Saturday 3 August from 10:30am to 11:30am
Free
This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944. Operation Overlord was the greatest amphibious assault in history, a crucial turning point of World War II, and a miracle of planning, logistics, coordination and supply.
In this detailed public lecture, Noel Phelan will cover:
decisions by Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
strategies by both Eisenhower and Rommel
complex and detailed planning involving hundreds of thousands of men and their equipment
myriad of German defences
deception and confusion of the Germans involving Patton
clever design of much military equipment
construction of an artificial harbour
scuttling of 70 ships to form a breakwater
towing and sinking of 210 Phoenix caissons to also form a breakwater
logistics to land the men and their equipment
aerial support of 1,000 heavy bombers and fighters
naval support of 28 battleships and 56 destroyers
industrial might of America to build 1,700 Liberty ships and masses of other military equipment