D-Day: Sobering Stats

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Brian R Adams
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D-Day: Sobering Stats

#1 Post by Brian R Adams »

Historian and author Stanley Weintraub wrote in his book about US generals Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Marshall "15 Stars" (2007):

Between April 1 and June 5 [1944] the RAF and USAAF lost over 2,000 aircraft and 12,000 men in pre-D-Day operations.

That's right, losses incurred solely during training exercises and other mostly non-combat activity in the months before D-Day.

By the end of August aircrew casualties supporting the Normandy operations would pass 28,000. The RAF was no longer changing the oil in bomber engines, assuming that it wasted fuel to replenish a plane certain to be downed.
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Last edited by Brian R Adams on Tue Jun 06, 2023 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Michael Branning
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Re: D-Day: Sobering Stats

#2 Post by Michael Branning »

Kelly and I visited Normandy on Memorial Day in 2016. A very sobering experience.

Pillbox on Omaha showing how the crossing fire was set up.
France 2016 - 1.jpeg
France 2016 - 3.jpeg
Barbed wire still there.
France 2016 - 4.jpeg
American Cemetery. The French staff put out flags on all the graves that morning.
France 2016 - 5.jpeg
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Brian R Adams
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Re: D-Day: Sobering Stats

#3 Post by Brian R Adams »

Michael Branning wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 3:41 pm Pillbox on Omaha showing how the crossing fire was set up.
Great visual! Military term is "enfilading" fire or flanking fire.
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Re: D-Day: Sobering Stats

#4 Post by Dan Macdonald »

When I visited Omaha Beach several years ago, two things struck me:
1. There were quite a few French folks using the beach for recreation. At first I thought that was just wrong, but then i thought of the men who fought there. And this is what they were fighting for...freedom.
2. I walked to the water's edge and looked up at the cliff where the German gun emplacements, machine guns and mortars were located. Man, it was loooong way to the bottom of those cliffs where the guys could take cover. A long way...
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