WWII THIS MONTH…
To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict
D-DAY LANDINGS
On 6 June, the largest seaborne invasion in history began the Normandy Campaign along with an airborne assault of 24,000 paratroopers. A total of 160,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel on D-Day, establishing five Allied beachheads on the Normandy coast. Operation Fortitude succeeded in deceiving the German defenders, tricking them into focussing on Pas de Calais, east of the actual landings, and by the end of the month 875,000 men had crossed the Channel. The Allies also maintained air superiority before and during the landings, limiting the Luftwaffe’s ability to observe and attack the troops and equipment coming ashore.
CHARLES DE GAULLE FINALLY RETURNS
On 14 June, French leader Charles de Gaulle set foot in France for the first time since its occupation four years previously. He travelled to Bayeux, Normandy, proclaiming it the capital of Free France. This trip marked the beginning of a month of diplomacy for de Gaulle, who next visited Rome to meet the Pope and the new Italian government. He then headed to Washington, receiving a 17-gun salute and meeting with President Franklin D Roosevelt, persuading him to make Paris a priority for liberation on humanitarian grounds.
BATTLE OF SAIPAN
On 15 June, the Battle of Saipan began in an effort to capture airfields large enough to support B-29 operations against the Japanese home islands. With the US invasion fleet departing the day before Operation Overlord, the battle is nicknamed ‘Pacific D-Day’. The invasion force outnumbered the defenders three-to-one, and resupply for the Japanese became impossible after US victory in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The defenders fell back to the island’s cave systems but were rooted out by US flamethrowers. The fighting culminated with the largest banzai charge of the war, resulting in the deaths of 4,300 Japanese t
