(Unfinished post that I will try to "complete" as we get close to D-Day.
D-Day: The invasion of Normady
Sorry for a long post, I hope you enjoy it. As a Norwegian, as I got older and understood the great Wars, I became quite humble. The Americans, the Canadians, the Scots, the Irish, the English. Along with Norwegians, Swedes, Danish, Polish.. you name it. Our forefathers banded together to win against a common enemy. The worst kind. Football gets insignificant in this regard.
Stay friendly when you approach people. Be diplomatic. Do not engage in cruelty or endanger others. No matter what team they support.
We all support peace.
Substory:
I could go back further, but for the sake of this thread I would rather stay brief.
March 1939: Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. A few months after the Treaty of Munich has been proposed.
This treaty was signed by the Great Britain, Italy, France and Germany - the treaty agreeing that Czechoslovakia must surrender to Nazi Germany.
March 1939: Britain, by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain reassures Poland that any action which "clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power.’
August 1939: Russia and Germany sign a pact known as the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact". The countries agreed that they would not attack each other and secretly divided the countries that lay between them. Germany claimed Western Poland and part of Lithuania. The Soviet Union was going to occupy Eastern Poland, the Baltic States and part of Finland.
September 1, 1939: Hitler invades Poland.
September 3, 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany.
Hitler invades Denmark and Norway (This is the heavy cruiser Blücher sinking in the Drøbak fjord in Norway)
It lies on a depth of 64 metres (35 fathoms) and it still leaks oil.
May 24, 1941: The HMS Hood and The HMS Prince of Wales engaged in a naval battle with the German battleships Prinz Eugen and (the more menacing) Bismarck. Resulting in the loss of the mighty battlecruiser Hood.
December 7, 1941: The Japanese Navy strikes the naval base of Pearl Harbour
By the mid 1943s the campaign in the North-Africas had been won.
The Allies launched an invasion of Sicily in July 1943.
At the same time the Soviet forces achieved victory at the Battle of Stalingrad.
Trident conference was held. With Churchill and Roosevelt.
Fast forward.
Germany's Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic wall
What was the Atlantic wall?
In my own words. An insanely long stretch of coastal defenses that you can still witness today. Supported by the Kriegsmarine.
Just as a reminder, the Bismarck sank the Hood in one salvo and took a fleet to bring it down.
The invading force had to penetrate this Atlantic wall.
The "Allied Expeditionary Force"
Commanded by Dwight D. Eisenhower
What was D-Day?
A big scale landing operation organized mainly by US and UK forces.
Night coming into June 6th
The target was Normandie, France.
Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower and the opposing force was led by Adolf Hitler / Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
US forces had been training in England.
More than 150'000 soldiers from the combined forces attacked.
More than 195'000 naval personnel assisted
The attack plan:
This is Eisenhower's letter to the attacking force. Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
To be continued ( I will update this when I have time. We are approaching D-Day)
(Unfinished post that I will try to "complete" as we get close to D-Day.
D-Day: The invasion of Normady
Sorry for a long post, I hope you enjoy it. As a Norwegian, as I got older and understood the great Wars, I became quite humble. The Americans, the Canadians, the Scots, the Irish, the English. Along with Norwegians, Swedes, Danish, Polish.. you name it. Our forefathers banded together to win against a common enemy. The worst kind. Football gets insignificant in this regard.
Stay friendly when you approach people. Be diplomatic. Do not engage in cruelty or endanger others. No matter what team they support.
We all support peace.
Substory:
I could go back further, but for the sake of this thread I would rather stay brief.
March 1939: Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. A few months after the Treaty of Munich has been proposed.
This treaty was signed by the Great Britain, Italy, France and Germany - the treaty agreeing that Czechoslovakia must surrender to Nazi Germany.
March 1939: Britain, by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain reassures Poland that any action which "clearly threatened Polish independence, and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power.’
August 1939: Russia and Germany sign a pact known as the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact". The countries agreed that they would not attack each other and secretly divided the countries that lay between them. Germany claimed Western Poland and part of Lithuania. The Soviet Union was going to occupy Eastern Poland, the Baltic States and part of Finland.
September 1, 1939: Hitler invades Poland.
September 3, 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany.
Hitler invades Denmark and Norway (This is the heavy cruiser Blücher sinking in the Drøbak fjord in Norway)
It lies on a depth of 64 metres (35 fathoms) and it still leaks oil.
May 24, 1941: The HMS Hood and The HMS Prince of Wales engaged in a naval battle with the German battleships Prinz Eugen and (the more menacing) Bismarck. Resulting in the loss of the mighty battlecruiser Hood.
December 7, 1941: The Japanese Navy strikes the naval base of Pearl Harbour
By the mid 1943s the campaign in the North-Africas had been won.
The Allies launched an invasion of Sicily in July 1943.
At the same time the Soviet forces achieved victory at the Battle of Stalingrad.
Trident conference was held. With Churchill and Roosevelt.
In my own words. An insanely long stretch of coastal defenses that you can still witness today. Supported by the Kriegsmarine.
Just as a reminder, the Bismarck sank the Hood in one salvo and took a fleet to bring it down.
The invading force had to penetrate this Atlantic wall.
The "Allied Expeditionary Force"
Commanded by Dwight D. Eisenhower View attachment 116850
What was D-Day?
A big scale landing operation organized mainly by US and UK forces.
Night coming into June 6th
The target was Normandie, France.
Led by Dwight D. Eisenhower and the opposing force was led by Adolf Hitler / Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
US forces had been training in England.
More than 150'000 soldiers from the combined forces attacked.
This is Eisenhower's letter to the attacking force. Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
Finn Salvesen was a merchant sea captain based in Oslo. Anticipating the German invasion he got his crew together and sailed down Oslo fjord , across the North Sea and docked in Newcastle. He and the crew were interned, interviewed and questioned. The security services decided they were not spies and released them. He spent the war serving in our merchant navy. At the end of hostilities he married my mum‘s sister. So I have Norwegian cousins etc. Finn’s brother founded the Salvesen transport company whose trucks were often seen on British roads.
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