This week on 6th June it will be 80 years since D-Day. The operation involved over 150,000 troops from allied nations. Its aim was to establish a foothold in occupied France and liberate Western Europe.
The beaches of Normandy were code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword. Soldiers faced heavy machine gun fire, barbed wire, and minefields as they stormed the shores. This is the largest amphibious invasion ever undertaken. Allied airborne troops were dropped behind enemy lines to secure key bridges and roadways. At dawn, an armada of over 5,000 ships carrying nearly 156,000 troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other Allied nations approached the Normandy beaches.
Immense casualties were sustained, and the Allied forces secured a foothold in Normandy.
By 1944, the World War II had been raging for nearly 5 years. D-Day is a day to remember the incredible sacrifices made by soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Within a week, over 326,000 troops, 50,000 vehicles, and 100,000 tons of equipment had landed. The success of D-Day was not just a military victory but a testament to international cooperation and strategic ingenuity.
The Normandy invasion paved the way for the liberation of Paris in August 1944
D-Day serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost of war. The heroism of D-Day came at a high price. The exact number of casualties remains uncertain but estimates suggest that the Allies suffered over 10,000 casualties on the first day alone, with more than 4,000 confirmed dead. The German forces also incurred significant losses.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill had asked for a plan to invade mainland Europe as early as October 1941, a disastrous raid on Dieppe in August 1942 demonstrated the need for careful planning and resources. Following the Dieppe raid, attacks were concentrated on North Africa and the Mediterranean. When the USA joined another raid into France became a possibility. Draft plans were submitted in July 1943 and the date was set for 1st May 1944.
Combined Operation Pilotage Parties were sent to obtain crucial information using foldable canoes, special swimsuits and a waterproof writing tablet. They sketched the shoreline, took samples and measured the gradient. During the failed Dieppe raid half the tanks got bogged down in the shingle.
Planners calculated that without an adequate fuel supply for the thousands of vehicles landing in Normandy a successful Allied invasion of Europe might grind to a halt. In 1942, a team of technicians and manufacturers began designing and testing equipment for a scheme named PLUTO – Pipe Line Under The Ocean. It was fully operational in autumn 1944, the PLUTO project brought fuel from terminals on the west coast of Britain and sent it across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. The pumping equipment was hidden in various buildings, such as bungalows and an ice cream shop.
Eventually, over 173 million gallons of fuel would be supplied to the fighting forces in this manner, through pipelines codenamed BAMBI and DUMBO.
There were other innovations used in the D-Day landings
British mathematician Arthur Thomas Doodson had developed a tide-prediction machine that was a mechanised calculator that could reveal tidal patterns. Naval operations required calm seas, and ground troops needed to land at low tide, when German beach obstacles were exposed and easier to deactivate. Using this machine, Doodson identified the exact time the landings should take place (H-Hour) and that D-Day should fall between 5 and 7 June.
Landing craft and horsa gliders brought troops to Normandy, the landing craft also brought supplies.
Hobart funnies were specialised armoured vehicles. Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers were created by adding specialised devices to tanks.
Mulberry harbours were created from old ships and concrete.
Museums, memorials, and historical sites dedicated to D-Day stand as testaments to this pivotal moment in history.
What an operation to be involved in and how did they all cope? What was their health like after such an experience? For those who experienced psychological trauma, psychiatrists were closer to the front line. The ‘shell shock’ of the First World War had become ‘battle exhaustion’ – a reflection of the better understanding of the complexity of mental trauma.
During World War II, it was determined by the US Army that the breaking point for a soldier on the front line was somewhere between 60 and 240 days, depending on the intensity and frequency of combat. Not long for a war that had been going for 5 years already.
“Combat Fatigue” was now recognised in Western medicine. In past wars and in the opening days of World War II, the War Department believed that soldiers suffering from combat fatigue had an underlying, pre-existing mental condition.
After the Guadalcanal Campaign, the US military learned that a serviceman’s ability to survive the psychological rigors of combat could not be predicted. The point was driven home when in 1943, one of the nation’s elite fighting forces suffered significant psychiatric casualties. More than 500 marines returning from Guadalcanal were treated for symptoms such as tremors, sensitivity to loud noises, and periods of amnesia—the condition was termed “Guadalcanal Disorder.”
The number of psychological casualties steadily rose. During the Normandy Campaign, army psychologists noted that the combat effectiveness of troops sharply declined after 30 days of combat. After 45 days, troops were in a near vegetative state. Psychiatrist John Appel, who studied combat exhaustion cases during the Battle of Monte Cassino and Anzio Campaign, came to the sobering conclusion that, “Practically all men in rifle battalions who are not otherwise disabled ultimately became psychiatric casualties.”
Military medicine finally conceded that it wasn’t a question of “if” a soldier would break in combat, but a question of when.
During World War II, it is estimated that only one out of every 16 service members saw what could be considered sustained combat. This group, however, accounts for the majority of the war’s casualties. 40 percent of medical discharges during the war were for psychiatric conditions. The vast majority of those can be attributed to combat stress.
After the war you can imagine many were eager to get on with their lives. Some had long lasting and disabling symptoms of combat stress. Intrusive thoughts make concentration difficult and simple tasks become overwhelming. Hyper-vigilance and paranoia. Nightmares and flashbacks reliving the traumatic events of their past. Avoidance can mean that those suffering do not want to talk about it.
Symptoms can be eased by psychotherapy and medication.
June is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness month and 27th June is PTSD awareness day in the UK.