"D-Day 6 June 1944" Topic

I hope they still teach this in school …

June 6, 1944, the Normandy Invasion, 80 years ago. It was a major turning point during WWII in Western Europe. My Father landed on D+10 with part of the US 90th Infantry Division. By April-May 1945 the Germans surrendered. The War in Europe was over …

A brief timeline of events on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Shortly after midnight: More than 2,200 Allied aircraft begin bombing German defenses and other targets in Normandy. They are followed by 1,200 aircraft carrying more than 23,000 American, British and Canadian airborne troops. British forces landing in gliders take two strategic bridges near the city of Caen. The force commander uses the codewords "ham and jam" to report the successful capture.

1:30 a.m.: U.S. 101st Airborne Division begins landing behind the most western of the five landing beaches, codenamed Utah.

2:30 a.m.: U.S. 82nd Airborne Division also lands but many units are scattered.

5 a.m.: Allied naval forces begin shelling German coastal defenses.

6:30 a.m.: Beach landings begin.

How D-Day progressed on the five beaches:

Utah: Assaulted by U.S. forces. This beach saw the fewest Allied casualties: 197 troops killed or wounded among 23,000 that land.

Omaha: The longest, most heavily defended and bloodiest beach. U.S. forces suffer 2,400 casualties but still land 34,000 troops by nightfall.

Gold: Taken by British forces, which land 25,000 soldiers and push German forces inland, for 400 casualties.

Juno: Joint Canadian-British assault lands 21,000 troops; more than 1,150 casualties.

Sword: Assisted by French and British commandoes, the British 2nd Army takes the easternmost beach, landing 29,000 soldiers for 630 casualties.

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Sources: U.S. Defense Department, the White House, Juno Beach Center, Imperial War Museum, National Army Mus

Teaching and learning are relative to the interest of the student. If a student is not interested, they will not learn. You barely have enough time to cover the war with only a weeks allotted. Even in college, unless a specialty course, you have only two or three class sessions allowed. Did both for many years.
I provided my students a chance for individual research. They could do a book report or battle/ campaign topic. A map series, a collage or timeline.
Up to them.

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My FiL was in the 149 Combat Engineer Battalion HQ company on D-Day. Sadly they didn't come ashore all in 1 boat or group, so at a loss which one he arrived. Know the morning but that's it.

In my O level history course which ended in 1980 we covered WW2, the 1930s in the USA, 1920s – 30s in Russia. Right up my street but I suspect others in the class were less into it. Better than the previous options of the causes of WW1 which had started and then the new Head of History arrived and changed the syllabus.

As for WW2 it was very much broad brush. We had about 2 hours a week of classes and that is not much time really.

IMO – school is not the place to teach this. I don't have an obvious solution however.

TV and films could do a better job. Often they just muddle everything up or spread some misleading ideas.

In the end – we are a tiny minority of enthusiasts and amateur historians versus the vast majority of disinterested people or people with an agenda to push.

As for education.

Teach them how to research for themselves. How to think critically about what they find out or what people tell them. And hope for the best after that.

May all who died that day rest in peace, US, Canadian, British, French & Germans.

My father-in-law's best bud was a gunner with 19th Royal Canadian Field Artillery, landed on Juno – great guy, served thru NW Europe, had his M7 shot out from under him, went on to have a good life – rest in piece and raise a glass to their memory

Zulu Paul +1
Thank you for the post, Legion. May this day and those
who fought always be remembered

Yes, may they all RIP …

As far as teaching history … The internet is a great advantage we didn't have back in the day. Don't know how to do this in schools, but all the answers are there.

And yes, a lot of good TV[Histroy Channel] and movies certainly do a good job in many cases of "teaching" …

E.g. BoB, SPR, The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, Masters of the Air, The Pacific, The Great Raid, etc., etc.

Oh … and Kelly's Heroes ! 😎

You might Add 00:15 British 6th Airborne Divn landed to secure bridges on the eastern flank of Sword beach and capture the Merville coastal battery.
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Yes, that is correct [I didn't do the timeline, I just copied it]. The Brit 6th Airborne covered the eastern flank of Sword. Captured Merville Bty, those big guns would has raised Hell with the landing forces. And the Glider attack and capture of Pegasus Bridge.