Been there as well. My dad landed at Omaha on day 2. There is a "feeling" about that area that's hard to describe. The American cemetery at Omaha is beautifully maintained. Every American should visit if possible.
An excellent video. My parents were 9 when the war started and 14 when D Day happened. They lived on the south coast of England which was closed off from the rest of the country for three weeks prior to the invasion. Every tree hid a tank, a truck or some other piece of equipment. Thousands of troops ( Canadians in their area near Brighton ) were everywhere. D Day began early and My Mum told me the sky was filled will planes, all heading south. The houses shook with the sound. At the docks, all the ships were gone in the night and the Mulberry Harbours ( still a mystery at that time ) had been floated and towed across the channel. All brave men, regardless of nationality or what part they played.
@@forresthaggertychannel4301 Sadly not. Both had narrow escapes as children in the war. Dad was missed by inches from a red hot piece of an aircraft that came from the sky during the battle of Britain. Mum was staffed by a German raider while she was taking newspapers to the ATS girls mannig anti-aircraft guns on the seafront.
LOl ... based on what America has become, I guarantee nobody gives a shit about that sacrifice. Young people in the US aren't even taught these events growing up anymore.
@@jamesbird3215 Yeah that is true wath you said, but still you can't just say that when it doesn't come to math or history it's a waste of time, but ok everyone has his own opinions. Well, the education in america is good, but most kids don't listen to the teacher, probably around 60% of kids in america don't know anything about WW1: Who killed Franz. Ferdinand? I think only 4% of american kids can answer that question correctly.....
I’ve been to Pointe du Hoc. It was surreal to stand in the northern-most bunker on the top of the point. There is still barbed wire around the perimeter. Also, the craters are even more massive than they look from the bird’s eye view. There were children running through and playing in them. Just an incredible feeling to be there where the invasion took place that it’s really beyond words or comprehension.
Wow. Because of the high number of men and the high emotions being released,, I bet that the vibes of their emotions are still embedded in the rock and crystal sand.!! I bet those emotion frequencies can still be felt today.!!
Just discovered this amazing series of videos 20 minutes or so ago. Based on the three of them I've watched thus far, they are excellent. Folks really can't understand historical events without a basic understanding of the geography of them. The geographical aspect just makes them become so much more real. Plus, the fact that these wonderful videos are free of all the distracting background music and overly-dramatized visual effects most documentaries covering these events have. Great job!
I'm always interested in looking at videos about d-day. My dad was in the 147th combat engineers. They were among the 1st wave that landed on omaha beach. I was too young to understand the magnitude of what happened that morning/day & night, but even now i can barely conceive those turn of events. My dad passed 4-1-13. I miss him every day. He was a good man. Thanks dad.
Thank you. Your presentation was so good. I went there and my experience at the Omaha Beach American Cemetery was solemn, sacred, spiritual and very uplifting. A one in-a-lifetime experience which I won't forget. You can feel the presence of the fallen heroes.
I was in Normandy about seven years ago and Pointe Du Hoc really was an amazing historical battle. The craters were so deep and wide and are not as protected as they should be, Children were seen running up and down these craters and even tire tracks from beach vehicles. There is security but as a visitor i'm not sure if the security do a 24 hr surveillance on this historical monuments. The whole of Normandy is a treasure trove for war history buffs like myself.
Your work is one of the best history sites on the Internet. It is wonderfully creative, unique and innovative. It has tremendous impact in bringing graphic reality to extraordinarily important events. History students, teachers and all lovers of history take note: Forrest's channel is a winner. R.Henry, M.D.
My father was a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers and landed on Juno the day after on June 7,1944...He fought his way south then north east up to the Netherlands before the war ended. These men were all part of the greatest generation.
An interesting historical point about D-Day and Omaha casualties. The British, still nervous of another Galipoli, developed lots of amphibious vehicles for D-Day, especially amphibious tanks to offer close armoured support for the infantry going ashore. These were the famous "Hobarts Funnies". The Americans were offered these vehicles and declined all but the Duplex Drive Shermans. On D-Day there were embedded amphibious experts to instruct US commanders on DD usage. The commander on Omaha failed to follow instructions and released his tanks too far from shore, which all sank, leaving Omaha as the only allied beach with no armour and lead to the heavy casualties, also highlighting the incredible feat the infantry managed alone. The story goes that the British officer responsible for liaising on DD operations was so furious that he threatened to shoot the officer responsible with his service revolver!
I believe a small handful of DDs did land on Omaha, but they were quickly knocked out by defences. Having visited Omaha a couple of years ago you can still see a few concrete anti tank gun positions directly on the beach which would have had no problem taking out a tank the moment it landed. The other issue with casualties was a shallow sand bar off the beach which led to a lot of the landing craft beaching 20 or so meters off shore. This meant their troops had to wade through water making them easy targets for German gunners. Also the shape of the beach, a slight curve, meant German machine guns could sweep the whole beach and denied the Americans almost all cover
Just discovered your channel, I find this google earth exploring series very interesting, you seem too really know what you are talking about, keep them up!
I have been to all the Normandy beach’s. It’s surreal to actually go inside one of hundreds of German bunkers and look out over the English Channel and imagine what the German soldiers saw on that day. Over 5,000 ships headed right for them. They had no idea of the shit storm that was about to hit then. I took a 4 hour tour of all the beaches in Normandy. It started out and ended from the Normandy museum and went to the American cemetery sector of Normandy just above Omaha beach. I have a picture of my Dad walking on Omaha beach 2 days after the invasion. It was him and his ship mate with their ship in the background, LST 539. He NEVER talked about his 20 year in the U S Navy. My mom gave me the picture along with many other things from his enlistment in the Navy. Our family comes from a long line of servicemen, Dad 20 years Navy, 2 uncles 10 years Navy, 1 uncle 5 years in the merchant marines, myself 3 Navy and lastly my son 4 years Army. If you ever have the opportunity to go to France, take the time to go to the Normandy museum and take to tour of the beach’s of Normandy. It’s a trip you will NEVER forget.
Im French and went to the main beaches and Pointe du Hoc for the first time last summer. It is breath taking, idk how you guys did it but we are so thankful and grateful for what you’ve done.
My Uncle Jim was a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, Company B. He told us the same... That of the whole team, only 80 to 90 made it. He also told us that he did not scale the Point because the tides had pushed their landing craft towards troops landing on Omaha Beach. They went in with them. (To the right on you map.) Another informative vid. Thanks
Very interesting concept for videos . I’ve not seen another channel where someone shows places of historic battles on google maps. Gives greater sense of scale.
Anyone who likes D-Day, please watch 'The longest day'. It's old but historically on point and has a huge cast, some of which served in WW2. Several Axis and Allied military consultants who also served on D-Day were also portrayed in the film. Richard Todd (who plays Major John Howard) was a paratrooper who dropped early in the morning to reinforce Pegasus Bridge. The very bridge Major Howard secured hours earlier. He acted in a film in the very spot he had been fighting in.
I found it an extremely poor film, as it touched on Juno Beach for all of about 1 minute, when in fact Juno was the hardest fought for beach of all--exactly as the D-Day planning staff had anticipated. Omaha piled up more dead due to poor execution of their landing plans, but Juno came second and the armoured fighting was the fiercest of all five landing areas. A real meat grinder for infantry and tanks on both sides.
@@ToddSauve Good point, it also doesn't mention the attack on the Merville gun battery. Only a third of the attacking force made it to the guns to attack them. As far as D-Day films go though, it's still the best all rounder
I went there in late June 2019...very humbling place. Highly recommend taking a tour but in addition, do lots of research and get around on your own and exploring. Maisy Battery, Winderstandnest 60, beaches and man-made Mulberry harbor at Arromanches. And don't forget the Bayeux Tapestry and WWII museum in Bayeux. Its definitely worth spending a few days there and while you are there, partake in some Calvados...outstanding local adult beverage, there's several distilleries.
I have a Euro trip planned in August and I am really hoping that things simmer down enough to travel by then. Always been a dream to tour world war locations.
Marvelous. Thank you for the informative and very educational presentation and lecture of the heroic Normandy invasion by allied forces in WW2. Excellent !
Love your channel, such great in depth coverage. My father fought in WWII on the Pacific side. He never really liked to talk about it, but I wish that I had asked him more questions. Anyway, I had heard that on that morning they fed their men very well which turned out to be a bad decision and also that the gear they were wearing was very heavy and also very difficult to get out of which is why alot of the men drowned before ever making it to shore. Very sad part of our history. Thank you so much for sharing!
I really appreciate the work you put in to create these videos. I love to study history and I am fascinated by anything to do with WWII. The way you use the maps it gives you a sense of the where the event occurred and the scale of that event.
It is interesting to note that as Montgomery drew up his plans for the Normandy campaign, the Canadians found themselves assigned to the toughest section of the Normandy front. Why was it the toughest? Because it was so wide open in so many places that it was regarded as by far the most favourable territory for tank warfare. So the very terrain of the Juno Beach regions was far and away recognised as the worst for infantry. Hedgerows were fewer or farther between, but the wide open access for the excellent German armoured divisions made it a terrible place to fight for the generally inferior Allied armour. In response to this, D-Day plans called for double the number of artillery pieces to be landed on Juno than on any other beach and immediately put into action, coordinated with the forwardmost Canadian infantry units-the Regina Rifles and the Winnipeg Rifles-both of whom had previously stormed the beach early on June 6. It was in precisely this sector of the Canadian front that the Germans planned to mass their armoured divisions and try to push the Canadians back into the sea, and then spread left and right to attack Gold and Sword beaches. This is what Montgomery realised when he drew up the plans for the Normandy campaign. The terrain literally dictated the Nazi’s strategy. During the lynch-pin Battle for Bretteville (June 7-10, 1944) this artillery support was vital and broke up numerous German infantry and 12 SS Panzer attacks. That and the sheer guts and unbelievable determination of the two aforementioned infantry regiments saved the day. These were some tough Canadian kids from the Prairies who took on the German SS Panzer divisions and beat them! The commander of the 12 SS Panzer division, Kurt Meyer, had smugly concluded that his men would sweep the Canadians back into the English Channel like so many “little fishes.” Needless to say, Meyer and his 12 SS Panzers were the ones licking their wounds and howling in misery when they finally fled from Bretteville-minus 43 dead, 99 wounded, 10 missing and 29 panzers destroyed including a good number of Panther Mark Vs. And other than the 29 lost panzers, that was just on the first night! It was here and at nearby Abbey d’Ardenne that Kurt Meyer’s 12 SS and the Canadians began executing each other’s prisoners tit for tat, with no quarter given. The two sides really hated each other and this made for likely the bitterest fighting in Normandy. Here is a limited account of the terrible fighting at Bretteville: www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/northwesteurope/brettevillelorgueilleuse.htm And here is an excellent and much more detailed scholarly account of the Battle of Bretteville in .pdf format: scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol16/iss4/2/ [Be prepared to meet Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the original Star Trek series fame, as he was actually right in the area, being a Canadian artillery officer who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. I bet you didn’t know that! ;)] In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close. Indeed, three Sherman tanks of the Canadian 1 Hussars actually reached their assigned D-Day objective-the Caen-Bayeux highway next to Carpiquet airfield-before having to pull back when they could not make radio contact with army HQ and request reinforcements. (And it was hard fighting with the Canadians losing 359 men killed landing on the first day alone-second only to Omaha for men KIA!) Perhaps the great progress was because the Canadian army was the only Allied army in Normandy that was entirely volunteer. (Originally Juno beach was to be called Jelly, but Churchill forbade it noting it was a sorely inappropriate name for a place where so many men were going to die.) And yes, the two British and one Canadian beaches faced the bulk of the German armour-something like 70% of all German armoured divisions in Normandy faced us around Caen. Indeed, German armour was lined up virtually cheek by jowl! Historians have carefully investigated the numbers involved and the Germans, Canadians and British had more tanks per square mile all around Caen than the Russians and Germans had at Kursk! Around Caen and Carpiquet alone, the Germans had seven panzer divisions supplemented by an additional battalion of more than 100 Mark V Panthers! They were Panzer Lehr, 2 Panzer, 9 Panzer, 116 Panzer, 1 SS Panzer, 9 SS Panzer and 12 SS Panzer. Though few people understand this, these were the heaviest, most concentrated tank battles of WW2! In his analysis of the fighting against the Canadians of the Regina Rifles Regiment at Bretteville (which contained a number of Sherman and Firefly tanks, as did virtually every Canadian and British regiment), Hubert Meyer, the commanding general of the 12 SS Panzer division (after Kurt Meyer had been captured in September 1944) wrote later in “The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Volume 1” that: “The tactic of surprise, using mobile, fast infantry and Panzers even in small, numerically inferior Kampfgruppen, had often been practiced and proven in Russia. This tactic, however, had not resulted in the expected success here against a courageous and determined enemy, who was ready for defense and well equipped. Through good battle field observation, the enemy had recognized the outlines of the preparations for the attack and drawn his own conclusions. The deployment of D Company [of the Regina Rifles] to Cardonville had prevented a breakthrough by 2./26 [of the 12 SS] from the farm south of the rail line to Bretteville, only 1,000 meters away. The anti-tank defenses all around the village were strong enough to thwart all attempts by the Panzers to by-pass the town to the south and north. The surprising use of parachute flares with glaring magnesium light blinded the Panthers and clearly outlined them to the enemy Pak [anti-tank guns like 6 and 17 pounders]. This enemy was especially strong in the defense and could not be taken by surprise. He fought with determination and courage.” [pages 186-87] One is unlikely to find higher praise from the SS than 12 SS Panzer General Hubert Meyer had for the Regina Rifles Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army! In hindsight, it is something of a feather in Montgomery’s hat that he beat his own estimate of 90 days for capturing Caen and destroying the German armies-by two full weeks minus one day-but who is counting when numbers are so great and the opposition so terrible? And finally, Montgomery (and all the Allied generals) had insights into overall German strategy and counterattack plans through the Ultra intercepts at Bletchley Park, England. On many occasions he chose to withdraw his forces a short distance in order to preserve them, when informed that much superior German armoured divisions were being moved up to recapture territory lost. This was only sensible. You do not throw away large masses of men and armour to be ground up by superior numbers of enemy armour simply to display your bravado. No, you withdraw and rebuild your own forces until you can overcome what you positively 100% know is a much stronger force facing you only a short distance away. Many have questioned Montgomery’s leadership, perhaps with some reason. But how many know that he had to preserve his forces (as much as he could anyway) when Ultra intelligence revealed that not doing so would only be a futile gesture and the deliberate squandering of many men’s lives? Moreover, London had already told him that infantry reserves were virtually nil (though armour was abundant) and he had better save as many of his men as possible. So let’s try to be a little bit fairer in our criticisms of him. My hat comes off to the many, many brave and excellent fighting men from the US! They fought as well as anyone else and that is a fact. But it was a team effort between the three great English speaking nations of the world that defeated Nazi Germany in Normandy, as well as the many brave French, Polish and other freedom loving European soldiers who fought alongside us. Bravo to all involved! PS I am not trying to glorify war here, just so anyone who might think this to be so can understand that I do not approve of war-for all the good this will do.
‘In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close.’ I’m not sure this energetic tub-thumping is particularly helpful or relevant, but nor does it seem to be accurate. There is a difference between ‘penetration’ and ‘front-line’ - the latter, being more permanent, is important in the context of D-Day. I have before me a map of the front lines at the end of 6th June, and I see that in distance reached inland the Canadian front-line is equivalent to, but no greater, than the adjoining British front-line on Gold Beach. Ditto the front-line the other side on Sword Beach, which is roughly equivalent. The front-line on Utah Beach was at least as far inland, if not more, actually reaching its planned front-line at one point, which nobody else had managed. In light of this, your comment is very misleading. Many brave man lost their lives or suffered dreadful injuries that day, and I don’t think it is helpful for a particular group try to take the limelight, or claim pole position. Particularly not in the circumstances outlined above.
Canada was there and did her part. Too bad every WW2 Hollywood movie did their best to ignore that reality... Great video that gives people the scope of the geography involved. The beaches covered 50 miles of coast. That ought to give people an idea of how massive this was. 7000 ships and they didn't run each other over....amazing
@@lawxxxx9853 Sorry, but I didn't see your post until today. UA-cam does sometimes miss updating any replies I may get from my posts. No, Canada is universally acknowledged as having penetrated farther inland on the first day of the Normandy campaign. You will search in vain for any competent historian who will claim otherwise. It is not "energetic tub-thumping" but actual and universally acknowledged historical fact. And this was not just "penetration" as you claim, but hard fought for front lines that had to be defended from numerous German counter-attacks. The British at Sword Beach got hung up at a particularly nasty artillery fortification about 3 miles from the beach which took them some time to overcome. They also were unable to land as many troops as they needed in order to reach Caen on day one. Caen was between 9 and 10 miles from Sword beach and Carpiquet airfield about the same distance from Juno, but the fighting was not carried out in a straight line fashion. Fighting bulged out to the left and right as different challenges arose. Gold beach troops were not expected to take any part in the reaching of Caen on D-Day. What you may be looking at is the front lines of the left flank of the Canadian front, which did not move as fast as the right flank. Canada lost at least 359 dead on the first day of fighting alone, (and probably over 1000 wounded), so there was considerable opposition. In fact, as I said, Canada was the ONLY country to reach its D-Day objective, the Carpiquet airfield right next to Caen. Three tanks from the 1 Hussars arrived there late on June 6 but were unable to make radio contact with army HQ (due to German radio jamming) and have reinforcements rushed up to bolster them. Even so, by late on June 7, 1944 the Regina Rifles and Winnipeg Rifles reached Bretteville and Putot respectively, with Bretteville being only about 3 miles west of Carpiquet airfield--a suburb of Caen itself, the D-Day objective. But by June 7, the 12 SS Panzer division had fully occupied Carpiquet rendering its capture a month long series of horrible tank battles. In fact, the tank battles all around Carpiquet and Caen were the densest and most heavily fought of WW2--surpassing even Kursk in number of tanks involved per square mile. It took another month to cover those last three miles and force the 12 SS out of Carpiquet airfield! Still, we must remember that Canada's was the ONLY all volunteer army and even General Eisenhower said the Canadians were his best troops! Here's the proof. In a statement from him, cited by celebrated historian Andrew Roberts in his “History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900,” 2007, on page 343, he points out a little-known quotation from Eisenhower that “man-for-man the Canadians were the best soldiers in his army.” Only Omaha beach produced more dead, mostly because of the US forces launching their armour much too far from shore (about 3 miles) whereupon only one or two of about 30 tanks made it to the beach. The rest sank to the bottom of the English Channel taking their crews with them. What a waste of human life! Moreover, the American brass refused to use "Hobart's funnies" that Canada and the British used. These were the specialized tanks that British Major General Percy Hobart developed for particular purposes, like bridging tank traps and "chain flailing" tanks for clearing minefields, etc. It cost many brave American soldiers their lives and for that they have their ignoramus senior officers to thank. Moreover, the US rocket firing barges that were to bombard Omaha beach refused to come close enough to actually hit their targets on shore, and all their ordinance fell short into the water. 👿 Thankfully, the US troops who landed on Utah beach missed their landing point by about a mile and were able to overcome all German opposition with comparatively much smaller losses of around 200 dead. By the way, half of my family came to Canada from the US and the other half from Britain, so I have no particular axe to grind. I do find, however, that neither the US nor Britain acknowledge the great successes that Canada's army worked in Normandy in any of their films or documentaries on the subject. Is this ignorance, arrogance or jealousy? The British tend to be a little more even handed but the Americans tend to focus exclusively on themselves, as if they won WW2 all by their lonesome. The truth is that the Russian's bore 80% of the burden of fighting Nazi Germany on the ground and without them on the Eastern front things would have been much grimmer, indeed! Download the .pdf file I linked in the first post, as it has a lot of maps and other relevant material that I'm sure you will find helpful. Are you an American or British?
Look up the book WN 62, it's the first hand account of Heinrich Severloh a German soldier manning a machine gun in the Easy Red Sector of Omaha Beach...Severloh is known as the beast of Omaha Beach...
Thank you. I've been studying WWii recently and your explanation mixed with the photos have helped me sort out the massivness that was operation overlord.
Fantastic video and great channel, super glad I found it. Last summer on the anniversary I was lucky enough to go to all these beaches and a lot of the museums around them, it was an incredible experience and I only wish I’d seen your video sooner! The beach heads haven’t really changed that much over the last 70 odd years and as the gun batteries and bunkers were build to last so the history is preserved remarkably well. The costal defence gun battery at longues sur mer (near gold beach) is in incredible condition, the only real damage visible is the shelling done by the allies on dday +2 rather than any sign of ageing. If you do ever get the opportunity to visit then I couldn’t recommend it more.
My great grandfather was there with the big red one I never got to meet him he is my hero I know he is in a better place with his friends that he lost over there
Been to all the landing sites several times now , done Pointe du hoc last year what a place, some of the bomb craters are huge , when you visit you can still feel the presence of the soldiers as if some how the ghosts are still there , really humbling.
Love all your videos. Very educational. Very informative. No disrespect for the video or to all the heroes who got in those boats, gliders, and jumped from the planes. Even the defenders, much respect. I just wanted to say, when the video started you said "...a place in france." And a song from when I was kid immediately popped in my head and I said out loud "Where the na#ked ladies dance. There's a hole in the wall where.." lol sorry had to share.
Really enjoy many of the videos you create - they add some good context to memorable events. Just one thing though...your pronunciation of French words. Oh boy... Anyway, please keep up the good work!
It would be the same thing if you asked someone who spoke only French, Italian, Spanish or any other language to pronounce another country's city. Would you be as critical in that instance? There's no reason for that.
Loup5264 it would be neat but he would be going all over Normandy for that; the planes came under such heavy fire that they mis-dropped all over the place.
Your channel is just in time! Too many people are forgetting our nation's history, so we're inevitably repeating it. I hope this channel takes off and changes things.
Yes... Yes they still teach WWII history in school. They could teach us how to do taxes, but this is more important. Now don't get me wrong, I love history, but it's not going to help me get a job as historian jobs are over saturated the last time I checked. Oh by the way, they still like to try and push the Bible down kids throats because they can't stand the fact that kids nowadays don't need a fairy tale to function.
Forrest. You did a good job here in your presentation.! I will check out the other videos you have posted about WW2 as seen from google earth, today. I see there are many other people with similar videos, I will check those out.! Bottom line, a Salute to those extremely brave men who attacked those beaches to stop the scourge of Nazism and Fascism. Brave, Brave men who accepted their fate and did what the plan was.!!!
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ``lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.'' . . . Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.'' Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died. Ronald Reagan June 6, 1984
Funny thing is, the short distance to Calais would have hindered the invasion. Too small a distance. Would have been a maritime bottleneck. Also, not a wide enough area to land as many divisions as they did.
Little-known D-Day facts: The British beaches 'Sword' and 'Gold' were actually short for Swordfish and Goldfish. They wanted Canada's landing beach, Juno, to be called Jelly (for Jellyfish). The Canadians, understandably, refused. Also, a sixth beach, Band, was located just east of Sword. It was determined that a landing there was not required, & the troops were re-allocated to other landing sites.
They even recruited top directors of the time from Hollywood as well as several actors to teach the doubles how to act naturally during Operation Bodyguard. I remember my High School history teacher telling us about this. Awesome stuff.
I remember going on Holiday to this area, near Gold Beach. I remember going to the beach and i was trying to dig for bones, i feel a bit bad now that i'm older.
I have visited Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Utah Beach, the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach and a number of other places in Normandy, as an American it's hard to describe how awesome it is to actually visit these places, standing on the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach at low tide and seeing how far these men had to run under enemy fire is surreal to imagine...
Spanish double-agent Pujol, working for the Allies, radioed to the Germans that the invasion was on for Calais. He timed his message so that it was too late for the Germans to move down the coast.
Great video, the only thing you could have done differently is if you would have talked about the German casualties as well, even though they were the "bad guys" they were people as well. You have other intresting videos as well, earned a sub right here.
when you realise those huge casualties alone on Omaha Beach and start thinking "that goddam war.." and then you continue looking at casualties of the battle of stalingrad...
I think it's worth mentioning that the Allied powers ruse wasnt to just invade Calais, but there were several other landing sites that they were feeding to the germans, which forced them to spread their troops out, and even when the landings in normandy occured the germans still thought that an invasion was going to occur in the other places.
If anyone interested in expanding their understanding of D-Day should read the following books: D-Day Through German Eyes by Holger Eckhertz The Dead and Those About to Die: D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach by John C. McManus Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 by Joseph Balkoski
Good stuff, the question I have always had is we had a good idea Ohama was the most well defended so why didn't we try to outflank them from other beaches?
I read an article, not too long ago, that said they knew the guns were gone (before invading) and the commander of the Ranger unit made the decision to go in anyway.
My grandfather and his brother landed with the 18th Field Engineers of the 3rd Cdn Division. They were in the 3rd wave and landed in front of Courselles du Mer.
I live in a small village on the Kent coast on a clear day I can see Calais and one part of the concrete harbour used on these beaches according to local history it came loose on route to France and was just left there
![WWII Western Front, Every Hour - [1] June 1944](/img/n.gif)
Been there as well. My dad landed at Omaha on day 2. There is a "feeling" about that area that's hard to describe. The American cemetery at Omaha is beautifully maintained. Every American should visit if possible.
Respect to your dad!!
I definitely will as soon as this COVID crap settles down.
It's the first place in France I intend to visit.
@@davecrupel2817 That entire area of Brittany shows a respect for history that I wish the rest of the world would copy
Dave Crupel 👍
An excellent video. My parents were 9 when the war started and 14 when D Day happened. They lived on the south coast of England which was closed off from the rest of the country for three weeks prior to the invasion. Every tree hid a tank, a truck or some other piece of equipment. Thousands of troops ( Canadians in their area near Brighton ) were everywhere. D Day began early and My Mum told me the sky was filled will planes, all heading south. The houses shook with the sound. At the docks, all the ships were gone in the night and the Mulberry Harbours ( still a mystery at that time ) had been floated and towed across the channel. All brave men, regardless of nationality or what part they played.
Crusty Camper thank you for sharing. That is very interesting! Are your parents still alive?
@@forresthaggertychannel4301 Sadly not. Both had narrow escapes as children in the war. Dad was missed by inches from a red hot piece of an aircraft that came from the sky during the battle of Britain. Mum was staffed by a German raider while she was taking newspapers to the ATS girls mannig anti-aircraft guns on the seafront.
Such great stories from our elders. Hope they are well.
It's still crazy to me that this is a real event, I hope those men who died that day know their sacrifice hasn't been forgotten.
@@PunkMonkey81 LTE exists ya know
@@PunkMonkey81 I doubt a single person on this entire planet thinks losing wifi connection is equivelent to what those people did on d-day
LOl ... based on what America has become, I guarantee nobody gives a shit about that sacrifice. Young people in the US aren't even taught these events growing up anymore.
@@PresidentGas1 That's sooo true, kids in america don't get enough education, they don't even know what D-day is.............
@@jamesbird3215 Yeah that is true wath you said, but still you can't just say that when it doesn't come to math or history it's a waste of time, but ok everyone has his own opinions. Well, the education in america is good, but most kids don't listen to the teacher, probably around 60% of kids in america don't know anything about WW1: Who killed Franz. Ferdinand? I think only 4% of american kids can answer that question correctly.....
I’ve been to Pointe du Hoc. It was surreal to stand in the northern-most bunker on the top of the point. There is still barbed wire around the perimeter. Also, the craters are even more massive than they look from the bird’s eye view. There were children running through and playing in them. Just an incredible feeling to be there where the invasion took place that it’s really beyond words or comprehension.
Wes T I will be going there someday in my near future. Thanks for the information!
Forrest Haggerty I was there in Aug 2017. Stayed in nearby Bayeux in an Airbnb. Life changing experience!
Wes T my wife and I have been making plans to go to France in the next couple years. I plan on visiting the D-Day beaches. I’m looking forward to it!
Wow. Because of the high number of men and the high emotions being released,, I bet that the vibes of their emotions are still embedded in the rock and crystal sand.!! I bet those emotion frequencies can still be felt today.!!
Some of those craters were a bitch to climb out of. Place was like the moon
Just discovered this amazing series of videos 20 minutes or so ago. Based on the three of them I've watched thus far, they are excellent. Folks really can't understand historical events without a basic understanding of the geography of them. The geographical aspect just makes them become so much more real. Plus, the fact that these wonderful videos are free of all the distracting background music and overly-dramatized visual effects most documentaries covering these events have. Great job!
So much easier to understand without all the music and drama added into the documentaries on the tele.
Bumped into this channel. Glad I found it! I think your content is going to take off.
Michael B. Thank you. I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Michael B. Man war truly is skill. Imagin the pressure the generals have.
William Marcoux Imagine the soilders stress as well, and the airforce.
@@davidhalabi664 The Airforce wasn't around in WW2, it was the Army Air Corps.
@@budmeister Ah I see, thanks for informing me!
I'm always interested in looking at videos about d-day. My dad was in the 147th combat engineers. They were among the 1st wave that landed on omaha beach. I was too young to understand the magnitude of what happened that morning/day & night, but even now i can barely conceive those turn of events. My dad passed 4-1-13. I miss him every day. He was a good man. Thanks dad.
My Gratitude and Respect to him as well.
ua-cam.com/video/wbHPcg9zcDw/v-deo.html
i hope he rests well in heaven
chin up bro , may your old man r.i.p , you'll be together again 1 day
Respect! Thanks to him Europe its free. We spread democracy to the World!
@@georgeramirez3120 yea spreading democracy like in vietnam teaching vilages democracy with napalm bombs
Thank you. Your presentation was so good. I went there and my experience at the Omaha Beach American Cemetery was solemn, sacred, spiritual and very uplifting. A one in-a-lifetime experience which I won't forget. You can feel the presence of the fallen heroes.
Just a note Pointe Du Hoc, The Rangers were able to find the guns that were moved inland and knock them out.
Paul Ingham I think they were stationed a few hundred yards from the coast
@@Jamy-dc9kk They were
I was in Normandy about seven years ago and Pointe Du Hoc really was an amazing historical battle. The craters were so deep and wide and are not as protected as they should be, Children were seen running up and down these craters and even tire tracks from beach vehicles. There is security but as a visitor i'm not sure if the security do a 24 hr surveillance on this historical monuments. The whole of Normandy is a treasure trove for war history buffs like myself.
Thank you for taking the time to put this all together. Lest We Forget.
Your work is one of the best history sites on the Internet. It is wonderfully creative, unique and innovative. It has tremendous impact in bringing graphic reality to extraordinarily important events. History students, teachers and all lovers of history take note: Forrest's channel is a winner.
R.Henry, M.D.
Your videos using google earth is a great way to teach people about historical events. Thankyou!
My father was a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers and landed on Juno the day after on June 7,1944...He fought his way south then north east up to the Netherlands before the war ended. These men were all part of the greatest generation.
An interesting historical point about D-Day and Omaha casualties.
The British, still nervous of another Galipoli, developed lots of amphibious vehicles for D-Day, especially amphibious tanks to offer close armoured support for the infantry going ashore. These were the famous "Hobarts Funnies". The Americans were offered these vehicles and declined all but the Duplex Drive Shermans. On D-Day there were embedded amphibious experts to instruct US commanders on DD usage. The commander on Omaha failed to follow instructions and released his tanks too far from shore, which all sank, leaving Omaha as the only allied beach with no armour and lead to the heavy casualties, also highlighting the incredible feat the infantry managed alone.
The story goes that the British officer responsible for liaising on DD operations was so furious that he threatened to shoot the officer responsible with his service revolver!
RABBLE ROUSER They also shot katushkya-like rockets off of the decks of the ships, but failed to range them properly.
I believe a small handful of DDs did land on Omaha, but they were quickly knocked out by defences. Having visited Omaha a couple of years ago you can still see a few concrete anti tank gun positions directly on the beach which would have had no problem taking out a tank the moment it landed. The other issue with casualties was a shallow sand bar off the beach which led to a lot of the landing craft beaching 20 or so meters off shore. This meant their troops had to wade through water making them easy targets for German gunners. Also the shape of the beach, a slight curve, meant German machine guns could sweep the whole beach and denied the Americans almost all cover
Just discovered your channel, I find this google earth exploring series very interesting, you seem too really know what you are talking about, keep them up!
Rodrigo Aronson thank you for your kind words!:)))
I have been to all the Normandy beach’s. It’s surreal to actually go inside one of hundreds of German bunkers and look out over the English Channel and imagine what the German soldiers saw on that day. Over 5,000 ships headed right for them. They had no idea of the shit storm that was about to hit then. I took a 4 hour tour of all the beaches in Normandy. It started out and ended from the Normandy museum and went to the American cemetery sector of Normandy just above Omaha beach.
I have a picture of my Dad walking on Omaha beach 2 days after the invasion. It was him and his ship mate with their ship in the background, LST 539. He NEVER talked about his 20 year in the U S Navy. My mom gave me the picture along with many other things from his enlistment in the Navy. Our family comes from a long line of servicemen, Dad 20 years Navy, 2 uncles 10 years Navy, 1 uncle 5 years in the merchant marines, myself 3 Navy and lastly my son 4 years Army.
If you ever have the opportunity to go to France, take the time to go to the Normandy museum and take to tour of the beach’s of Normandy. It’s a trip you will NEVER forget.
bob wickman I’ve been there too, and besides the war, Normandy really does have nice parts of coast, with astonishing views!
Wow I can listen to you talk about the history of all the beaches for hours. Wish the video was longer. This is great.
Im French and went to the main beaches and Pointe du Hoc for the first time last summer. It is breath taking, idk how you guys did it but we are so thankful and grateful for what you’ve done.
Dith Perlay how far from the beach do you live?
Forrest Haggerty i live south Brittany, which is like 4h away driving
My Uncle Jim was a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, Company B. He told us the same... That of the whole team, only 80 to 90 made it. He also told us that he did not scale the Point because the tides had pushed their landing craft towards troops landing on Omaha Beach. They went in with them. (To the right on you map.) Another informative vid. Thanks
Thanks for laying this out. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Very interesting concept for videos . I’ve not seen another channel where someone shows places of historic battles on google maps. Gives greater sense of scale.
StopFear thank you for your kind words and I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Anyone who likes D-Day, please watch 'The longest day'. It's old but historically on point and has a huge cast, some of which served in WW2. Several Axis and Allied military consultants who also served on D-Day were also portrayed in the film.
Richard Todd (who plays Major John Howard) was a paratrooper who dropped early in the morning to reinforce Pegasus Bridge. The very bridge Major Howard secured hours earlier.
He acted in a film in the very spot he had been fighting in.
rigsby2222 Yes one of the greatest of all war movies
Yes indeed. A fantastic film with a star studded cast and some great cinematography.
I found it an extremely poor film, as it touched on Juno Beach for all of about 1 minute, when in fact Juno was the hardest fought for beach of all--exactly as the D-Day planning staff had anticipated. Omaha piled up more dead due to poor execution of their landing plans, but Juno came second and the armoured fighting was the fiercest of all five landing areas. A real meat grinder for infantry and tanks on both sides.
@@ToddSauve Good point, it also doesn't mention the attack on the Merville gun battery. Only a third of the attacking force made it to the guns to attack them.
As far as D-Day films go though, it's still the best all rounder
Saving private Ryan by far the best movie about D-day landings and the carnage.
I went there in late June 2019...very humbling place. Highly recommend taking a tour but in addition, do lots of research and get around on your own and exploring. Maisy Battery, Winderstandnest 60, beaches and man-made Mulberry harbor at Arromanches. And don't forget the Bayeux Tapestry and WWII museum in Bayeux. Its definitely worth spending a few days there and while you are there, partake in some Calvados...outstanding local adult beverage, there's several distilleries.
I have a Euro trip planned in August and I am really hoping that things simmer down enough to travel by then. Always been a dream to tour world war locations.
@@FRANCESGUM Hope it works out for you. It's incredible. We're supposed to go to Europe again in September...we'll see I suppose.
Marvelous. Thank you for the informative and very educational presentation and lecture of the heroic Normandy invasion by allied forces in WW2. Excellent !
Love your channel, such great in depth coverage. My father fought in WWII on the Pacific side. He never really liked to talk about it, but I wish that I had asked him more questions. Anyway, I had heard that on that morning they fed their men very well which turned out to be a bad decision and also that the gear they were wearing was very heavy and also very difficult to get out of which is why alot of the men drowned before ever making it to shore. Very sad part of our history. Thank you so much for sharing!
I really appreciate the work you put in to create these videos. I love to study history and I am fascinated by anything to do with WWII. The way you use the maps it gives you a sense of the where the event occurred and the scale of that event.
My dad was at Omaha beach and he made it to Aachen Germany where he was wounded.
Thank your dad for his brave service!!!!
I'm glad he made it home. Lucky for you as well. A lot of us would have never been born except for our dads having a bit of luck.
One of the best 7 minute videos on UA-cam.
It is interesting to note that as Montgomery drew up his plans for the Normandy campaign, the Canadians found themselves assigned to the toughest section of the Normandy front.
Why was it the toughest?
Because it was so wide open in so many places that it was regarded as by far the most favourable territory for tank warfare. So the very terrain of the Juno Beach regions was far and away recognised as the worst for infantry. Hedgerows were fewer or farther between, but the wide open access for the excellent German armoured divisions made it a terrible place to fight for the generally inferior Allied armour. In response to this, D-Day plans called for double the number of artillery pieces to be landed on Juno than on any other beach and immediately put into action, coordinated with the forwardmost Canadian infantry units-the Regina Rifles and the Winnipeg Rifles-both of whom had previously stormed the beach early on June 6.
It was in precisely this sector of the Canadian front that the Germans planned to mass their armoured divisions and try to push the Canadians back into the sea, and then spread left and right to attack Gold and Sword beaches. This is what Montgomery realised when he drew up the plans for the Normandy campaign. The terrain literally dictated the Nazi’s strategy.
During the lynch-pin Battle for Bretteville (June 7-10, 1944) this artillery support was vital and broke up numerous German infantry and 12 SS Panzer attacks. That and the sheer guts and unbelievable determination of the two aforementioned infantry regiments saved the day. These were some tough Canadian kids from the Prairies who took on the German SS Panzer divisions and beat them! The commander of the 12 SS Panzer division, Kurt Meyer, had smugly concluded that his men would sweep the Canadians back into the English Channel like so many “little fishes.” Needless to say, Meyer and his 12 SS Panzers were the ones licking their wounds and howling in misery when they finally fled from Bretteville-minus 43 dead, 99 wounded, 10 missing and 29 panzers destroyed including a good number of Panther Mark Vs. And other than the 29 lost panzers, that was just on the first night!
It was here and at nearby Abbey d’Ardenne that Kurt Meyer’s 12 SS and the Canadians began executing each other’s prisoners tit for tat, with no quarter given. The two sides really hated each other and this made for likely the bitterest fighting in Normandy.
Here is a limited account of the terrible fighting at Bretteville: www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/northwesteurope/brettevillelorgueilleuse.htm
And here is an excellent and much more detailed scholarly account of the Battle of Bretteville in .pdf format: scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol16/iss4/2/
[Be prepared to meet Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the original Star Trek series fame, as he was actually right in the area, being a Canadian artillery officer who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. I bet you didn’t know that! ;)]
In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close. Indeed, three Sherman tanks of the Canadian 1 Hussars actually reached their assigned D-Day objective-the Caen-Bayeux highway next to Carpiquet airfield-before having to pull back when they could not make radio contact with army HQ and request reinforcements. (And it was hard fighting with the Canadians losing 359 men killed landing on the first day alone-second only to Omaha for men KIA!) Perhaps the great progress was because the Canadian army was the only Allied army in Normandy that was entirely volunteer. (Originally Juno beach was to be called Jelly, but Churchill forbade it noting it was a sorely inappropriate name for a place where so many men were going to die.)
And yes, the two British and one Canadian beaches faced the bulk of the German armour-something like 70% of all German armoured divisions in Normandy faced us around Caen. Indeed, German armour was lined up virtually cheek by jowl! Historians have carefully investigated the numbers involved and the Germans, Canadians and British had more tanks per square mile all around Caen than the Russians and Germans had at Kursk! Around Caen and Carpiquet alone, the Germans had seven panzer divisions supplemented by an additional battalion of more than 100 Mark V Panthers! They were Panzer Lehr, 2 Panzer, 9 Panzer, 116 Panzer, 1 SS Panzer, 9 SS Panzer and 12 SS Panzer. Though few people understand this, these were the heaviest, most concentrated tank battles of WW2!
In his analysis of the fighting against the Canadians of the Regina Rifles Regiment at Bretteville (which contained a number of Sherman and Firefly tanks, as did virtually every Canadian and British regiment), Hubert Meyer, the commanding general of the 12 SS Panzer division (after Kurt Meyer had been captured in September 1944) wrote later in “The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Volume 1” that:
“The tactic of surprise, using mobile, fast infantry and Panzers even in small, numerically inferior Kampfgruppen, had often been practiced and proven in Russia. This tactic, however, had not resulted in the expected success here against a courageous and determined enemy, who was ready for defense and well equipped. Through good battle field observation, the enemy had recognized the outlines of the preparations for the attack and drawn his own conclusions. The deployment of D Company [of the Regina Rifles] to Cardonville had prevented a breakthrough by 2./26 [of the 12 SS] from the farm south of the rail line to Bretteville, only 1,000 meters away. The anti-tank defenses all around the village were strong enough to thwart all attempts by the Panzers to by-pass the town to the south and north. The surprising use of parachute flares with glaring magnesium light blinded the Panthers and clearly outlined them to the enemy Pak [anti-tank guns like 6 and 17 pounders]. This enemy was especially strong in the defense and could not be taken by surprise. He fought with determination and courage.” [pages 186-87]
One is unlikely to find higher praise from the SS than 12 SS Panzer General Hubert Meyer had for the Regina Rifles Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army!
In hindsight, it is something of a feather in Montgomery’s hat that he beat his own estimate of 90 days for capturing Caen and destroying the German armies-by two full weeks minus one day-but who is counting when numbers are so great and the opposition so terrible?
And finally, Montgomery (and all the Allied generals) had insights into overall German strategy and counterattack plans through the Ultra intercepts at Bletchley Park, England. On many occasions he chose to withdraw his forces a short distance in order to preserve them, when informed that much superior German armoured divisions were being moved up to recapture territory lost. This was only sensible. You do not throw away large masses of men and armour to be ground up by superior numbers of enemy armour simply to display your bravado. No, you withdraw and rebuild your own forces until you can overcome what you positively 100% know is a much stronger force facing you only a short distance away. Many have questioned Montgomery’s leadership, perhaps with some reason. But how many know that he had to preserve his forces (as much as he could anyway) when Ultra intelligence revealed that not doing so would only be a futile gesture and the deliberate squandering of many men’s lives? Moreover, London had already told him that infantry reserves were virtually nil (though armour was abundant) and he had better save as many of his men as possible. So let’s try to be a little bit fairer in our criticisms of him.
My hat comes off to the many, many brave and excellent fighting men from the US! They fought as well as anyone else and that is a fact. But it was a team effort between the three great English speaking nations of the world that defeated Nazi Germany in Normandy, as well as the many brave French, Polish and other freedom loving European soldiers who fought alongside us. Bravo to all involved!
PS I am not trying to glorify war here, just so anyone who might think this to be so can understand that I do not approve of war-for all the good this will do.
Thanks from Aus
It was a team effort
@@SunnieSnell There were quite a few Aussies involved, too! The RAAF was there in force!
‘In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close.’
I’m not sure this energetic tub-thumping is particularly helpful or relevant, but nor does it seem to be accurate.
There is a difference between ‘penetration’ and ‘front-line’ - the latter, being more permanent, is important in the context of D-Day. I have before me a map of the front lines at the end of 6th June, and I see that in distance reached inland the Canadian front-line is equivalent to, but no greater, than the adjoining British front-line on Gold Beach. Ditto the front-line the other side on Sword Beach, which is roughly equivalent. The front-line on Utah Beach was at least as far inland, if not more, actually reaching its planned front-line at one point, which nobody else had managed. In light of this, your comment is very misleading.
Many brave man lost their lives or suffered dreadful injuries that day, and I don’t think it is helpful for a particular group try to take the limelight, or claim pole position. Particularly not in the circumstances outlined above.
Canada was there and did her part. Too bad every WW2 Hollywood movie did their best to ignore that reality...
Great video that gives people the scope of the geography involved. The beaches covered 50 miles of coast. That ought to give people an idea of how massive this was. 7000 ships and they didn't run each other over....amazing
@@lawxxxx9853 Sorry, but I didn't see your post until today. UA-cam does sometimes miss updating any replies I may get from my posts.
No, Canada is universally acknowledged as having penetrated farther inland on the first day of the Normandy campaign. You will search in vain for any competent historian who will claim otherwise. It is not "energetic tub-thumping" but actual and universally acknowledged historical fact. And this was not just "penetration" as you claim, but hard fought for front lines that had to be defended from numerous German counter-attacks.
The British at Sword Beach got hung up at a particularly nasty artillery fortification about 3 miles from the beach which took them some time to overcome. They also were unable to land as many troops as they needed in order to reach Caen on day one. Caen was between 9 and 10 miles from Sword beach and Carpiquet airfield about the same distance from Juno, but the fighting was not carried out in a straight line fashion. Fighting bulged out to the left and right as different challenges arose. Gold beach troops were not expected to take any part in the reaching of Caen on D-Day.
What you may be looking at is the front lines of the left flank of the Canadian front, which did not move as fast as the right flank. Canada lost at least 359 dead on the first day of fighting alone, (and probably over 1000 wounded), so there was considerable opposition. In fact, as I said, Canada was the ONLY country to reach its D-Day objective, the Carpiquet airfield right next to Caen. Three tanks from the 1 Hussars arrived there late on June 6 but were unable to make radio contact with army HQ (due to German radio jamming) and have reinforcements rushed up to bolster them. Even so, by late on June 7, 1944 the Regina Rifles and Winnipeg Rifles reached Bretteville and Putot respectively, with Bretteville being only about 3 miles west of Carpiquet airfield--a suburb of Caen itself, the D-Day objective. But by June 7, the 12 SS Panzer division had fully occupied Carpiquet rendering its capture a month long series of horrible tank battles. In fact, the tank battles all around Carpiquet and Caen were the densest and most heavily fought of WW2--surpassing even Kursk in number of tanks involved per square mile. It took another month to cover those last three miles and force the 12 SS out of Carpiquet airfield!
Still, we must remember that Canada's was the ONLY all volunteer army and even General Eisenhower said the Canadians were his best troops! Here's the proof. In a statement from him, cited by celebrated historian Andrew Roberts in his “History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900,” 2007, on page 343, he points out a little-known quotation from Eisenhower that “man-for-man the Canadians were the best soldiers in his army.”
Only Omaha beach produced more dead, mostly because of the US forces launching their armour much too far from shore (about 3 miles) whereupon only one or two of about 30 tanks made it to the beach. The rest sank to the bottom of the English Channel taking their crews with them. What a waste of human life! Moreover, the American brass refused to use "Hobart's funnies" that Canada and the British used. These were the specialized tanks that British Major General Percy Hobart developed for particular purposes, like bridging tank traps and "chain flailing" tanks for clearing minefields, etc. It cost many brave American soldiers their lives and for that they have their ignoramus senior officers to thank. Moreover, the US rocket firing barges that were to bombard Omaha beach refused to come close enough to actually hit their targets on shore, and all their ordinance fell short into the water. 👿
Thankfully, the US troops who landed on Utah beach missed their landing point by about a mile and were able to overcome all German opposition with comparatively much smaller losses of around 200 dead.
By the way, half of my family came to Canada from the US and the other half from Britain, so I have no particular axe to grind. I do find, however, that neither the US nor Britain acknowledge the great successes that Canada's army worked in Normandy in any of their films or documentaries on the subject. Is this ignorance, arrogance or jealousy? The British tend to be a little more even handed but the Americans tend to focus exclusively on themselves, as if they won WW2 all by their lonesome. The truth is that the Russian's bore 80% of the burden of fighting Nazi Germany on the ground and without them on the Eastern front things would have been much grimmer, indeed!
Download the .pdf file I linked in the first post, as it has a lot of maps and other relevant material that I'm sure you will find helpful.
Are you an American or British?
Imagine being a German and seeing 1000's of ships come over the horizon. At that point they knew the war was lost.
@brentprodz I know that but I'm speaking in the mind of the soldiers on the beach.
You can have an idea of the german soldiers thought in the movie "The Longest Day"
"Please don't shoot me, I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone, I am Czech!"
Look up the book WN 62, it's the first hand account of Heinrich Severloh a German soldier manning a machine gun in the Easy Red Sector of Omaha Beach...Severloh is known as the beast of Omaha Beach...
DeathTrooper 67 Mein gott
Thank you. I've been studying WWii recently and your explanation mixed with the photos have helped me sort out the massivness that was operation overlord.
I'm so happy I stumbled upon this channel.
Fantastic video and great channel, super glad I found it.
Last summer on the anniversary I was lucky enough to go to all these beaches and a lot of the museums around them, it was an incredible experience and I only wish I’d seen your video sooner! The beach heads haven’t really changed that much over the last 70 odd years and as the gun batteries and bunkers were build to last so the history is preserved remarkably well. The costal defence gun battery at longues sur mer (near gold beach) is in incredible condition, the only real damage visible is the shelling done by the allies on dday +2 rather than any sign of ageing.
If you do ever get the opportunity to visit then I couldn’t recommend it more.
This is what I call quality content. You just earned another subscriber! Keep it up brother!
My great grandfather was there with the big red one I never got to meet him he is my hero I know he is in a better place with his friends that he lost over there
I'm about an hour from Ft Riley, BIG RED ONE!
Great channel. I live in Folkestone which has a heavy history with WW1 & WW2. I enjoyed the way this is explained.
Interesting historical information. Hope your channels grows, i enjoy your vids.
jspr101 thank you for your kind words!
Nice.. thanks for not inserting movie clips and just sticking to the history
Thank you for your video, I'm going to Normandy next week and it's helped alot
Jake Dowling I’m happy to hear that! I hope you enjoy your visit.
Just stumbled to your videos somehow and I'm glad that i came across your channel. Keep up the good! I hope you make a lot more videos!
Been to all the landing sites several times now , done Pointe du hoc last year what a place, some of the bomb craters are huge , when you visit you can still feel the presence of the soldiers as if some how the ghosts are still there , really humbling.
Great job. We’ll put together. As a suggestion, it would also have been good to zoom in on the cemetery.
75 years ago today. Never forget.
Sad to think about, i reenact WW1 and NO ONE knows anything ;/
Yeah ... absolutely great channel. Thank you for this. Run, Forrest .... run ...
Hi Forest can you cover amelia earhart please ?
And didn't the Allies set up Patton as the commander of the Calais "invasion"?
Davey Givens Yup, they put him in charge of that Operation, and it successfully ended
Love all your videos. Very educational. Very informative.
No disrespect for the video or to all the heroes who got in those boats, gliders, and jumped from the planes. Even the defenders, much respect.
I just wanted to say, when the video started you said "...a place in france." And a song from when I was kid immediately popped in my head and I said out loud "Where the na#ked ladies dance. There's a hole in the wall where.." lol sorry had to share.
Really enjoy many of the videos you create - they add some good context to memorable events. Just one thing though...your pronunciation of French words. Oh boy... Anyway, please keep up the good work!
It would be the same thing if you asked someone who spoke only French, Italian, Spanish or any other language to pronounce another country's city. Would you be as critical in that instance? There's no reason for that.
@@dansullivan8648 The absence of perfection is excused with a modicum of effort.
Much victims many casualties. That's why I hate war.
Cheers from Indonesia
Great videos. Glad I stumbled onto them.
Johnny Quest I’m happy you enjoy them!
Your channel is awesome!!!
Took a day trip from Paris to Normandy, and toured Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and the American Cemetery. An unforgettable day.
You also should have done the paratroopers landing
Next episode i hope.
Loup5264 it would be neat but he would be going all over Normandy for that; the planes came under such heavy fire that they mis-dropped all over the place.
Your channel is just in time! Too many people are forgetting our nation's history, so we're inevitably repeating it. I hope this channel takes off and changes things.
Jason Coleman that would be a good thing. I started this channel as an experiment and now I might have to give it some serious attention!:))))
Do they still teach this stuff in schools? Fortunately, they did when I was in school (~10-15yrs ago, UK).
Yes... Yes they still teach WWII history in school. They could teach us how to do taxes, but this is more important. Now don't get me wrong, I love history, but it's not going to help me get a job as historian jobs are over saturated the last time I checked.
Oh by the way, they still like to try and push the Bible down kids throats because they can't stand the fact that kids nowadays don't need a fairy tale to function.
Forrest. You did a good job here in your presentation.! I will check out the other videos you have posted about WW2 as seen from google earth, today. I see there are many other people with similar videos, I will check those out.! Bottom line, a Salute to those extremely brave men who attacked those beaches to stop the scourge of Nazism and Fascism. Brave, Brave men who accepted their fate and did what the plan was.!!!
Two grandfathers and a great uncle landed on Juno Beach.🇨🇦
Dear Heavenly Father May those souls lost on that beach rest in paradise
Was just in Normandy this summer. Amazing.
Just Amazing thank You So Much 😊
Andy Rooney wrote an excellent memoir which includes information on D-day.
When is the last time you heard a Thank You from France?
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ``lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.'' . . .
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''
Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.
Ronald Reagan
June 6, 1984
my grandfather landed on gold at ver sure mer, brilliant to see all this! x
Funny thing is, the short distance to Calais would have hindered the invasion. Too small a distance. Would have been a maritime bottleneck. Also, not a wide enough area to land as many divisions as they did.
A Maritime Bottleneck, wow that's a crazy thought and vision!
Little-known D-Day facts: The British beaches 'Sword' and 'Gold' were actually short for Swordfish and Goldfish. They wanted Canada's landing beach, Juno, to be called Jelly (for Jellyfish). The Canadians, understandably, refused.
Also, a sixth beach, Band, was located just east of Sword. It was determined that a landing there was not required, & the troops were re-allocated to other landing sites.
Thank you for sharing. I didn't know that.
My mother's brother, Herbert King, Uncle Buddy, was one of the Rangers who survived.
The Rangers who took Pointe du Hoc did find the guns that were pulled back later in the day and destroyed them. Their mission was successful.
Love your channel! Could you do a video on the zodiac killer?
They even recruited top directors of the time from Hollywood as well as several actors to teach the doubles how to act naturally during Operation Bodyguard. I remember my High School history teacher telling us about this. Awesome stuff.
These videos give me the chills
I remember going on Holiday to this area, near Gold Beach. I remember going to the beach and i was trying to dig for bones, i feel a bit bad now that i'm older.
Don't.
@@thomasdaniels6824 No shit sherlock 🤦♂️
Well done! Everyone should know of the sacrifice made by the allies to save the world.
I have visited Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Utah Beach, the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach and a number of other places in Normandy, as an American it's hard to describe how awesome it is to actually visit these places, standing on the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach at low tide and seeing how far these men had to run under enemy fire is surreal to imagine...
Stephen Manuel Ooh, I have been there too, And the cemetery you talked about is called “Garden of the missing” right??
The howitzers were moved to Maisy battery - near to the village of Grandcamp-Maisy.
They were actually only moved a few hundreds yard back, into a farmer’s field.
Spanish double-agent Pujol, working for the Allies, radioed to the Germans that the invasion was on for Calais. He timed his message so that it was too late for the Germans to move down the coast.
Omaha Beach has got a lovely golf course on it now.
The odd pill box still marks part of the course
Great video, the only thing you could have done differently is if you would have talked about the German casualties as well, even though they were the "bad guys" they were people as well. You have other intresting videos as well, earned a sub right here.
when you realise those huge casualties alone on Omaha Beach and start thinking "that goddam war.." and then you continue looking at casualties of the battle of stalingrad...
They were all brave Americans giving their lives for their country. Thanks!
Thanks for that information very interesting.👍
I think it's worth mentioning that the Allied powers ruse wasnt to just invade Calais, but there were several other landing sites that they were feeding to the germans, which forced them to spread their troops out, and even when the landings in normandy occured the germans still thought that an invasion was going to occur in the other places.
If anyone interested in expanding their understanding of D-Day should read the following books:
D-Day Through German Eyes by Holger Eckhertz
The Dead and Those About to Die: D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach
by John C. McManus
Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944
by Joseph Balkoski
I think you should do one on Gallipoli
Excellent vid mate
Good stuff, the question I have always had is we had a good idea Ohama was the most well defended so why didn't we try to outflank them from other beaches?
this got recommended for me 06/06/2021, 77 years later
I read an article, not too long ago, that said they knew the guns were gone (before invading) and the commander of the Ranger unit made the decision to go in anyway.
Is pointe du hoc also known ad hackshaw ridge??
General RINGO no. That movie was about Desmond Doss on Okinawa.
Forrest Haggerty Okinawa is far away from Du hoc
Only 6k subs for such a good content.
Diego Felipe it’s slowing growing. Four days ago it was at 1,200 subs:))))
Your channel is very interesting
God bless them all.
Thank you
I saw Hastings, and was wondering if you've looked at doing similar videos but with more ancient battles?
I love the way Americans say British... couldn't tell you why.
I could imagine what was waiting for them in the supposed invasion area
My grandfather and his brother landed with the 18th Field Engineers of the 3rd Cdn Division. They were in the 3rd wave and landed in front of Courselles du Mer.
It's "Courselles sur Mer"
vector8633 no, it’s Courseulles Sur-Mer
I live in a small village on the Kent coast on a clear day I can see Calais and one part of the concrete harbour used on these beaches according to local history it came loose on route to France and was just left there
0 dislikes - let’s keep it that way!
2 flat-earthers have since disliked the video :/
Who fucking cares? Why are people so obsessed with a few dislikes?
Awesome video! But just wondering about the paratroopers involvement?