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Allied invation of Salenro
The Allies gain a front in Europe by invading Italy at Salerno on 9 September in 1943. The Allies had to fight, but the battle was not nearly as bloody as the invasion at Normandy would be. -
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World War II, Sept. 1943 - Sept. 1945
What REALLY would of happened if the invasion at Normandy had failed? -
Romae Liberatio
Allied troops, having successfully landed near the city about 5 months earlier, finally liberate Rome from Axis control. This gives the Allies the ability to bomb targets in Eastern Germany for the first time. -
TURNING POINT
Instead of following the actual events of WWII, the rest of this timeline will show what many historians believe would have happened if the invasion at Normandy had failed. -
D-Day: Invasion at Normandy (Axis Victory)
The Allied troops storm the beach, but are poorly organized. Most of the soldiers are killed on the beach, many just as they get off the boat. The few that escape the beach are killed before they can get anywhere. No progress is made affter half of the troops have landed, so officers begin to halt the invasion attempt. It will be another six monthes before the Western Allies can launch another major offensive. -
The Red Army
Although the Western Alies had failed at Normandy, the Axis powers are unable capitalize on it. This is mainly due to the Soviet Red Army. "We would not have seen a Nazi Europe. I think the Red Army by that time were simply too powerful..." said author David Stafford. -
A Second Attempt
After half a year after the D-Day failed, the American and British forces launch a new offensive on Europe. Preoccupied with the advancing Red Army, the Axis powers offer little resistance to the second invasion. -
The Red Army pushes forward
About a month behind schedule due to the failed invasion attempt at Normandy, the Soviets begin another offensive, liberating Warsaw, Krakow, Vienna, etc. within four months. -
Berlin Surrounded
Now more than three months behind, the Red Army arrives at Berlin, encircling the city. -
Germany Surrenders to the Red Army
As Berlin is surrounded, German officals consider surrender. The Soviets occupy the rest of Germany while forcing unconditional surrender, but leave the rest of Europe for the Western Allies to deal with. After the Allies liberate France about two months later, Germany surrenders to the Western Allies. A whole new conflict will arise when the U.S. tries to deal with the Soviet Union in Germany. -
Conclusion
Although the American and British forces failed to invade France on D-Day, the German army was just too weak to capitalize on the Allies' failure. The Soviet Red Army was very strong, and the German army would have been redirected to push them back. Historians believe, however, that the Red Army would still be able to make progress; the stronger German resistance would only slow the Soviet advance. -
Conclusion (cont.)
Most experts agree that the Western Allies would have given the invasion another try. By the time that they had the materials to do so, however, the Red Army would have been very close to Berlin. In fact, some suggest that the war would end before the Western Allies would have another chance to gain a second front. -
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Sources
1942, April. "World War II: Timeline." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Web. 15 July 2011. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007306.
Simon, Scott. "If Not For D-Day, It Would Have Been Doomsday : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. NPR : National Public Radio, 6 June 2009. Web. 15 July 2011. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105064196.
PO2 Bauer, David. Personal interview. 16 Apr. 2011.
