The Battle for Normandy
Preparations for Operation Overlord.
The Battle for Normandy, also known as Operation Overlord and D-Day, was originally planned to take place on the 4th and 5th of June. Due to bad weather, Eisenhower and the other Allied generals were forced to wait until the 6th to attack. Early that morning, over 7,000 ships and over 156,000 Allied troops landed on the Normandy beaches. Thousands on both sides were killed in those first few days. For the next two months, the Allies fought their way through France until they finally freed Paris on August 25th, 1944. On D-Day alone, the Allies had sustained around 4,414, 2,499 of them American. German loses are estimated to be around 4000 to 9000 casualties.
The 82nd Airborne Division
The Official Patch of the 82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division, comprised of the 508th, 505th, and 504th Parachute Infantry Regiments, landed on Utah Beach on June 6th, 1944 and began to make its way up and along the Merderit River, all under heavy German fire. They managed to cross the river on June 9th, and were able to cross the Douve River on the 12th. After taking Pont l'Abbe on June 19th, they headed down the Contentin Peninsula until they were pulled back to England on July 13th, 1944. In the process, they had 5,245 casualties, but had also managed to gain all of the ground that they were assigned. Any ground that they took stayed in their hands for the rest of the war.
Alex Lux died almost halfway between the time when the division took the Douve River and the time when they took Pont l'Abbe.
Alex Lux died almost halfway between the time when the division took the Douve River and the time when they took Pont l'Abbe.