How Operation Overlord Impacted World War II

While many know D-Day as the largest amphibious invasion in history, they do not know how important the invasion was in the war. The operation was kept a secret to everyone except those who were in it. The Germans did not know until the very last moment that the Allies landed. By catching the Germans off guard this helped the operation succeed. The other main reason is because the Allies majorly outnumbered the Germans. Operation Overlord impacted World War II greatly because it was the turning point that ended the war in Europe. In August of 1943, American and British military chiefs met and began to outline Operation Overlord. British officials began to plan to land on enemy shores as early as 1940. They did not bring this idea to the attention
About 30,000 Polish people made up the beginning of the Warsaw uprising. Three Soviet Army divisions moved in on the outskirts of Warsaw, leading Polish General Komorowski to green light the uprising. After hearing the news of the uprising, Hitler swore punishment and sent more troops to the capital. The Pope himself appealed to the Allies for help after sensing Warsaw may be destroyed. On August 20th, the Germans managed to split the Polish resistance into three distinct groups. There were now over 21,300 German troops holding the Polish capital of Warsaw. Next, on August 22nd, after an additional 10,000 German troops were killed, the Allies officially cleared Normandy of all German troops. Some 50,000 German troops were also taken prisoner after this final attack. On October 3rd, the Polish rebels surrendered to the overpowering German forces. The Germans punished the Polish people by sending 250,000 civilians to be executed or to Nazi concentration camps. The Germans lost 3,500 infantrymen and 400 vehicles to the Allies on Christmas day. On January 17th, the Soviet Army finally pushed through Poland, and officially captured Warsaw. Next, the Soviet army entered Germany on February 5th. On February 13th, 800 Royal Air force bombers killed up to 130,000 inhabitants. The bombing also destroyed the city of Dresden. The Soviet front was only fifty miles from Berlin by March 31st. The Soviet army began the bombardment of Berlin on April 16th. This was the signal for the Allied armies to begin their final march towards the German capital. On April 20th, Hitler celebrated his 56th and final birthday, unaware that it would be his last. Hitler knew the Allies would soon storm the Nazi capital and capture the remaining Nazi leaders. So he ordered all of his generals and advisors to commit suicide and murder their families along with them. The Nazi leaders went on to kill all