If no for D-Day, It Would Have Been Doomsday [podcast 3 min 17 sec]
President Obama reminds us today that when U.S., British and Canadian forces trudged into bullets and mortar shells on the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago, their success was not assured. We've seen the movie and know the ending: John Wayne and Tom Hanks won the war, along with our plucky allies, David Niven and Michael Caine.
Several years ago, we asked John Keegan, the British military historian, what he thought might have happened if the D-Day invasion had failed.
"The Allies would have tried it again," he said. But the next time, they would lack any advantage of surprise. Germany's V-2 missiles, which could not be stopped by planes or anti-aircraft fire, became operational that summer, and could have decimated Allied soldiers and sailors even before they left port.
Hitler might have let America alone for a while, he said. But every Jew in Europe, every Roma, every gay, Jehovah's Witness, disabled or retarded person, and millions more Poles and Russians would have been executed or worked to death.
Read entire article at NPR Weekend Edition
Several years ago, we asked John Keegan, the British military historian, what he thought might have happened if the D-Day invasion had failed.
"The Allies would have tried it again," he said. But the next time, they would lack any advantage of surprise. Germany's V-2 missiles, which could not be stopped by planes or anti-aircraft fire, became operational that summer, and could have decimated Allied soldiers and sailors even before they left port.
Hitler might have let America alone for a while, he said. But every Jew in Europe, every Roma, every gay, Jehovah's Witness, disabled or retarded person, and millions more Poles and Russians would have been executed or worked to death.