D-Day landings have failed.

[kiore]

This was where planning and definitely listening to people about the area fell down, amazing amount of planning to get to the beaches the next step however seems to have been.. Then drive to Berlin.

[Hermit]

...confusing the wenig kleinen Bayerischen Korporal when it came time to act.

I think "confusing" is a bit of an understatement in regard to the bigger picture.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

...confusing the wenig kleinen Bayerischen Korporal when it came time to act.

I think "confusing" is a bit of an understatement in regard to the bigger picture.

I blame Google Mistranslate.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

This was where planning and definitely listening to people about the area fell down, amazing amount of planning to get to the beaches the next step however seems to have been.. Then drive to Berlin.

You can blame Monty for the bocage even being a problem.

[klr]

This was where planning and definitely listening to people about the area fell down, amazing amount of planning to get to the beaches the next step however seems to have been.. Then drive to Berlin.

You can blame Monty for the bocage even being a problem.

Uh yeah ... blame Monty. The old reliable.

Seriously, ignoring the bocage was a big mistake, even if the Allies expected a quick breakout.

That and not building enough Sherman Fireflies.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

This was where planning and definitely listening to people about the area fell down, amazing amount of planning to get to the beaches the next step however seems to have been.. Then drive to Berlin.

You can blame Monty for the bocage even being a problem.

Uh yeah ... blame Monty. The old reliable.

He had the best route past the bocage, and the slowest take-off.

Seriously, ignoring the bocage was a big mistake, even if the allies expected a quick breakout.

That and not building enough Sherman Fireflies.

Yep.

[mistermack]

What always amazed me about D day was that the greatest military minds of the allies couldn't think of anything better than walking into a hail of bullets, to get the soldiers ashore. They sent men to the moon just a few years later.

Whatcha got?

I'm not claiming to be one of the greatest military minds. But 2,000 years ago, the romans had shields. And they weren't the first.
Surely the allies, in all the time they had preparing, could have devised some sort of bullet stopper for troops? Even if it took three men to carry it or wheel it.

Or would you recommend walking slowly forward into the bullets, just as they did in ww1?

I think basically they didn't really care, because they knew that they had enough men to cover the wasteage, and marching slowly forward is how they always did it.

You have to remember that military people are not the greatest brains in society, and never have been.

[Jason]

What were those metal X-shaped thingies on the beach for again? Weren't they there to prevent the advancement of any sort of vehicle on the beaches? I suppose the men could have been issued 100lb tempered steel tower shields to carry individually and advance, but wouldn't they move extremely slowly and be mortared?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

What were those metal X-shaped thingies on the beach for again? Weren't they there to prevent the advancement of any sort of vehicle on the beaches?

They're called "tetrahedrons" and they were the among the most basic of the beach obstacles used the Germans. Some of the most elaborate were the "Belgian gates", which were wrought iron gates removed from Belgian farms and set up on the beaches.

I suppose the men could have been issued 100lb tempered steel tower shields to carry individually and advance, but wouldn't they move extremely slowly and be mortared?

Anything that could stop a .30 cal MG round would have been death for anyone trying to swim ashore if the landing craft went down or the coxswain got cold feet and dumped them too far from shore.

Captain America's shield was the only one I know of that saw extensive field service in the ETO.

[klr]

What always amazed me about D day was that the greatest military minds of the allies couldn't think of anything better than walking into a hail of bullets, to get the soldiers ashore. They sent men to the moon just a few years later.

Whatcha got?

I'm not claiming to be one of the greatest military minds. But 2,000 years ago, the romans had shields. And they weren't the first.
Surely the allies, in all the time they had preparing, could have devised some sort of bullet stopper for troops? Even if it took three men to carry it or wheel it.

Or would you recommend walking slowly forward into the bullets, just as they did in ww1?

I think basically they didn't really care, because they knew that they had enough men to cover the wasteage, and marching slowly forward is how they always did it.

You have to remember that military people are not the greatest brains in society, and never have been.

I'm confused. How did it suddenly become theorerically possible to win a huge land battle against a competent and committed enemy force, without incurring serious casualties? With the massive amounts of firepower at the disposal of even small numbers of troops, there's no easy way to advance over open ground.

And don't forget: On four of the five beaches, the landings were relatively straightforward, if one can ever say such a thing. All this emphasis on the near-disaster of Omaha seems to give the impression that the landings as a whole were a close-run thing with casualties somewhere in the order of the first day on the Somme.

[Jason]

Juno was a breeze. Probably because it was a Canuckian operation.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Juno was a breeze. Probably because it was a Canuckian operation.

Cradled carefully between two Brit divisions so they wouldn't get in trouble while looking for French moose.

[Jason]

Imagine their surprise when the grateful Frenchies gave them a bowl of brown glop.

[klr]

Juno was a breeze. Probably because it was a Canuckian operation.

Cradled carefully between two Brit divisions so they wouldn't get in trouble while looking for French moose.

They could also actually converse with the locals.

Imagine their surprise when the grateful Frenchies gave them a bowl of brown glop.

And this was the result.

[MrJonno]

They managed to land in locations where only a small number of 3rd rate troops (Russians, Poles with German officers) were guarding, sure they were 3rd rate troops in well dug in structures with machine guns but it went as well far better than expected. 10 x the causalities were predicted and would have been considered acceptable.

It was the most successful and most complex military operation in history and its not likely be surpassed in an era of WMD's