Many people didn’t realize that one day in the history of mankind could alter their fate. The Nazi Party would still most likely be the ruling party in Europe if D-Day had never occurred. They could have been able position to rule the majority of the globe. Hitler would have contributed to the Jewish death toll for many more years. Hitler and his Nazi party were determined to eradicate the Jews as they believed it would benefit Germany. Hitler and his Nazi party would want to eliminate all handicapped people. This was done to create the perfect German race. This race consisted only of people with blonde hair and blue vision, and was exempt from certain races or disabled. He would have killed many Germans if he continued with this plan. The Nazi party could also have found a leader who would continue Hitler’s legacy. The death toll could have reached the hundreds of millions. Many children would die from the lack of German ideals. Hitler also murdered Catholics. Imagine going to church every Sunday as normal. Nazi soldiers entered your peaceful place of worship and shot every person in their path just for being Jewish. What would happen if Hitler took control of the world? It was that day that history changed.
D-Day began on June 6, 1944. 13400 American paratroopers, representing the United States, were dispatched to Normandy. The Allies planes resembled the V-shaped migration of flocks. The pathfinders occupied the top of the flock. They were the first to leap onto the beaches. They were prepared for the beach jumps by their training. All other paratroopers were dropped at the designated drop zones by the pathfinders. The planes were subject to heavy anti-aircraft fire. After they flew over French territory, American 101st Airborne encountered heavy German resistance. Private Dwayne burns described how his plane bounced like a wild animal …”.. His plane bounced from the explosions of other planes beside it. Many pathfinders fell into the wrong zone. Many of them fell into the wrong zone as they were too busy trying avoid heavy gunfire. They were unable to tell the paratroopers or pilots ahead of them where to drop, which caused confusion. Sometimes, paratroopers accidentally dropped in the wrong zone due to darkness. Rommel, an Axis general created marshes that made it difficult for the Allied troops to pass through. The Allied forces weighed more than 100 lbs. Due to the excess weight of their backs, paratroopers would drown when they went through marshes. Around 30 men from the 82nd Airborne Division landed in a German-populated town. Their assigned landing spot was located west of the small community. Many of these plans were not implemented by the Allies. D-Day saw many young paratroopers. Many were volunteers and only 18 or 19 years old. 5 beaches were attacked by the ocean. These beaches included Omaha, Utah, Juno and Gold. D-Day brought together the largest armada ever assembled. The water contained over 51,000 vessels. Some of these vessels could also travel on land, which made them amphibious. They could travel in the water as well as on land. Around 5:00 AM, warships began to rain fire on Normandy’s beaches. Holdbrook Bradley, a veteran journalist, stated that “the sound of battle was something I’m used too.” This [the D-Day opening bombardment] was the most loud I’ve ever heard. I was amazed at the amount of firepower that I heard. The newspaper writer clearly has experience with guns and war. You should listen to him and take a moment to consider how many planes and guns were present on that particular day. The seas were extremely rough that day. Their tiny boats would be picked on like a bully. The morning was also full of large breakfasts for the men. They would throw up on each other because of all the undigested food they had. Before the control ship reached the shore, it ran into a mine. The ship burst into flames and began to sink extremely quickly. Navigating through the water was difficult. The men of the ship swam to boats, begging for their pick-up by other boats. They were too dangerous for the German forces to pick up, so the boats couldn’t take them. Unfortunately, the majority of those men who fell into the water following the explosion died. Numerous Higgins boats unloaded the men from their boats into waist-deep water around 6:30 in morning. They kept coming. The beaches were home to about 35,000 men when the boats finally came to an abrupt halt. The Allied soldiers also had 3,500 vehicles at the beach. Some soldiers had to face heavy fire while others were spared by the Germans. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was a remarkable 57-year-old officer who landed on D-Day. His health was not good at the time, and he often used a cane to walk. He did not withdraw from the invasion, however. Captain John Ahearn drove a tank into D-Day. He found a German bunker in the distance and opened it. They immediately threw their hands into the air when people ran out of that bunker. They shouted German to warn the mines, and saved a tank. They discovered they were from the Soviet Union. Despite sixty missing men, there were not many casualties at Utah. British and Canadian invaded beaches Sword (Gold), Juno and Juno. Utah and Omaha were taken by the United States. Omaha was the most difficult beach. The soldiers suffered constant firing and were often killed by the Germans. The Allied troops managed to get through the resistance and take over the beach. D-Day was not exactly what you expected. Many of these Allied plans were canceled.
D-Day was an important day in world history. World War II would not have been possible if it had not happened. Hitler may have never actually died in his bunker. D-Day had one effect: the German empire, which was formerly “unstoppable”, was defeated. Many people don’t know what actually happened that fateful day. They don’t realize that history will forever remember this day. D-Day has a special significance.
