D-Day during WW2?

Question

Hi, I want to learn about the D-Day landings but am confused; why weren't the beaches bombarded by naval heavy guns or aircraft bombing instead of infantry assaulting the beach? Thanks

Answer 1

Beaches WERE bombed,AND Shelled, as well as the gun emplacements overlooking them. Remember though that the Germans had 4 years to fortify them and they did a pretty good job of it.

Had Rommel been there at the time, or had Hitler not held his reserves, it's likely the invasion would have been a disaster

Answer 2

Actually they were over the heads of the landing forces. I order to capture a country from the sea you need to establish a beech head in order to get your troops tanks etc into the country. The only way you can do this is by occupying a bit of the beech hence sending the troops in. The coastal defences whilst not completely invulnerable to attack from air or sea were very tough and need a more direct assault to destroy them or capture them so the suppressing fire was lay ed down until the troops were in position and the direct assault began. You also have to consider that the opposing forces were fairly equally matched, in that the Germans had a navy and an air force who would not sit idly by whilst the allied forces did the aerial bombardment and so they could not be considered to have enough time to flatten the enemy as they would at some point have to fight air and sea battles. Also consider the matter of range, so what if we pulverised the sea defences the Germans would just have withdrawn from range using a rear guard action and set up bases out of reach of the big guns if not the aircraft, hence again the need for troops.

Answer 3

Let me rephrase your question ::::

"Why Was The Bombardment Halted During the Troop Landing and Not Used for close tactical Support"

During the planning stage someone put the fear in an officials ear that the troops landing might get in the way of an on going bombardment. Not so friendly fire. Several Navy Men argued that they could control their fire but were over ruled. Once the spigot was cut off it wasn't restarted. During the landings several units on the beach begged for supporting fire and as noted in 'The Longest Day,' at least one Naval commander risked the wrath of official orders and blasted an artillery nest.
After D-Day during those odd moments of calm in between big battles an 'advisory group admitted the tactics were flawed and lessons learned on D-Day were taught to Americans landing on Japanese held Island in the Pacific. There Naval commanders demonstrated that Naval Guns and Naval Planes could bomb & strafe the area in front of an infantry charge. These tactics were used with brutal efficiency on occassion in Vietnam where Gun Ships shredded the oppossition a few dozen yards ahead of assualt forces.

Peace.............

Answer 4

They were. Allied aircraft flew more than 10,000 missions to attack targets in the area of the landings; more than 125 warships bombarded the vicinity of the landing beaches. The amphibious landings were preceded by a massive airborne assault that began the previous night, when some 23,000 Allied troops landed by parachute and glider near the invasion beaches.
Have a look at the link!

Answer 5

The Normandy invasion began with overnight parachute and glider landings, massive air attacks, naval bombardments, and an early morning amphibious phase began on June 6. The "D-Day" forces deployed from bases along the south coast of England, the most important of these being Portsmouth. The battle for Normandy continued for more than two months, with campaigns to establish, expand, and eventually break out of the Allied beachheads, and concluded with the liberation of Paris and the fall of the Falaise pocket in late August 1944.

Answer 6

D-day is a generic term for the planned day of the start of a military operation, with H-hour being the generic time of D-day the operation starts. It's a bit of shorthand that allows planning to go forward, without knowing for sure what exact date things will start on. As an example, your planning staff can figure the need to have x amount of food and ammunition to the front by D+3, or for aircraft to take off heading for their targets at H-2:30. In this format, D-day and H-hour were both used during both the World Wars. During the Second World War, D-day was most often associated with amphibious operations, and is famously associated with the amphibious invasion of Normandy by US, British, British Commonwealth and Free French troops, June 6, 1944. Today, when most people hear "D-day" this is the operation they think of, even though there were dozens of other D-day over the course of the war.

Answer 7

The opening barages could not hope to destroy the concrete fortification, especially since many were camoflaged. The only thing that artillery can do is keep the enemies heads down long enough to get your troops onto the beach, while taking out some of the more obviouse emplacements.

You must remember that the Germans designed their defences, in deapth, to withstand just such an assault.

Answer 8

They were. However, they could only damage the defenses. They still had to put troops on the ground to control it, and remove all defenders.
The bombardment worked except at Omaha beach, which was missed by the bombers that were sent, and the artillary from the ships was sent at bunkers and artillery emplacements, which did not leave craters on the beach area for the troops to take cover in.

Answer 9

They were but only just before the landing and while it was underway to preserve the element of surprise which was crucial to success.
After the intial bombardment it was difficult to see the targets for dust and smoke and the Germans had built their blockhouses very deeply.so a lot of defenders survived.
You cannot have an invasion without infantry

Answer 10

They were bombed! The shelling was particular intensive, so that the allies can land on the beaches. Even then, there were heavy losses.