The second key element was the beaches or, rather, the six Allied infantry divisions — three American, two British, and one Canadian — that were to land on them at just after dawn on June 6th. These units would have to fight their way ashore, establish a firm hold on each beach and the areas immediately inland of them, and then link up with one another as quickly as possible. The airborne landings, which were being conducted on a scale never before tried, and the amphibious landings, which turned out to be the largest ever in history, had to both be successful before German tanks and other units could be brought forward from inland France.
In addition to the German defenders and defenses, the Allies had to contend with high seas and only just-tolerable weather conditions, which initially forced Eisenhower to postpone the invasion from its original date of June 5th, and gamble that June 6th, when better weather was forecast, would be followed by a few extra days of clear skies to facilitate air cover and follow-on forces.
The lives of so many thousands of troops — Allied and enemy — were in his hands, along with the fate of a continent. With a loss the magnitude of a D-Day failure, the finger pointing and blame would have extended far and wide.
While in reality Allied leadership would be at a collective fault, it is unfortunately not the nature of politics to assume and proceed from such a rationale conclusion. In all likelihood, two outlooks would have prevailed between the Anglo-American nations. The British during the Second World War following their evacuation from France in June were very conservative in their ambitions for returning to Western Europe later in the war.
British hesitancy was composed partly in their initially accurate assessment that the Allies were not yet properly prepared for that blood letting prior to summer In addition to their national nightmare fighting the German land army during the Great War two decades prior.
Britain prior to would have done most of the fighting with British Army divisions, as the United States was not yet fully mobilized for war. Britain due to this strategic reality possessed the early upper hand in their strategic wrangling with the United States. American war planners originally expressed a more cavalier approach in creating a true Second Front by crossing the channel, shortly after entering the conflict in December ; eyeing the goal of landings in northern France at some point in If the D-Day invasion had failed, the British would have likely claimed that their previously stated arguments for placing a cross-channel operation at the bottom of Allied strategic priorities should have been heeded.
The U. By design, the dual invasion was intended to force the Germans to divide their redeployment response in France to engage both Allied offensives.
Operation Anvil was ultimately canceled for June 6th because the necessary landing craft for the invasion were unavailable. The craft had been in use at Anzio , a failed attempt to break the deadlock at Casino in Italy. The invasion of southern France ultimately commenced as Operation Dragoon, on 15 August, — two months after its greatest potential for strategic significance had passed. John P. Lucas, Major General and commander on the ground for the U.
VI Corps. Had D-Day failed, the U. Moreover, it may well have created the opportunity for the Red Army to advance into Western Europe. Italy was considered a diversionary theater of operations, and the landing crafts usage there would have been viewed by American war planners as foolishly squandering military resources. In doing so, concluding the crafts usage should have been used in the Mediterranean invasion supporting Operation Overlord in northern France: the theater of highest agreed upon strategic priority.
Moreover, U. As acrimonious as the diplomatic and military relations would be following a D-Day failure, the wide-spread political ramifications would have been catastrophic. Roosevelt, November On June 6th, President Roosevelt was five months away from his fourth and final presidential election. The final result historically was not close against Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E.
Dewey of New York. FDR rode his continued popularity with the American public, as well as the significant Allied military progress by November of that year. By Election Day not only had France been almost entirely liberated by Allied forces, but most of Belgium was largely in Allied hands. Meanwhile, Italy was also occupied just beyond Bologna. Had a complete D-Day failure occurred, none of this would have been possible by Election Day.
It would have colored the entirety of the election, leading the American public to consider very different issues at the polls. In a presidential race where the primary issue was choosing the candidate suited for creating the best American post-war peace, a D-Day failure would have immediately raised questions and issues where none existed historically:. The voters response to the final question may have demonstrated a crisis of confidence, whose resolution would have directed the future war effort.
Nor would the Roosevelt Administration be alone on the political hot stove. Specifically in view of the aforementioned British losses experienced in northern France during the First World War, understandably scarring the British national memory after fighting the Germans there. Both instances embodied a tortuous legacy in the minds of all Britons at that time. In addition to the collective disgrace following the surrender of forces stationed at Tobruk in June Winston Churchill, despite his irreplaceable role rallying his nation for a continued fight effectively alone between summer and summer , he was under pressure to deliver.
Cripps became a popular figure in the U. Whilst this is going on, the Soviets continue their fight in the east. Upon hearing about the failure in Northern France, Stalin is angered that his Western Allies have not upheld their part of the deal and opened up another front to relieve the pressure on his forces.
Even so, the Red Army pushes on against a reinforced German side. However, the Germans are still wary of another land invasion by the Allies and so do not free up all their resources to the Eastern Front. The tactical bombing hampers German infrastructure and gradually the Nazi war machine begins to run out of resources, although there is still no clear end in sight.
The Holocaust continues unabated leading to the death of many more Jewish people than in our timeline. The success of the Manhattan Project in mid leads to a sliding doors moment in this scenario. If the U. By claiming victory at D-day, the Germans have been given a significant morale boost. As already mentioned, they had long been fighting a defensive war by the time D-day came along. So, in most likely scenarios, if not all, a German victory on the beaches of Normandy still leads to an overall military defeat for them.
It could be argued though, there is a small chance that if they are able to hang on long enough militarily, they might be able to secure a peace. It will still depend on a lot of chips falling in their favour:. After the failure at Normandy, Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the November elections. His replacement takes a different view on the war in Western Europe, causing America to slip into isolation or at the very least turn its attention solely to the Pacific and defeating Japan, leaving the fate of Europe in the hands of the Soviets.
Without American support, Britain refuses to commence a land invasion on mainland Europe. Atomic bombs are also subsequently kept away from German cities since American attention is elsewhere. Since America is now out of the European conflict and focussing its efforts on Asia, the threat of land invasion from the west is now completely gone. A significantly reinforced German army is able to slow down the Soviet advance.
The time gained has allowed them the opportunity to further develop and deploy their V-2 rocket, combined with additional chemical weaponry, the Germans are able to bring the Soviet advance to a halt. With the Eastern Front now locked in a stalemate and without an end to the war in sight, negotiations between the key players commence — peace without victory is now the most likely outcome.
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