Why did so many soildiers die at d-day? in ww2 british and american?

Question

Why did so many soildiers die at d-day? in ww2 british and american?

Answer 1

It sounds like you know little of the landing or the ensuing battle. Maybe you should take time to go to the library and find out the facts of the biggest day our very freedom was at risk.

        About two million men attacked the beaches of Normandy France. The Germans had years to fortify these very beaches but, fortunately for the Allies, they were duped into a landing in the Northern areas and, with this, Hitler moved his elite units there.

         Even with this, the beaches were fortified to a point that little to no equipment could land, the trench eons and barbed wire, the cement blockades, the machine gun nests (bunkers) that had to take a direct hit to immobilize them. All were a deterrent to a landing.

           My father and Uncle, both told the stories of this landing. My Uncle, a "Tanker" said he was forced to drive over the bodies of comrades that were killed, to keep his own men safe in the tank, bodies that were piled up to six deep. My father said he moved inland, using the bodies of fallen comrades for shelter, up to six and eight deep.



             The landing, starting the fighting to free Europe from the n***s, was the begaining of the end of Hitlers rule.

Answer 2

Because they invaded German occupied Normandy.

By boats.

On to the beach where in some cases the Germans were in fortified positions waiting for them.

Those men were heroes

Answer 3

I think it was because someone was trying to kill them.

Losses at Normandy were considered very reasonable, compared to what it might have been like. Much better than some of the early foul-ups tried before.  At Dieppe, casualty figures were according to one source, of 6,090 men, 1,027 were killed and 2,340 captured. The German losses amounted to 311 killed, wounded, and missing.

Total Allied casualties on D-Day are estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. The total German casualties on D-Day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4000 and 9000 men.

Answer 4

Probably because the Germans were dug in and the British and Americans were attacking.

Answer 5

Attacking a fortified position by sea is a recipe for losses.  Watch the first combat sequence in "Saving Private Ryan" for an idea of what it was probably like.

Answer 6

its  hard to take a fortified beach

Answer 7

At Omaha beach the US troops were mauled by machine gun fire and mines.  The Brits pretty much walked ashore but got nailed later by German tanks.

Answer 8

First off, it's almost always easier to defend on your home soil than it is to invade someone else's country. Most of the troops attacked from the beach front. This gave the enemy a number of advantages. Not only did they have an elevated position but they had a couple hundred yards distance from the water (plenty of time to shoot again if you miss the first time). Additionally, most of the enemy had established themselves inside concrete bunkers with 50-calibur machine gun terets and small artillery rounds. Hope this helps!

Answer 9

They invaded mostly from the sea and therefore they were like sitting ducks.  They had no cover and had to wade ashore and run under a hail of fire to seek shelter and proceed in the battle.  The Germans had fortified positions and had erected barriers presicely against an invasion.  The Allies were also being attacked from the air during the invasion.

Answer 10

First of all soldiers attacking fortified position are at a disadvantage right away, the enemy has the high ground looking down on the beaches it is like a turkey shoot. Also a lot of the soldiers on D-Day were inexperienced and it was the first time they were in combat, another big factor was that the bombing of the defenses by the airforce was mainly ineffective, the German defenders where deep below the ground,and when the bombing was over they came back up and took their position again.