I forgot to mention that had Stalin not kept the promise he made in November 1943 at the Tehran Conference to unleash his major 1944 offensive the week after the western Allies invaded France, the Germans would have defeated the invasion in the bocage of Normandy. As it was, that first month in France was a close-run thing with the US, U…
I forgot to mention that had Stalin not kept the promise he made in November 1943 at the Tehran Conference to unleash his major 1944 offensive the week after the western Allies invaded France, the Germans would have defeated the invasion in the bocage of Normandy. As it was, that first month in France was a close-run thing with the US, UK, Canadian and Polish armies hanging on by their fingernails (Yes, folks, "defeated" Poland was the #4 western ally in terms of manpower committed during the war) - until the effect of the Russian front-wide offensive started to be felt and the Germans suddenly had no more reinforcements to send to France while the US and its Allies could continue feeding in troops.
I forgot to mention that had Stalin not kept the promise he made in November 1943 at the Tehran Conference to unleash his major 1944 offensive the week after the western Allies invaded France, the Germans would have defeated the invasion in the bocage of Normandy. As it was, that first month in France was a close-run thing with the US, UK, Canadian and Polish armies hanging on by their fingernails (Yes, folks, "defeated" Poland was the #4 western ally in terms of manpower committed during the war) - until the effect of the Russian front-wide offensive started to be felt and the Germans suddenly had no more reinforcements to send to France while the US and its Allies could continue feeding in troops.