D-Day Flashcards

Flashcards covering vocabulary and key details from the D-Day lecture notes.

D-Day

The invasion of Normandy, France in June 1944.

World War II

Started in September 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland.

Phoney War

A period during which soldiers were waiting in France behind the Maginot line.

Most famous victory in history (from German pov)

The fall of France.

Pétain

Chose to collaborate with Hitler.

De Gaulle

Tried to impulse a movement of resistance from London.

Dunkirk

British army was evacuated from here.

Operation Barbarossa

German army invaded USSR.

USA, December 8th, 1941

Entered the war after the bombings on Pearl Harbor.

Operation Overlord

The codename for the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Trident Conference (May 1943)

Conference where Allied leaders agreed to project an invasion of France for May 1944.

Pas de Calais

Allies knew that Hitler was foreseeing a landing here.

Tehran Conference (December 1943)

Conference where Roosevelt and Stalin agreed on the necessity of a landing in France.

Eisenhower

Became Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces for Operation 'Overlord'

• Extended landing zone (Cherbourg port)

• Delayed D-Day to June 1944 (initially planned for May 1944)

Montgomery

Worked with Eisenhower to expand the scale of the initial invasion.

Hitler’s Directive n°40

Hitler's directive outlining the need to defend European coasts against enemy landings.

Festungen (Fortresses)

Strategic port cities like Cherbourg, Brest and Antwerp.

Stützpuntkte (Strong Points)

Sites of secondary importance.

Widerstandnesten (Resistance Nests)

Less hardened installatiions featuring interconnected bunkers and medium caliber guns.

Pas de Calais

The area in France that was heavily defended and dubbed the Iron Coast.

Führer Directive No. 51

Called for a fundamental reorientation of German strategy, strengthening the West against a potential Anglo-American landing.

Erwin Rommel

Charged with improving the defenses of the Atlantic Wall.

• Installed millions of mines, tank obstacles, and beach obstacles to impede enemy movement from the sea.

Higgins boats

Flat-bottomed boats that carry light vehicles or up to 100 men.

Teller Mines

Anti-vehicle mines that can be triggered in high tide by landing craft.

Hedgehogs

Jagged balls of crossed rails to make landing at high tide impossible.

Bouncing Betties (S-mines)

Propel themselves 60-120 cm upward before the main charge explodes.

Operation Fortitude

Codename of the cover plan for Neptune, aiming to mislead the enemy about the location and timing of the invasion.

Operation Neptune

The amphibious invasion of Normandy.

Operation Fortitude North

Convinced the Germans that an Allied invasion of Norway was imminent. Failed bc Hitler didn’t send more troops but succeded in that he didn’t put them in France

Operation Fortitude South

Misled the Germans regarding the location and timing of the impending invasion.

• Spy networks led by Garbo

• Fake army : General Patton

Mulberry Harbors

2 temporary artificial ports used by Allied ships to safely anchor and stage the massive operation.