80th D-Day Anniversary
AO: Norseman
When: 06/06/2024
QIC: Ha-ha
PAX (18): Cam's, Chapter 11, DirtyMO, Gravedigger, Ha-ha, Knight Rider, Matlock, muTTon, Orvis, Oshkosh, Password 123, Pepper, Plumb Bob, Slick, Stu, TO, TP, Tumbleweed
Preamble:
80th Anniversary of operation Overlord start with the D-Day invasion of the beaches of Normandy. Time to do some hard things.
Warm-O-Rama:
Short mosey to the Big Lot for
- SSH
- Weed Pickers
- Imperial Walkers
The Thang:
Before we got started YHC introduced the D-Day trivia and you could influence the Q’s decisions with enough right answers. There were not enough right answers. Trivia is below.
We broke out into partners for the duration of the morning. We are taking heavy fire from the German positions on the cliffs above the beach so we are going to have to keep our heads down. Partner 2 went to requisition supplies (girlfriends) while partner 1 started bear crawls to the beach (Bethany Bend).
As partner 1 bear crawls, partner 2 does 15 overhead presses, 15 curls and 15 skull crushers. Run to catch up with your partner and switch. Rinse and repeat. As the gazelles make it to Bethany Bend, turn around and head back to the 6.
After collecting everyone we march over to the step up wall by softball field 8. 200 single count step ups per pair. Dora style. One partner does step ups to 50 while the other does squats (uncounted).
We had to stop after 50 each. But because of the enemy patrols we have to take the trails out of sight of the main road. Back to the flag via the parking lots, woods parking and trail behind the pavilion. We got back at 6:15.
Trivia:
The invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe was codenamed “Operation Overlord”.
A fake army made up of inflatable tanks and trucks was created in Kent to fool the Germans into thinking the invasion would take place in the Pas-de-Calais.
Shortly after midnight on 6 June, around 24,000 US, British and Canadian airborne troops began landing in France.
The Allies landed on five beaches in Normandy. These had been codenamed “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Juno” and “Sword”.
Around 7,000 vessels of all shapes and sizes were used by the Allies on D-Day, including 139 major warships, 221 smaller combat vessels, more than 1,000 minesweepers and auxiliary vessels, 805 merchant ships, 59 blockships and 300 miscellaneous small craft.
Over 4,000 landing craft used to transport the invasion force onto the beaches of Normandy.
The oldest Allied battleship in action on D-Day was the USS Arkansas. She was commissioned in 1912.
One of the first shots fired from a ship on D-Day was fired by HMS Belfast, a vessel now permanently docked on the River Thames in London.
73,000 US troops and 83,000 British and Canadian troops crossed the channel on D-Day.
On the eve of D-Day, the Allies had 15,766 aircraft available, and by June 1944, Luftwaffe aircraft were outnumbered by more than 30:1 in the western theatre of the war.
Allied casualties on 6 June have been estimated at 10,000 killed, wounded, and missing in action: 6,603 Americans, 2,700 British, and 946 Canadians.
D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in history.
COT:
TO provided a great TNT. Plenty of fellowship was had by all.
Naked-Man Moleskin:
I am always amazed by what this country can do when we are united behind a common cause. The sheer number of resources and personnel that America put into the war won the day.