Allon Posen

Why were the American troops on D-Day ultimately successful,

and why did the German defenses fail?

 D-Day (Operation Overload)– June 6th, 1944

 Hitler conquered too much territory
 Germany fighting on two fronts
 The German Atlantic Wall never actually finished
 Rommel did not have command of the defensive divisions – Hitler had total control
 U.S. had a general superiority in the air and at sea as well
 “Double-Cross System” Britain had turned all German spies in England into double-
agents, who passed reliable and accurate, but irrelevant or late, information to the
Nazi Command. The Nazis thus believed the information given to them by these
spies, and misinformation could fed to them as well.
 The French Resistance provided vital first-hand information on troop movements,
fortifications, and conditions on the beaches and surrounding areas.
 New British and American commandos

The Americans troops on D-Day were successful mainly because of pure luck that the
German defenses failed. Firstly, German forces were spread thin, Germany were fighting
wars on two fronts. In addition the Atlantic Wall was never actually finished, which was
meant to protect the German empire from these types of attacks. Germany was a
Totalitarian country, the attack occurred very far from Berlin were Hitler was at the time of
D-Day. Communication in 1944 was not as efficient as it is today, as a result, no defenses
got underway until approval from Hitler himself was given. After the Allied forces were
given the command to attack from the top, the rest of the operation was conducted by
soldiers’ independent decisions. If something that was not planned for occurred, soldiers
were able to make up a plan because reporting back to the top is a lengthy process.
Democracy encourages individual initiative because in a democratic society a person’s fate
is in their own hands, therefore the Allied soldiers were given the opportunity to fight for
their country and for their lives.