Remembering D-Day: The Heroic Sacrifice of so many
Tadeusz Wozniak was one of many millions of displaced persons during WW2
As we approach 6 June, I’ll be remembering the sacrifice that millions made during World War II, including those of my grandfather, Tadeusz Wozniak. Known as Ted, he was only a teenager when the Germany army forced him out of his home, displacing him from Poland to a labour camp in Western Austria. Fortunately, Ted and several compatriots escaped to Switzerland. They later moved to England and joined the Polish army. Ted’s story is part of the larger tapestry of heroism and struggle culminating in events like the Normandy landings, which we remember 80 years on.
Why the Allies Invaded Northern France
In July 1943 the Allies begun the invasion of Sicily, and despite working their way through Italy, they had yet to get a foothold in Northern Europe. That would change under General Eisenhower.
The Allies assembled 194,000 troops for OPERATION OVERLORD, facing an estimated 57,000 German troops. On D-Day, Allied forces consisted primarily of American, British and Canadian troops, with additional support from Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian, and Polish contingents.
The German army may have thought the Allies would make their advance across the shortest section of the English Channel, from Dover to Calais. Instead, the Allied planning committee chose Normandy, a less defended section of the French coast.
Army Group B contained Seventh Army, defending Normandy and Brittany, and Fifteenth Army north of the River Seine. It was commanded by Hitler’s favourite, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who enjoyed a level of access to the Führer unavailable to other commanders, including von Rundstedt. Imperial War Museum
The Allies concentrated their invasion efforts by landing US, British and Canadian divisions at Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. On the night of 5/6 June 1944, the British 6th Airborne Division, along with the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, parachuted into Normandy.
June 1944 was a time of hope, but the complexities of Operation Overlord were immense. Historian Max Hastings notes that a US heavy armoured division required a combat load of 300,000 gallons of fuel per day. General Patton famously stated, “My men can eat their belts, but my tanks gotta have gas.”
It didn’t take the Allies long to get a foothold into Northern France, however a bloody and protracted battle across northern France would follow. Normandy, synonymous with the bocage - a landscape strewn with sunken lanes and thick hedgerows made fighting difficult. In 1944 manoeuvre warfare was embryonic, and it was often the case that officers commanding infantry units believed tank formations were there to support them, rather than the other way around.
World War 2 reading recommendation
War is serious business, but writers like Max Hastings and James Holland narrate the conflict in a compelling way. One of my all-time favourite books is "Brothers in Arms" by James Holland. Holland tells the story of 2Lt David Render, a tank commander who landed in Normandy two days after D-Day.
Sat in his Sherman tank, the landing craft approached the Normandy beachhead, and the commander ordered the first tank off the ramp. To Render’s astonishment, the Sherman and its crew sank to the bottom of the English Channel, never to be seen again. There was no fuss, just orders to move the landing craft further up the beach.
More atrocities of war became starkly evident when the Allies pushed deep into Germany. On 5 April 1945, soldiers of the British 11th Armored Division prepared to cross the River Elbe. A week later, recce troops from the Special Air Service discovered Bergen-Belsen, one of Hitler’s concentration camps. BBC Correspondent David Dimbleby witnessed the atrocities. ‘This day at Belsen was the most horrible of my life.’ BBC Correspondent David Dimbleby. National Army Museum
Victory and Reflection
On Wednesday, 8 May 1945, millions celebrated as the Allies signalled victory in Europe. The war in Europe had displaced millions, with men, women, and children losing their homes, some by choice and many by compulsion. Adults, and sometimes children, faced the harsh choice of wearing a uniform or rags.
Why We Fight
From Eisenhower’s army in the West to Marshal Leonid Govorov’s Soviet army in the East, and all the brave resistance in between, June 1944 brought together an extraordinary and diverse community united against a common enemy. Ted’s journey from a displaced teenager to a soldier in the Polish army exemplifies the resilience and courage that defined his era.
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