Normandy to Rhine Video Flashcards
(39 cards)
What were the 3 operations discussed at the Arcadia Conference?
Operation Gymnast, Supercharge, and Operation Sledgehammer
What was Operation Gymnast?
an invasion of North Africa, two sub operations
-Torch-landing of US forces in Morocco into Eastern north Africa
Who led Operation Gymnast?
Eisenhower and Patten
What was Operation Supercharge?
involves British in North Africa in Egypt, led by Bernard Montgomery, which was a counter-attack into northwest Africa, in the middle, Germans were in North Africa, the Afrika Korps led by von Rommel.
What was the English Channel invasion of 1943?
crossing the channel, to establish, liberate French bring them back in and put more pressure on Germany, Stalin is angry because he is the only one fighting Germany at this point, somewhat of a cause of the Cold War because everyone is in Africa.
Why do Allies start with Operation Gymnast?
They need time and eliminate Luftwaffe as a threat, cross-channel invasion is too big a risk and years to get back. Round-up is too big of a gamble, so they go ahead with gymnast.
What was the code-name for the English Channel Invasion?
Round-up
What was Operation Sledgehammer?
very vague plan, idea was if Russians were pushed back by Germans, if Soviets get into real trouble if they surrender or collapse, thought process was we need Germany into a two-front war, attack in Western Europe anywhere
What were two needs for a cross-channel invasion?
- air supremacy over the enemy and good landing craft
- amphibious shipping from water to land
What boat was used by Germany to get people ashore quickly?
Higgins Boat
Why did the US step up its bombing of Germany?
- Wear down the Luftwaffe
- Disrupt industry
- Break German morale
Why was wearing down the Luftwaffe a reason the US stepped up its bombing?
needed air supremacy, if they shoot down planes and target factories, they won’t be able to reproduce the planes, and their numbers will go down.
Why was disrupting industry a reason the US stepped up its bombing?
Hurt the industry’s ability to produce war goods
Why was breaking German morale a reason the US stepped up its bombing?
Germany, hasn’t fought on German soil yet, German people have not seen war, so to make it a reality, show Germans how war is.
What was the codename given to the D-Day invasion of Normandy and what year was it?
Overlord in 1944
What was the idea behind Operation Sledgehammer?
They need help and attack get help for the enemy, Germany has Soviets pinned down, if they get to the point, someone must take some pressure off and make them pay attention to someone else.
Why was Sledgehammer not done?
It was a suicide mission because they would send people into Europe and get annihilated
What special preparations were needed for the Normandy invasion?
-Photograph coastlines, study postcards, conducting raids, what are obstacles they will face?
Why was Normandy chosen for the invasion?
Normandy had good shipping to make landings.
Describe the deception plan used to fake out the Germans.
-Deception plan was drawn up, known as ice cream, knew Germans were spying and knew they would find out truth, put out false information, put fake dead bodies to fake them out, but it wasn’t really the truth, most bombs we dropped were outside the landing area as a decoy.
Where were there other landings?
Norway, Brittany, and other places
What were mulberries?
designed as special harbor docks, interlocking docks, attacking cities are bad ideas, so they need to get people ashore with no port, so they brought their own, opened up Cherbourg, close to the D-Day site, where one was placed.
Describe the pipeline used at Normandy.
called pluto, under the ocean, used ice cream as decoy, need fuel for tanks.
What were funnies?
made new vehicles to get around coast, specialized for different terrains, flame throwing tanks, rather than fighting with metal detector, these tank beat up ground and if they stay on path, they destroy ground.
