OPERATION OVERLORD HAD FAILED?

The D-Day landings in WWII saw the Allies breach 'Fortress Europe', but could their failure have led to a Nazi victory?

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On 6 June 1944, 150,000 Allied troops stormed across the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France. Codenamed Operation Overlord, it was an audacious but ultimately successful attempt to establish a beachhead and begin the liberation of Europe. The biggest amphibious assault ever seen was crucial to Allied victory and its anniversary is widely celebrated. But what if the landings had ended in disaster? Would this have simply delayed the inevitable defeat of Germany? Or could the Axis Powers have crushed their enemies once and for all?

What was the situation in June 1944 prior to the Normandy landings?

In a nutshell, the war is going very well for the Allies but not so well for Nazi Germany. Down on the southern front in Italy, the Allies had broken through the Gustav Line, taking Monte Cassino, and were well on their way to liberating Rome. This would be the first European capital that the Allies liberated. Over in the east, the Red Army, which by now was an absolute megalith, was getting ready to launch Operation Bagration against ‘Amy Group Centre. And, of course, in the skies above Germany itself there were constant bombing campaigns. Cities were being reduced to rubble by the Anglo-American bomber fleets, which were destroying German industry and wrecking the Luftwaffe. At this stage of the war the Germans were in real trouble.

What was Operation Overlord?