, because of his job at the time, his employer got him a couple of deferments but in 1945 he got his notice. I forget if it was April or May but luckily the war in Europe was over by the time he was to report and they didn't need him.

I say all that to flavor this, I grew up with this generation. Every Sunday the entire family would travel around seeing the rest of the family. They would talk about the good ole days, they would work together, they would party together and they enjoyed life. The biggest difference I see today compared to then is the loss of a patriarchal spot for people to gather. They were unified in their belief to get the job done. Did they ##### about it? Sure. I had an uncle who was a Seabee that served in the Pacific (Guadalcanal, Tinian, Bougainnville) that did nothing but complain about the war till the day he died but he went. Most all of them did because it's just what you did. Everyone you knew was signing up, to not was almost a sign of weakness to your peers. Hard to explain but it was a country wide ethos that took over and it was always about getting the job done. Just like they approached life after, go there, do your job, hopefully come back home and get on with life.

A twist on the question would be how would that generation deal with a war that's been going on for 18 years? We lift them up as the greatest generation and they certainly lived up to the accolade but most people aren't aware that America was tiring of the war effort in 1945 and looking for an exit strategy. Militarily I think we were always going to end up where we did in 1945 but there was growing support to make peace and get out of the war altogether as well. Not for this thread but an interesting question I think.

 
DA RAIDERS said:
randomly started watching band of brothers a week ago.  the whole concept is unreal.  the bravery, is off the charts.
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Was watching a rock video where there's a love story, the USO, a fake storming of Normandy...

It almost seemed secularly sacrilegious -- I shut it off.

God bless the young men that stormed the beaches, those that served, and especially the men that lost their lives. 

eta* I'm not sure what the laughter reaction is for, unless it's laughing at the video. I don't know. It was sort of up there with Titus Andronicus's metaphor for moving from Newark to Somerville as akin to the Civil War. Methinks that some people have misplaced senses of aggrandizement and valor. 

Here's the link. And it's a band I like. https://youtu.be/uCUpvTMis-Y

 
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rustycolts said:
I would like to think I would be brave enough to do what they did but I just don't know if I could.
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I’ve always felt this way about D-Day and Pickett’s Charge (either side for the latter.) 

Much respect & gratitude for what they did.

 
Great read about a local guy who landed on the beach. http://danamartinwriting.com/2016/06/et-roberts-d-day-veteran-opens-up-abou/

The tide was so high that Roberts plunged under water when he jumped from his landing craft, and to survive, he had to immediately release the 70-pound flamethrower that was pulling him beneath the crimson-colored waves. Once on the beach, he quickly stumbled upon a fatally wounded young man. Having no weapon, Roberts eyed the dying man’s firearm.

“I said,‘Soldier, I’d like to take your rifle,’” recalls Roberts with a noticeable tremor in his voice. “And he let me.” He takes a moment to compose himself. “It was a horrible day.”

When the battle at Omaha Beach was over, Roberts had lost 215 of the 272 men aboard the landing craft from C Company, 29th Infantry Division.

“There were just 57 left from my group,” he remembers.
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I know an in-law of his and have heard a couple other amazing stories about this bad ###.

 
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Don't Noonan said:
I am going to Europe next week with my family and we have tickets to tour the Dachau concentration camp.  Any tips?  Thanks!
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It has been many years since I have been to Dachau. It was very educational and haunting. I was there all day, and there was a lot of walking. There wasn't any food there when I went, so incase that hasn't changed, I would bring some snacks, and maybe some water.  It was emotional, and I remember feeling like I was walking on sacred ground. It's an experience I will never forget.

 
Don't Noonan said:
I am going to Europe next week with my family and we have tickets to tour the Dachau concentration camp.  Any tips?  Thanks!
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i went in 85, as a smart ### kid, right out of high school.  that place sobered me up.  the sheer scope of the depravity was nearly impossible to fathom.  it was soul crushing.  even to young, cocky me.  no clue what it's like now.  i don't remember having to buy tickets.

 
simey said:
It has been many years since I have been to Dachau. It was very educational and haunting. I was there all day, and there was a lot of walking. There wasn't any food there when I went, so incase that hasn't changed, I would bring some snacks, and maybe some water.  It was emotional, and I remember feeling like I was walking on sacred ground. It's an experience I will never forget.
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My wife and kids, ages 13 and 15, went last summer.  We paid for a guided tour that lasted around 2-3 hours.  It was a great experience but jaw dropping at the same time.  Hard to believe the stuff that went on there.

 
My wife had a great uncle (her grandmother's oldest brother) who wasn't in the D-day invasion, but was a tank commander and participated in the Battle of the Bulge.  He died about 2 years ago and I had the pleasure of multiple one on one conversations with him.

He mentioned that the things they did in that war were atrocious and that the stacked bodies in the frozen battlefield like logs.  He was haunted by the memories at times throughout his life, but was extremely religious and had come to peace with it. 

After the war, he returned and got a degree in geology, went to work for Shell Oil, raised 4 remarkable children, made some great investments and gave hundreds of thousands of dollars away to charities.

To this day, I still consider him one of the greatest men I have ever known personally.

 
One thing that always disappointed me about Saving Private Ryan was that it didn't really seem to capture the scale of it (from a macro standpoint). The first wave attack is, of course, incredible. And maybe the shot they showed was indicative of the early stages of the day.

But this captures more of what I thought I'd see of the invasion force.

That whole slideshow is amazing, BTW. There's a bunch of pictures I've never seen before - and I've seen a lot. I wonder where they keep finding this stuff - guys attics who are just now dying?

 
If you have Netflix, the world War 2 in color series is pretty good. Does a great job of explaining what happened and why 

 
The Battle for the Marianas was underway at this time too.

Any interested should consider making a trip to New Orleans to visit the D-Day/WW2 Museum. GBA.

 
Andy Dufresne said:
SaintsInDome2006 said:
Time lapse of the battle.
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I've always hoped to see something like this for WWII (an other wars) battles. Getting that macro perspective is really helpful.
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I’m not Canadian but I love how the red dots are always in the middle of it. I’ve read a lot on the European theater & I think most Americans don’t realize how much they pulled their own weight.

Also, what’s up with “Black Dots: Axis”? We going back to clean Wehrmacht myth?

Anyway, salute to those who fought fascism back in the day. 

 
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BobbyLayne said:
I’m not Canadian but I love how the red dots are always in the middle of it. I’ve read a lot on the European theater & I think most Americans don’t realize how much they pulled their own weight.

Also, what’s up with “Black Dots: Axis”? We going back to clean Wehrmacht myth?

Anyway, salute to those who fought fascism back in the day. 
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Americans don't realize much of anything regarding WWII anymore.

What do you mean by the bolded? I know what the myth is but don't know how it relates to black dots here.

 
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