D-Day Invasion: Ports and Logistics--The Day Beaches (June-December 1944)


Figure 1.--

The Allies hoped to secure at least one deep-water port that coukd be used to bring in supplies. An American division in combat needed 650-750 tons of supplies a day. Ports were neded to efficently bring in the supplies needed on that scale. The Germans did a good job of holding on to ports and destroying the facilites before the allies took them. Thus the allies had to bring in much of their supplies over the beaches. The Americans lost their Mulberry within days because of a powerful Channel storm. The Briyish were mire careful in assembling their Mulberry. And it weathered the storm. But for months the Allies had to rely on the beaches, escpeciaaly the D-Day beaches. this was because France was not liberated until August 1944. Thus the Allies only had access to other beaches beginning in September 1944. This was about the same time that some of the ports began to come on line. This was also when the Allies seized the critical port of Antwerp in Belgium. The Allies managed to seize Antwerp intact, but the Germans were able to prevent the port from being used because of positions in the Sheldt Estuary. With the liberation of rance, the Red Ball Express was organized to get the supplies from the D-Day beaches to the rapidly advancing front-line units. Supply shortages because the Allies were still using beaches meant that Eisenhower only had the supplies for one final 1944 offensive. He gave the available supplies to Montogomery forperation Marget Garden. He chose Montgomery in part becuse Hitler coukd still hit London with V-2s laynvchd from the Netherlands. Patton was outraged. The failure of Market Garden meant the War would go into another year. The Allies were only operational for a short periods, when the Germans struck for the second time in the Ardennes. The objective was Antwerp. With the failure of the German Bulge offensive, the Allies now with operational ports begn a massive buildup. The Allies forces moving toward the Rhine would have no supply problems when the war-winning crossing of the Rhine began.








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Created: 3:00 PM 3/4/2016
Last updated: 3:00 PM 3/4/2016