Anyone know the meaning of D-day and the actual numbers engaged in battle?

[theivoryqueen]

There's a show on the history channel that claims that it was the biggest battle ever fought - was it? I think that claim includes troops from both sides. Links most appreciated. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[SheilaT]

1. The D of D-Day

simply stands for Day. It was also H-Hour for the hour they went ashore.

Don't know the actual numbers involved, but it was very big. Many thousands. All we ever hear in this country is the landing on Omaha Beach, but there were about five other landing sites with the soldiers of other countries landing at those.

You might try a google search, but that might give you more hits than you can efficiently go through.

[theivoryqueen]

2. you are correct - the google search tore apart the phrasing

and gave me a lot of entries that were related to aids research and other assorted sundry. I did find one - since posting - that included a tentative suggestion that "D" meant day - something about military planning. But I thought we had larger numbers of participants in several battles of our own civil war. I need to get off me arse and visit the library. Always a good idea.

[texas1928]

3. Here is a little about it.

http://www.dday.org/html/d-day_history.html

[theivoryqueen]

7. thank you

I am reading it now...

[texas1928]

10. If you want to read more about it

Get Stephen E. Ambroses' books Band of Brothers or D-Day.
He tells the story from the enlisted mans view. He interviewed hundreds of Vets to write his books. D-Day the book gives you a better idea of how it was fought and how tough it really was. You can also read Pegasus Bridge. That is another one he wrote about the British Airborne's role in the taking of the Orne River Bridge in the early hours of the morning on D-Day. The British 6th Airborne were the first to land on D-Day. They landed around midnight at the Bridge.

[texas1928]

4. Or do a search for Operation Overlord.

That is it's official title.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. Fewer casualties than I thought

156,215 troops landed
10,300 casualties
6,000+ deaths
(source: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWdday.htm)

--bkl

[theivoryqueen]

9. Thank you also - love DUers for good web info!

I appreciate your link, I am not as informed as I should be about this countries efforts at war. It is a sin I am trying to rectify.

[LastDemocratInSC]

6. I believe it was it the largest land invasion in history

Hundreds of ships, hundreds of airplanes, tens of thousands of men, a huge operation logistically and geographically. It was a defining day in the history of Western civilization. It was the day when the glue that binds us almost didn't hold ... it was extremely risky and we owe our present fortunes, whatever those might be, to the lives of those men.

Over 10,000 American soldiers died on that one day on those beaches - an average of 450 per hour for 24 hours, and that's only the Americans, and only the first day.

I think that none of us here celebrate militarism ... sometimes it must be used ... and always, the sacrifices are enormous.

[Zuni]

15. Nope, it was the largest amphib invasion

With a two army landing on a 50 mile wild front, it was the largest amphib operation ever mounted.
The largest land invasion was the invasion of the USSR by Germany in June 1941. 3.5 Million German and Axis soldiers invaded Russia.

[TXlib]

21. Your statistics disagree with BKL's above

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=1213383&mesg_id=1213464&page=

Which are right?

[Heyo]

8. Certanly right up there....

I'm not sure how many were killed but I was a huge amount..

I can't imagine what those guys must have felt like running up that beach.....

But it was that invasion that made possible the liberation of Europe.

Heyo

[St. Jarvitude]

13. Back when liberation really meant liberation...

You know, not tyranny and torture of civilians.

[Heyo]

20. Right, almost forgot...

Can't let a conversation go by without bashing the U.S.

Thanks for reminding me.

Heyo

[DEMVET-USMC]

11. It was a large battle but many larger battles have taken place

For instance during the battle of Berlin wich involved the Russian army vs the German army the Russian army lost over 300,000 men. No one knows how many Germans died. To give this some perspective America`s total losses during WWII for both the anti German and axis powers war and the war against Japan were some what less than 300,000 dead. The Largest battle I am aware of was called the Battle of Kursk ,some thing like that. Regardless the Russian vs German armies battles of WWII were the most deadly in shear numbers of any war ever. The Russians lost over 20 million men killed. It was a fight to the death for both armies. Both sides were under orders to take no prisoners and to never surrender. Stalin went so far as to use what he called blocking Brigades to arrange themselves with machine guns behind some of his front line troops to shoot any Russians trying to retreat. Often these front line troops were from so called penal brigades wich you could get assigned to for any however trivial offense. Thier main purpose was to be those front line assault troops in these massive battles that raged across Eastern Europe. There was a very good series put out by either the history channel or PBS about all this. It was a 10 part series titled "STALIN`S WAR". If I`m not mistaken fully 80% of the German army was arrayed against the Russian Army at the time of the D-DAY Landings. The Russians were advancing and the Germans could not afford to use them very much as reinforcements on the Western Front. As to the American Army ,I always thought the largest battles took place during the Civil war and that the Battle of Gettysburg accounted for the most dead of any battle. There was another Civil war battle where there were more men killed in a single day took place, might have been Fredericksburg or Cold Harbor .I`m no Historian so am not sure. ...Oscar

[argyl]

14. Most US soldiers killed in a single day was at Antietam,in Maryland

during the Civil War.Over 30,000 killed.

[Zuni]

17. No

About 6,000 were killed. 23,000 Casualties for Union and Confederate combined, including wounded and captured.
Bloodiest day of combat in American history.
Bloodiest single day of combat has to be July 1, 1916, when the British Army lost 60,000 men (20,000 dead) at the Somme River in one day.

[DEMVET-USMC]

23. Thank you for that correction. Sounds right to me.

...Oscar

[TXlib]

22. Many of the 20 million Russian dead...

were killed by the Russians themselves... NKVD, forerunner of the KGB.

They conducted a political and ethnic purge of their own under the cover of war, expecting it to be assumed the germans did it.

[Zuni]

25. 27 million

20 million is what the Russians claimed in 1945. Most scholars and archivists believe the number is closer to 27 million.

[DEMVET-USMC]

27. You are a great resource Zuni on many subjects

Appreciate you`re being here. ...Oscar

[lpbk2713]

12. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest engagement that the

American forces were ever involved in. Over a half million.

Link: http://helios.acomp.usf.edu/~dsargent/bestbulge2.htm

The Battle for Leningrad was the largest of any war in terms of troops involved and in casualties (US troops were not in this one).

[Zuni]

16. Battle of Kursk was largest number engaged at once

Leningrad was under siege for 900 days. As many as 2 million died there.
Kursk, in July 1943, was the largest single pitched battle of the war. Also Kursk had more tanks and armored vehicles engaged than any other battle in history.

[DEMVET-USMC]

24. Thanks Zuni, I thought I was right about that. My memory isn`t always as

reliable. I guess I got that one right. ...Oscar

[Zuni]

18. I think about 175,000 troops

were in the landing, divided between the US 1 Army and the UK 2 Army. The landing itself was under the overall command of British Field Marshal Montgomery, who in turn answered to Supreme Allied Commander, Eisenhower.
Divisions landing were: (US) 1INF, 4INF, 29INF, 82ABN, 101ABN;plus 2nd and 5th Rangers
(UK)3INF, 51(HIGHLAND), 6ABN: plus 1 and 4 Commando Brigades, 42 and 45 Royal Marine Commandos
(CAN) 3INF

[GOPisEvil]

19. Read Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day"

Great D-Day book. Almost encylopedic!

[Zuni]

26. All 3 of Ryan's books

The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far and The Last Battle are among my all time favorites.
All 3 are must reads for anyone remotely interested in WWII

[amjsjc]

28. Actually it was the biggest Amphibious Landing of all time

The numbers of US Servicement involved (about 100,000 actually landed on D-Day) and the number of casualties (10,000) would have been comprable to Civil War era battles. As several other people have already noted, the largest battles actually occured on the Russian front.