Page 12 - Cause & Effect: World War II

At Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches, the British and Canadians
faced less opposition than the Americans at Omaha Beach. Th e na-
val and aerial bombardments had helped soften the German defenses,
but for the British troops arriving at Sword Beach the peril awaited
inland. Th e Germans dispatched their lone panzer division in the vi-
cinity to the territory just beyond Sword Beach, stationing the tanks
between the Allied invaders and the town of Caen. Just as the two
armies prepared to clash, the skies suddenly fi lled with British aircraft,
disgorging thousands of paratroopers. Within minutes, British troop
strength had doubled. Seeing his panzer division was now greatly out-
numbered, General Edgar Feuchtinger called off the attack.
By the end of the day, the Allies had successfully landed more than
150,000 troops on the French coast. Th ey were followed by millions
more who soon made their way to Germany.

Urged to Negotiate Peace

Operation Overlord accomplished its goal: to squeeze the German
army between two advancing enemies—the Western Allies in the
west and the Soviets in the east. Nobody
“[Hitler] sat hunched
upon a stool, while knew the harsh consequences of the Nor-
the fi eld marshals mandy invasion more than Hitler’s gener-
stood. His hypnotic als. Within days of the invasion, the Allied
powers seemed to armies had advanced well into France and
have waned.” 31 were easily overrunning spotty German
resistance.
— German general Hans
Speidel On June 17 Hitler’s two key generals
on the western front, Rundstedt and Rom-
mel, met with the dictator to advise him that the German army could
not withstand the Allied onslaught. A third general, Hans Speidel,
attended the meeting. Later, he wrote:

[Hitler] looked pale and sleepless, playing nervously with his
glasses. . . . He sat hunched upon a stool, while the fi eld marshals
stood. His hypnotic powers seemed to have waned. Th ere was a
curt and frosty greeting from him. Th en in a loud voice he spoke
bitterly of his displeasure at the success of the Allied landings,
for which he tried to hold the fi eld commanders responsible. 31

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