“. . . land amphibious and airborne forces on the Normandy coast ... to drive along the lines of the Loire and the Seine rivers into the heart of France, destroying the German strength and freeing France”.
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Operation Overlord was, and still is, considered “the largest military invasion in history”. A lot of people think that D-Day was only from dawn of June 6, 1944, until May 8, 1945. It is true, but what they don’t know is that from January to May of 1944 the RCAF and the American Air Force were in German air space bombing key facilities to make things easier on invasion day. Quite a few people also don’t know how big and important of a part the Canadian, British, and, somewhat, American Air Forces had in the months leading up to and during D-Day.
There were two phases to the air preparation for the big invasion. Those phases included: Allied forces destroy the Luftwaffe as well as isolating the battlefield which consisted of constant bombardment on transportation networks and make the illusion that the Allies would attack at Pas de Calais.
The Royal Canadian Air Force Command Bomber No. 6 Group bombers were active from the beginning of 1944, preparing for the actual invasion by bombing German transport routes, resources, command and communications centres, and Luftwaffe air bases and runways; with the cover from American P-51B fighters. This part was called Battle of Berlin, because of the constant bombing of Berlin. By June of 1944, the Luftwaffe was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Berlin. 56% was destroyed in March, 43% in April, and over 50% in May; with about 2,262 German fighter pilots killed. Phase one and two were complete.
The Royal Canadian Air Force Command Bomber No. 6 Group bombers were active from the beginning of 1944, preparing for the actual invasion by bombing German transport routes, resources, command and communications centres, and Luftwaffe air bases and runways; with the cover from American P-51B fighters. This part was called Battle of Berlin, because of the constant bombing of Berlin. By June of 1944, the Luftwaffe was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Berlin. 56% was destroyed in March, 43% in April, and over 50% in May; with about 2,262 German fighter pilots killed. Phase one and two were complete.
The RCAF did such a good job at getting rid of the Luftwaffe and handicapping the Germans, that, in the words of historians Hugh Halliday and Brereton Greenhous who were in the RCAF in 1914 to 1944: “The Luftwaffe could do little to counter the overwhelming mass of Allied aircraft supporting the invasion. Only about 300 [German] aircraft of all types were available to meet the 11,000 that the Allies deployed on 6 June 1944.” While the Luftwaffe was trying to deal with the American Thunderbolts, Mustangs, P-38 Lightnings, and British Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons; 23,000 Ally parachutists, 450 of which were Canadian, were flown in by 822 transport aircraft and engaged the enemy from behind enemy lines.
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“The Luftwaffe could do little to counter the overwhelming mass of Allied aircraft supporting the invasion. Only about 300 [German] aircraft of all types were available to meet the 11,000 that the Allies deployed on 6 June 1944.” |
June 7, Luftwaffe reinforcements began to arrive at the scene; making things a little more difficult for the Allies. However, since the Germans had to deal with the Allied fighters, Parachutists, and soldiers, the 33 squads of Canadian bombers (along with other Allied bombers: 4,000 in total), that had lured the Luftwaffe into the air, bombed German land defenses on the coast of France and targets that were farther inland from the landing zone. There were 171 Canadian Squadrons in the air: 15 squads giving air support to the navy, 54 giving air support to the troops on beach Juno, 33 bomber escort and offensive fighter sweeps, 33 bombers bombing targets inland from the landing zone, and 36 direct air support to general invading forces.
In the end, Canadian No. 441, 442, and 443 Squadrons were the first to take control of French air space since 1940. Even though that wasn’t the end of removing the German army from France, it was the beginning of getting to that point with success. To put it plainly, “Without air power, Normandy would have been impossible.” France is eternally grateful to Canadians for our sacrifice and bravery in freeing them from Nazi rule. It is true: Normandy and D-Day would have been impossible without air power.
“Without air power, Normandy would have been impossible.”
D-Day Veteran Dedication
In the era of World War Two, being a soldier was not an option for women. Instead, they were given the opportunity to join the armed forces to get away from housework. They may not have fought, but they took on jobs that helped the armed forces incredibly to such an extent that important areas (like the economy) couldn’t go on without them.
This is Olive Matthews Peat, born in Emerson, Manitoba, July 9, 1904. In 1923, she joined the army at the age of 19. She did this because her two brothers had been taken as Prisoners of War in Hong Kong, and she was determined to assist in any way possible in order to get them back. In her Canadian company, she was the rank of sergeant, but for reasons unknown, when she was sent overseas to join the British army she was lowered to the rank of a private.
She served as a clerk typist in the Community Mental Health Questionnaire in London, at Canada House. This is where she and four or five others kept track of all the officers in the army. The amount of responsibility on these women was immense, as they were in charge of all of the officers in the army.
“[For] A lot of us, it was getting out of doing housework for $5 a month. That was the truth. That’s what we did. We worked for $5 a month and got Wednesday afternoon off or Thursday afternoon was maid’s day off. And I went over in October ’44 and I was there from ’44 until I came back in May ’46.”
This is Olive Matthews Peat, born in Emerson, Manitoba, July 9, 1904. In 1923, she joined the army at the age of 19. She did this because her two brothers had been taken as Prisoners of War in Hong Kong, and she was determined to assist in any way possible in order to get them back. In her Canadian company, she was the rank of sergeant, but for reasons unknown, when she was sent overseas to join the British army she was lowered to the rank of a private.
She served as a clerk typist in the Community Mental Health Questionnaire in London, at Canada House. This is where she and four or five others kept track of all the officers in the army. The amount of responsibility on these women was immense, as they were in charge of all of the officers in the army.
“[For] A lot of us, it was getting out of doing housework for $5 a month. That was the truth. That’s what we did. We worked for $5 a month and got Wednesday afternoon off or Thursday afternoon was maid’s day off. And I went over in October ’44 and I was there from ’44 until I came back in May ’46.”
For people like her, it was a difficult life. Even though they would sometimes work until 11pm doing shifts called “Part Two Orders”, they never got overtime pay. She explained them to be like this: “Part Two Orders is when you’re taken on strength of one unit, struck off strength of another and you’re killed in action, injured in action, missing in action and that’s what we had to write in on these little strips, they were about that long. And they were what they called a RODA .” She married David Oliver Pear, and had five children. It is unknown when she or her husband died, but it is known that she passed away in Canada. May she and all those who defended our country, Britain and all of Britain’s allies and Commonwealth rest in peace. May we never forget their sacrifice. |
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Works Cited
D-Day:
- Hallion, Richard P. "Air Power Over the Normandy Beaches and Beyond." D-Day 1944. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "D-Day." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
- "D-Day and the Battle of Normandy." Veterans Affairs Canada. Government of Canada, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
- "D-Day." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
- "Operation Overlord: D-Day Remembered." Government of Canada, National Defence, Royal Canadian Air Force. Government of Canada, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
- "Olive May Peat Matthews." Olive May Peat Matthews. The Memory Project, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
- "Olive May Matthews." Ancestry. Ancestry.com, 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.