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We mark the 6th of June each year to remember what has become to be known as D-Day. On this date in 1944, Operation Neptune was launched to reclaim the European Continent from the Germans.
It was a grand endeavor that utilized 6,939 naval vessels of various types; 195,700 Naval personnel; 11,590 Allied aircraft; and over 156,000 troops (initially). By the end of D+5 (June 11), the Allies had 326,547 troops on the beach as well as 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies.
Casualties were high on both sides. The total killed, wounded or missing in the Battle of Normandy (June 6-25) for both sides totaled 425,000.
There are a number of things we can learn from this vast operation. I’d like to touch on a few of them.
1. Operational Security
2. Coordination of Forces
3. Logistics
The first item to look at is operational security. The Allies were able to keep Operation Overlord from the Germans, even though there was a huge build-up of men and materials in Great Britain. How did they do that? In most history books, it has been mentioned that both deception and strict need-to-know access was wrapped around Operation Fortitude. This was to create diversions and feints to the north (Norway) and northern part of France. Only the top commanders knew all of what was to happen. Field commanders were told enough information to train their troops. A tight leash was also kept on all troops who were to take part and this caused some friction with everyone who knew that something big was in the works.
Next, coordination of forces was a very important aspect of the whole operation. The Allies had naval, air, and ground troops from a dozen different countries (although, most were American, British or Canadian). Coordination also had to take place with the Free French Resistance. All elements had to be ready to move at the same time to allow for the most opportunity to succeed. This was done almost flawlessly during the planning stages. When execution of the plan came, all knew what to expect from them and there was little confusion, at least as to the plan. Of course, the fog of war brings other issues to the table.
Lastly, logistics is the lifeblood of any fighting force. It is one thing to get the troops on the beach and into the fight. It is totally another issue to keep them supplied and sustained so that the operation does not falter. One of the greatest portions of Operation Overlord was the ability to build “Mulberry Harbors” off the beach whereby store ships were able to offload their supplies and have them quickly trucked to the beach. Each beachhead had logistics specialists that organized the supplies and got them to the units that needed them. This kept the fight going and proved a major success overall for the operation.
So were the lessons from D-Day learned by today’s military? If we look back to Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990/1991, we can see the coalition forces use many of the same tactics that were used during the Normandy Invasion. Operational security was maintained, deception was used and the coalition supply lines were strong. This brought about a very quick and decisive victory for the coalition and got the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. General Schwarzkopf and his team took a page from the Operation Overlord book and were able to bring about this victory.
Fast forward to 2001 and through today, my goal here isn’t to dig too deeply into the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, but rather to open the conversation up to the RP members. Did we take the lessons learned from D-Day 1944 and from the 1st Gulf War and utilize them to our advantage? If not, what was done differently? If so, what did we do that worked? How, as leaders, can we learn from our past successes and our past failures and apply that to today’s battlefield? What do we need to watch out for as we move to our next adversary? It should be an interesting discussion!
It was a grand endeavor that utilized 6,939 naval vessels of various types; 195,700 Naval personnel; 11,590 Allied aircraft; and over 156,000 troops (initially). By the end of D+5 (June 11), the Allies had 326,547 troops on the beach as well as 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies.
Casualties were high on both sides. The total killed, wounded or missing in the Battle of Normandy (June 6-25) for both sides totaled 425,000.
There are a number of things we can learn from this vast operation. I’d like to touch on a few of them.
1. Operational Security
2. Coordination of Forces
3. Logistics
The first item to look at is operational security. The Allies were able to keep Operation Overlord from the Germans, even though there was a huge build-up of men and materials in Great Britain. How did they do that? In most history books, it has been mentioned that both deception and strict need-to-know access was wrapped around Operation Fortitude. This was to create diversions and feints to the north (Norway) and northern part of France. Only the top commanders knew all of what was to happen. Field commanders were told enough information to train their troops. A tight leash was also kept on all troops who were to take part and this caused some friction with everyone who knew that something big was in the works.
Next, coordination of forces was a very important aspect of the whole operation. The Allies had naval, air, and ground troops from a dozen different countries (although, most were American, British or Canadian). Coordination also had to take place with the Free French Resistance. All elements had to be ready to move at the same time to allow for the most opportunity to succeed. This was done almost flawlessly during the planning stages. When execution of the plan came, all knew what to expect from them and there was little confusion, at least as to the plan. Of course, the fog of war brings other issues to the table.
Lastly, logistics is the lifeblood of any fighting force. It is one thing to get the troops on the beach and into the fight. It is totally another issue to keep them supplied and sustained so that the operation does not falter. One of the greatest portions of Operation Overlord was the ability to build “Mulberry Harbors” off the beach whereby store ships were able to offload their supplies and have them quickly trucked to the beach. Each beachhead had logistics specialists that organized the supplies and got them to the units that needed them. This kept the fight going and proved a major success overall for the operation.
So were the lessons from D-Day learned by today’s military? If we look back to Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990/1991, we can see the coalition forces use many of the same tactics that were used during the Normandy Invasion. Operational security was maintained, deception was used and the coalition supply lines were strong. This brought about a very quick and decisive victory for the coalition and got the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. General Schwarzkopf and his team took a page from the Operation Overlord book and were able to bring about this victory.
Fast forward to 2001 and through today, my goal here isn’t to dig too deeply into the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, but rather to open the conversation up to the RP members. Did we take the lessons learned from D-Day 1944 and from the 1st Gulf War and utilize them to our advantage? If not, what was done differently? If so, what did we do that worked? How, as leaders, can we learn from our past successes and our past failures and apply that to today’s battlefield? What do we need to watch out for as we move to our next adversary? It should be an interesting discussion!
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 14
1. It doesn't really matter where you drop Airborne.
2. Overwhelming force is overwhelming.
2. Overwhelming force is overwhelming.
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What I learned from studying D-Day is that Patton was right: Fortifications are monuments to man's stupidity. Look at the Germans.They captured France despite the vaunted Maginot Line and we took it back despite the vaunted Atlantic Wall. (It also appears to prove that we learn better from our failures than from our successes) It's likely that Germany could have repelled the D-Day invasion had they relied on well-placed and well-commanded fast response reserves rather than concrete emplacements.
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SPC (Join to see)
Yes and no, the problem with both the Maginot line and the Fortress Europa concept was there was no defense in depth. Fortifications delay, not stop.
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There is more than can be listed without bring down the server. I think we need to look at our success and failures. Macro and micro. I think in many ways, we need to consider how lucky the Allies were and what could have happened if the Germans had hit the landing beaches early and hard? Waiting to get a clear picture in warfare is not going to happen and waiting only gives the bad guys more time to better their position.
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SGT William Howell
MSG Brad Sand I don't think any of us will ever know the entire story and have no way to really find out. I do think even the British were a bit surprised at the way it turned out. I am sure we both agree that we are lucky it went the way it did. My German is horrible and I would hate to have to try and speak it all the time.
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MSG Brad Sand
SGT William Howell
While my German is probably not any better, it is what it is. I think, IF we had not entered the war, or lost the war, there would be a much bigger call to learn German. When I was in Germany, everyone could speak some English...well almost everyone. It is my guess, those in the Eastern part of the reunited Germany can speak Russian.
While my German is probably not any better, it is what it is. I think, IF we had not entered the war, or lost the war, there would be a much bigger call to learn German. When I was in Germany, everyone could speak some English...well almost everyone. It is my guess, those in the Eastern part of the reunited Germany can speak Russian.
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SGT William Howell
I had went to Prague with a friend of mine who immigrated from the Ukraine as a child from Chernobyl. I thought we were going to be golden since he spoke fluent Russian. Almost nobody spoke Russian with the exception of a few taxi drivers who were actually Russian. Turns out Polish and Czech are close and I was able to communicate better with my limited Polish than he was. Still most everyone under the age of 30 spoke English as well as several other languages just not Russian. I think it was by choice more than anything.
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The absolute bravery of our infantry can not be denied as they fought German infantry and a Panzer division. One regiment had a few hundred people after rescuing a surrounded Infantry Battalion.
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A Panzer division counterattacking made it very ugly against our infantry. Desert Storm ground attack was heavily based on Armor.
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PO2 Todd Voge We learned that our recon platforms (C4ISR) and weapons systems would defeat an invasion force before it arrived at the waters edge. An operation this size couldn't be successful given current capabilities and weapons systems.
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We learned that naval fire and planes were ineffective at destroying key defenses like bunkers. The principle of Unity of Command worked well as Eisenhower had the rank to plan and execute his plan despite narcissistic 3-4 star generals.
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Here is an article that I wrote on the business lessons of D-Day:
http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/opinion/columnists/other-voices-apply-lessons-of-d-day-for-business-success/article_5c4b50cf-97a2-5d87-9599-de170cce794f.html
http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/opinion/columnists/other-voices-apply-lessons-of-d-day-for-business-success/article_5c4b50cf-97a2-5d87-9599-de170cce794f.html
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PO2 Todd Voge
LTC Chad Storlie , EXCELLENT article! Points are very well taken and very much on the money in regards to business. I'm an Adjunct at Concordia University, St. Paul in the Information Technology program. I bring a lot of the leadership qualities I learned in the Navy to the classroom, as many of the examples are very pertinent to what our business leaders should develop. Thanks for sharing the article.
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Rolling the Air Corps guys out of the rack at Midnight with a 3AM take off was a reeeeeeeeeeeally bad idea. Had they delayed H-hour to 0800 or 0900 and had the bombers fly down the beach instead of perpendicular to it after daylight, then the Infantry might have had a walk over.
The attack at Omaha was just about a debacle.
1. The naval gunfire didn’t work. All the spotter planes were shot down by friendly fire.
2. The air bombing was a bust, falling mostly beyond the beach.
3. The rocket-firing LCIs were ineffective.
4. And for the cherry on top, the DD tanks foundered or were mostly destroyed by German fire.
A couple of things intervened to save the day at Omaha.
1. US Navy destroyers, which were posted 7-9 miles from the beach as an anti-German boat defense were brought right down to the shore and lit up the German bunkers with their 5 in/38’s.
2. The Germans began to run out of ammo of all types about mid-day.
Walt
The attack at Omaha was just about a debacle.
1. The naval gunfire didn’t work. All the spotter planes were shot down by friendly fire.
2. The air bombing was a bust, falling mostly beyond the beach.
3. The rocket-firing LCIs were ineffective.
4. And for the cherry on top, the DD tanks foundered or were mostly destroyed by German fire.
A couple of things intervened to save the day at Omaha.
1. US Navy destroyers, which were posted 7-9 miles from the beach as an anti-German boat defense were brought right down to the shore and lit up the German bunkers with their 5 in/38’s.
2. The Germans began to run out of ammo of all types about mid-day.
Walt
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Col Lyman Faith
Weather over Omaha was also a factor. The heavies (B-17s and B-24s) were required to bomb visually. A fog or mist over the beach obscured visibility. They held their bomb loads until well in-land to prevent hitting the landing force and missed beach fortifications.
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Capt Walter Miller
That's right Col. Faith. Just a 10-20 second delay and they missed the beach. By this time the 8th AF had been using the RAF radar bombing aid for about 6 months. The Americans called it "Mickey", short for 'Mickey Mouse' i.e. Mickey Mouse sh!t. The invasion beaches were not a suitable radar target. You definitely wanted eyes on friendlies. There was no undercast for the bombers, but they were trying to bomb visually right at dawn.
The Brits did a lot of things well and one thing they made a point to do was to shoot down any German weather recon planes. These had to fly to the northwest - that is where the weather patterns form. And this was the reason we had a better weather forecast than the Germans. Theirs showed unbroken bad weather on 6/6/44. That is why Rommel felt secure in driving back to Germany. That was his wife's birthday.
He brought her some nice shoes from Paris.
Walt
The Brits did a lot of things well and one thing they made a point to do was to shoot down any German weather recon planes. These had to fly to the northwest - that is where the weather patterns form. And this was the reason we had a better weather forecast than the Germans. Theirs showed unbroken bad weather on 6/6/44. That is why Rommel felt secure in driving back to Germany. That was his wife's birthday.
He brought her some nice shoes from Paris.
Walt
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Capt Walter Miller
Now that i think about it, the beach might have been a pretty good radar target. The equipment could identify coast lines pretty well. But the USAAF wanted to do "Daylight Precision Bombing." They should have a later H-hour and the B-17s and B-24s might have totally wrecked the German defenses.
Walt
Walt
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Get our tanks in the fight faster. Better intelligence on the movement of German Divisions.
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