It had been postponed for more than a year. Thehopes of so many, futures of so many, depended on what happened that day. We just saw video of the landing. Talk about the significance. Especially the take you put on it. This is called operation neptune. Talk about it from a naval point of view. Of us, perhaps because of the famous photographs taken that day most recently, steven spielberg, saving private ryan. We look at that story as if it begins the moment the bow ramp drops on those landing boats. That is the culmination of a very long story. Much of that story involves the navy. The name operation neptune refers to all of the naval aspects of the Broader Campaign of operation overlord. I suspect more people would recognize the title for this operation. Before. S years not just months before. Probably could be traced all the way back, as i mentioned in my earlier talk, to the british evacuation from dunkirk. The that moment on, angloamerican allies try to determine how to do this. It
They are all over the place. I wondered if you could answer them for me. Thank you. Sure thing. Those are called barrage balloons. They are tethered to the ships themselves. The idea is to create enter trafing for potential s by german aircraft. The allies gained overwhelming command of the air, which may dday possible. An of the reasons invasion would have been very difficult we had not gained complete command of the air. By 1944, we had. Nevertheless, there were still some german aircrafts. Mostly, they attacked at night. The idea is that they create a barrier of interference for any plane attempting to stafe the beach. There were cables and balloons that would interfere with attempts to do that. Ymonds, a followup on the guadalcanal amphibious landings. Did the navy bring any of that to operation neptune . Yes, lessons not only from guadalcanal, but also subsequently endings in the pacific. Were actually taking place nearly simultaneously, two weeks apart from the dday landing. On o
As we had a man there any right to suspect. He had to deal with americans who were quite assertive and was she. Pushy. Think if there is a particular tale that illustrates this. Like eisenhower, you are as much a political leader is a military leader. You have to keep his quiet between the various elements. There were difficulties between the royal navy, the united channel, andnd the terms of who have responsibility where. The commander in chief commanded the harbor and every ship in it. If there is an american ship, a british commander commands that ship until it leaves the harbor and once it is in the channel now it is under the command of an american rear admiral. Then when it gets involved in a joint task force unit, then it might fall again so those kinds of problems he had to deal with on a regular basis. And he did so as successfully as i think anyone could expect. Admiral. I think were done . Thank you very much. My pleasure. You for coming out on this dark and stormy night. [c
Because of the famous photographs taken that mostnd famous films, the recent of which Steven Spielbergs saving private ofn, the first 20 minutes which are gutwrenching. We look at that moment the teenage soldiers rush out on that beach. In a way that story is the culmination of a very long story and that story encompasses the navy. The name, operation neptune, encompasses the naval aspects of operation overlord, which most would recognize as the title for this operation. Monthsns not just before, but years before. It can be traced back to the british evacuation from dunkirk. From that moment on, the angloamerican allies fight to decide how to do this. It is not just a problem of deciding how to do it. It is making an agreement of where and when to do it and much of that is naval. It requires transport. ,ransport of men, materiel tanks, first across the ocean, then across the channel, then to a defended beach. All of that was nearly overwhelming logistical challenge. Again, our discussi