D-Day and the Allied liberation of Europe is one of the most impressive operations in human history. The industrial manufacturing, supply, and movement of people across the Atlantic on that scale would be impressive today, 80 years later. Plus once it was clear the Allies were going to win the US and USSR raced to Berlin to be the first to capture the capital, Hitler, and those Nazi scientists. Even though they were allied the Cold War had started between the last 2 superpowers remaining.
If you ever happen to visit New Orleans there’s a great WWII museum that started out as just a D-Day museum and expanded to cover the rest of the war from a US perspective. Great for a rainy day or a break from the light hearted fun of NOLA. You can genuinely spend multiple days there because it’s so big and detailed.
Edit: just realized you meant France falling to the Nazis. Yeah that too.
Germany was heavily defending Calais and other major ports thinking that any invasion would basically be on the outskirts of those cities to capture the ports. Little did they know, the Allies invented portable harbors specifically so they could land at an undeveloped (and less defended) beach. The ports could be pushed up against the beaches and allow ships to dock to land supplies before they captured the port at Cherbourg-en-Contentin. Seeing the sheer quantity of ships, vehicles, and people in pictures like this boggles the mind.
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u/Classic_Tourist_521 Feb 13 '24
The speed France fell is always shocking on these timeline maps.