In the Western Allied strategic bombing campaign against the Third Reich and its occupying powers from 1943 to 1944, the Allied Air Force on the Western Front dropped a total of 608,000 tons of bombs.

The main targets were the Third Reich's shipyards, aircraft manufacturing plants, oil refineries and other industrial facilities. During the entire strategic bombing process, 3.5 million houses were destroyed, and six to seven million people were displaced and homeless.

Directly killing more than 350,000 people and injuring 700,000 people.

Strategic bombing severely damaged the industrial base of the Third Reich and greatly reduced its military production capacity. At the same time, it also trapped a large number of German troops in air defense positions and was unable to concentrate troops to support other battlefields.

Strategic bombing facilitated the large-scale landing operations that opened up the second battlefield in Europe.

In 1944, after the Allied forces on the Western Front determined the time to open the second battlefield, strategic bombing began to shift to preparations for landing operations.

The Allied air forces reduced the intensity of bombing the Third Reich homeland and dropped a large number of bombers into France.

In the first two months of 1944, thousands of Allied bombers bombed French railways, roads, airports, etc.

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Before D-Day, nearly all rail transportation systems were destroyed;

The air force of the Third Reich was continuously consumed by the repeated battles of aerial fighters. By March, the number of combat aircraft of the Third Reich in France was less than 1,000, with a maximum of 800.

Most of these combat aircraft are unable to take off for combat due to lack of pilots, fuel, qualified parts, etc.

The air power of both sides is no longer on the same level.

The time has finally arrived on March 3, the landing day that everyone has been waiting for.

The atmosphere in the operations room of the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force was extremely solemn and tense. Even Eisenhower could not maintain a calm demeanor at this moment. He kept pacing in front of the map and occasionally raised his wrist to look at his watch.

The weather tonight is clear with weak moonlight, which is conducive to airborne operations.

The combat ships have left the port and are sailing to the other side of the strait in accordance with the original combat plan.

Fatty Qiu in London and President Roosevelt in Washington were also holding their breath and paying attention to this large-scale landing operation with great historical and political significance.

Countless people felt that they were about to witness history.

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Military generals and politicians from various countries are looking forward to but nervous.

If we look at this landing operation in the context of the entire war, its significance is far less than what Eisenhower, Roosevelt and others thought. It is suspected of being over-hyped and over-emphasized.

Looking back on the entire war process, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk and the ongoing Dnieper Strangulation are of equal significance and scale to the upcoming Normandy landings.

Turning their sights to the east, the Central Xia army successively annihilated the Japanese North China Front Army, the Japanese China Expeditionary Army, the Japanese Southern Army, etc. Their contribution and impact on the war was also huge.

And these very meaningful battles took place during the most difficult stage of the entire war.

Now that the situation has improved, the Third Reich is declining and is in danger. The opening of the second battlefield in Europe this time is more to compete for post-war interests. Of course, the word liberation will be paid more attention to in the propaganda.

The Allies on the Western Front are so anxious, so aggressive, and so mighty. The essence is because of the pressure from other battlefields and the great competition between the East and the West.

Prior to this, the largest landing operation organized by the Allied forces on the Western Front was Operation Husky, the landing in Sicily.

The scale of this landing operation was several times that of Operation Husky, which was enough to make the Allied generals excited.

Operation Overlord has been prepared for nearly a year, and the Allied forces on the Western Front have mobilized all the elites from various regions here.

The total number of troops in Operation Overlord reached a staggering 2.9 million;

Among them, the army has 36 divisions, 23 infantry divisions, 10 armored divisions, and three airborne divisions, with an army strength of 1.53 million;

The navy has invested nearly 6,000 combat ships of various types, including Zhongxia's two expeditionary fleets, a total of 6 super aircraft carriers, 15 battleships, 51 cruisers, 144 destroyers, and a total of more than 4,200 large and small landing ships.

ship.

In addition, there are 5,000 military and civilian transport ships responsible for transporting materials and personnel.

As for the Air Force, there are more than 13,000 combat aircraft of various types.

Among them are nearly 3,500 heavy bombers, 1,600 medium, light and torpedo bombers, 5,500 fighters and nearly 3,000 gliders.

The strength of the navy, land and air forces was unprecedentedly strong, and it was even the strongest in all Allied battles.

The Western Allies spent all their resources, with the United States making the greatest contribution.

The U.S. military accounts for 1.55 million of the 2.9 million navy, land and air force.

The Allies are so strong, but what about the Third Reich?

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Since Mustache decided to build the Atlantic Wall, the Third Reich armies on the Western Front have focused on defense.

A total of 61 divisions of troops were deployed by the Third Reich on the entire Atlantic Wall.

Among them are 33 coastal defense divisions, 15 infantry divisions, 10 armored divisions, and 2 paratrooper divisions, with a total strength of less than 1 million.

The command of 8 of the 10 armored divisions is in the hands of Mustache alone. Without Mustache's order, no one is allowed to mobilize to prepare and support forces for strategy.

Army Group B is stationed in northern France and has jurisdiction over the 15th Army Group and the 7th Army Group, with 39 divisions.

They will directly face 3 million Allied troops.

The Third Reich's air and naval forces were very weak, and were nothing compared to the Allies.

All the Germans on the Western Front could rely on was the rock-solid Atlantic Wall, which they spent two years building.

A large number of forts and countless reinforced concrete bunkers were built along the entire defense line.

The caliber of the shore defense guns installed in the fort ranges from 88 mm to 406 mm;

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Various reinforced concrete bunkers and fortifications contain not only machine gun firepower, but also various infantry support artillery.

Millions of mines were deployed offshore, followed by landmines. There were a large number of obstacles on the beach behind the mines, including rails made of rails, barbed wire, etc.

Although there are still many loopholes and shortcomings, it is still a daunting line of defense.

There is a huge gap in strength between the two sides, but that does not prevent a violent collision on March 3.

On March 1st and 2nd, it was rainy and foggy on the strait, and the weather did not allow landing.

Therefore, Marshal Rundstedt, the commander-in-chief of the Third Reich's front line, and his staff believed that the Allied forces would not land at this time, and the various units on the defense line were also relaxed.

The aftermath of the assassination had not completely dissipated, and Lundstedt did not devote himself entirely to the defense of the Atlantic Wall.

German generals at all levels knew that the Allied forces would land in March, but at the same time they did not think it would be in the first few days of March.

In the early morning of March 3, 2,400 transport aircraft and 800 gliders carrying three airborne divisions took off from more than 20 military airports on the island of Great Britain.

Such a huge group of aircraft was quickly captured by the German radar after approaching the coastline. The sirens blared loudly, and the soldiers got out of their warm quilts and rushed into the bunker.

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In the faint moonlight, Allied soldiers from three airborne divisions landed behind the coast despite German anti-aircraft fire on the ground.

White parachutes covered the entire sky, transport planes and gliders were overhead, comrades were overwhelming beside them, and the dark earth was beneath their feet.

The light emitted by the German anti-aircraft firepower points on the ground was frightening. Bullets and artillery shells flew past our ears, and from time to time we could hear the wails and screams of our comrades.

The soldiers of the Airborne Division tried their best to operate the parachutes, but they encountered emergencies one after another. After landing on the ground, almost everyone deviated from the target area, and no organization could be found.

Some poor guys were hit by anti-aircraft fire in mid-air, and their bodies were left dangling.

There are also some hanging on churches, trees, telephone poles...

Some people fell into the swamp carefully arranged by the German army at the rear. They only had time to flutter a few times, and then they were dragged by all their equipment and sank into the cold water.

The process of landing in the air was frightening, and after landing on the ground, it was even more dangerous.

However, these three divisions are completely different from the five airborne divisions used by the Soviet army to parachute to the west bank of the Dnieper River. They have undergone rigorous and sophisticated training.

Among them, the 101st Airborne Division has been training for more than two years for this day.

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Despite the various conditions, the airborne troops continued to move toward the mission area without hesitation after landing.

The mission of the three airborne divisions is to occupy the coastal arteries behind the coast, control various transportation hubs, and block enemy reinforcements.

News of the Allied airborne troops reached the Western Front headquarters in Paris as soon as possible.

After hearing that the airborne landing was at the rear of Normandy, Rundstedt frowned and said subconsciously:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Based on various geographical, hydrological, and weather conditions, combined with the intelligence obtained, both Rundstedt and Rommel believed that the most likely place for the Allied forces to land was Calais.

The Channel of Calais is narrow, only 33 kilometers at its narrowest point.

Both Rundstedt and Rommel placed their main forces in the direction of Calais.

Although Mustache had previously said that the Allied forces might land in Normandy and asked the Western Front General Command to strengthen the defense of Normandy, Rundstedt still believed that it was unlikely to happen.

Hearing that there were only three airborne divisions, Rundstedt immediately concluded that this was an attempt by the enemy to attack the east and west, and the Normandy area could never be the real landing site.

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Soon after, coastal radar reported signs of large-scale fleet activity simultaneously in the Normandy and Calais areas.

Rundstedt was a little unsure at first, because he had been defeated by the Zhongxia people on the Eastern Front battlefield, so the first thing he asked was the direction of the Zhongxia super aircraft carrier's final movement.
To be continued...