70th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion

[Georgy Zhukov]

Omaha was turning into such a nightmare that Eisenhower was seriously thinking of withdrawing the US troops and putting them on Utah or one of the British beaches. The problem with that is, there would have been a big 'bulge' in the allied bridgehead which the Germans could exploit, wiping out Utah and attacking the right flank of the British beaches.

But they've won the beach by the end of the day. Units were shattered so they gathered what survivors that made it to the beach and took out the German strongholds. Not bad since most of them never saw combat before.

[DieselDaisy]

Omaha was turning into such a nightmare that Eisenhower was seriously thinking of withdrawing the US troops and putting them on Utah or one of the British beaches. The problem with that is, there would have been a big 'bulge' in the allied bridgehead which the Germans could exploit, wiping out Utah and attacking the right flank of the British beaches.

But they've won the beach by the end of the day. Units were shattered so they gathered what survivors that made it to the beach and took out the German strongholds. Not bad since most of them never saw combat before.

Certainly, but it was so precarious for much of the day which is why Eisenhower raised the argument.

[Guest Len B'stard]

The house i live in at the moment once belonged to US Army, during the war it was a base in which they worked out of. It was later partioned into two houses. Anyway, this old fella, an army general once came by and knocked on next doors, asking if he could come in and have a look around, him being one of the army fellas operating out of there. According to him the whole Normandy thing was concocted whilst having tea out by the pond in my back garden.

Catch his name by any chance? Was he a general at the time or later became a general? I don't know of any American WWII generals who lived long enough to be able to come to your house in the 2000's (assuming that's when this took place?)

They would all be dead by 1985. He was more likely a major or even a Colonel.

Nah, probably a private who made the teas and shined the shoes of the generals. Gobbing off years later that he was a general.

You're not far wrong actually, I asked my Dad again about the whole thing and he said that it wasn't a general, that was me mis-hearing him, it was actually the butler of the place who lived in the cottage besides it (which is now a seperate dwelling, I mean it was before but I mean it's just someone elses now) and HE was the one who came around and visited and asked to be showed around and said that he was in service there for many years and it was by the pond in the expansive back garden where they sat and had coffee devised the whole thingie.

Since then i been googling names of generals and trying to like...suss out some sort of connection to the place, its sort of fascinating really, I'd really like to know more about the whole thing, wanna go knock on the neighbours and ask but i only ever get home late at night, wanna catch em on Sunday. I mean even before I heard this stuff I knew that the house belonged to US Army folks but I never knew it was generals or anything like that, or that anything important happened there. It is a listed building I suppose but not cuz of some kind of Menlove Avenue, National Trust thing, it's cuz of it's Victorian Architecture.

Might be a load of bollocks for all I know but they seem pretty straightforward honest folks next door, can't see why they'd lie. Then again maybe the guy who came over was lying but again, who the fuck makes up something like that, what for?

To think I been out smoking spliffs out where they dreamt up Normandy, Christ

[Georgy Zhukov]

Omaha was turning into such a nightmare that Eisenhower was seriously thinking of withdrawing the US troops and putting them on Utah or one of the British beaches. The problem with that is, there would have been a big 'bulge' in the allied bridgehead which the Germans could exploit, wiping out Utah and attacking the right flank of the British beaches.

But they've won the beach by the end of the day. Units were shattered so they gathered what survivors that made it to the beach and took out the German strongholds. Not bad since most of them never saw combat before.

Certainly, but it was so precarious for much of the day which is why Eisenhower raised the argument.

I wonder if he was worried about the paretroopers too.