The U.S. Paratroopers missed their DZs on D-Day - A WWII Myths Show

The U.S. Paratroopers missed their DZs on D-Day - A WWII Myths Show
With Marty Morgan
Part of our WWII Myths series of short shows
• WWII Myths - A series ...
This is a new type of show for the channel. Our guest historian will examine a popular claim made about the Second World War and either confirm or debunk it. There probably won't be time for questions from viewers but we hope the shorter length will be popular.
It is frequently stated that many US paratroopers missed their drop zones on DDay and started miles away from their objectives. How much of this statement is true?
Marty Morgan is the author of Down To Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy and The Americans on D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion. Martin contributes frequently to World War II Quarterly and The American Rifleman, along with many other magazines. He has appeared in television programs relating to historical subjects on the National Geographic Channel, the Discovery Channel, History, The Military Channel/The American Heroes Channel.
Marty's previous appearances on WW2TV
Normandy Myth Busters - A Korean on Omaha Beach?
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The 82nd Airborne in Operation Husky
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Iwo Jima: The Men Who Fought & The Guns They Carried
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[@aurictech4378]

As a retired paratrooper, I'm surprised not to have seen a reference to "The Rule of the LGOPs" yet in the comments: The Rule of the LGOPs After the demise of the best airborne plan, a most terrifying effect occurs on the battlefield. This effect is known as the rule of the LGOPs. This is, in its purest form, small groups of pissed off 19-year-old American paratroopers. They are well-trained, armed to the teeth, and lack serious adult supervision. They collectively remember the commander's intent as "March to the sounds of the guns and kill anybody not dressed like you..." ...or something like that. Happily they go about the day's work....

[@TerryDowne]

"Pornification of the narrative." What a great phrase. Sometimes I think we are living in an age where everything is pornified.

[@TerryDowne]

He talks about Husky while holding his dog. That's perfect.

[@TerryDowne]

The Eeyore of the Allied planners...another great phrase. It's always nice to hear Winnie the Pooh references.

[@DanielHammersley]

Agreed on Mallory!

[@davidlavigne207]

It was nice to hear from an eminent historian of the U.S. Airborne operations in Normandy that the errors and miss drops of the troops was somewhat planned for and expected. All that could be done to mitigate this was done, yet contact with the weather, winds, and enemy actions caused the usual "friction of war" as Von Clausewitz wrote of. The over emphasis by many authors and movie script writers about this has been shown for what it is: over dramatizing for the sake of effect.

[@scipioafricanus4328]

I’m not surprised Leigh-Malory was wrong in his predictions of the parachute drop being a disaster. That man was a disaster in the Battle of Britain in with his overrated big wings and lack of co-operation with 11 group and his ineffective and wasteful fighter sweeps over France in 1941.

[@Chiller11]

Leigh-Mallory certainly comes off as the bad guy in selfishly usurping Keith Park’s position and denying Park much of the post war recognition that he deserved.

[@jimwatts914]

Always good to have a guy in the team who looks for faults and sees through bullshit to support a gloomy view when others swear your shit don’t stink. -an old Texas proverb.

[@Chiller11]

@@jimwatts914 Haha I think you just made up that “old Texas proverb,” but I suppose proverbs have to start somewhere.

[@jwjohnson9547]

You hit the nail on the head by talking about measuring success by whether objectives were attained. Results measures always better than process measures.

[@thesmanbrowne4561]

What’s that noise I can hear? I keep thinking I’ve got a dog in the house whining? Is it his chair ? 😂

[@WW2TV]

It's his dog

[@StevenSeiller]

🐶I kept looking over my shoulder to see what was wrong with the dogs! Good I was listening in headphones because I would had it from both sides if they would have heard it! LOL

[@dennishughes4089]

"Pornification of the narrative" - Is it like "beauty"? You can't define it, but (hopefully) you know it when you see it. Thanks for expanding our vocabulary, Marty (and Woody).

[@troykauffman3963]

Yet another great myth show. Great example of 57mm gun and drop zone being a success. Thank you Paul and Marty.

[@dave3156]

Great program! Any with Marty is a must watch for me. Have read his book on the 507th and their accomplishments are remarkable. Thanks Marty! Thanks for bringing him on again Paul. Happy New Year!

[@foxtrotromeo25]

These myth busting shows are fantastic. But they always leave you wanting more...

[@DanielHammersley]

Brilliant phrase: "pornification of the narrative". Kudos! I will Strategically Transfer that Equipment (of words) to (my) Alternate Location promptly! Excellent POV that it's better to under-dog the Airborne Op by focusing solely on all the negatives, but when examined like Marty has, you cannot have follow victories without something having gone right! Decades of myth-building is difficult to overcome, but it's manageable as Marty recalls to us. :)

[@mikebeard8505]

A discussion about what went right, and what went wrong in an operation by a very talented person who was dealing with a less than perfect dog situation made this episode even more entertaining. Whether a paratrooper or a historian, training and experience allow you to succeed when the plan becomes a casualty. Well done.

[@conemadam]

i wish you all a Happy New Year. May all good things come your way.

[@DanielHammersley]

Superb! Like our learning Amphibious warfare, Airborne mass drop Ops IMPROVED during the war (Husky->Neptune->Market Garden->Varsity).

[@tonetriv]

Marty is always educational! I was a bit taken aback at his mentioning the 506th. I remember accounts about Col. Sink missing his regiment even several hours after the landing. And also Gen Taylor having to personally organize a hodge-podge of paratroopers to take Pouppeville. I think Marty is spot on when he explains that the drop was good ENOUGH to continue mission. Also, it's not so much that the drop was scattered (or not). It was the night, and the terrain, that created a lot of anxiety. When half the stick lands east of a hedgerow in total darkness and moves north, and the rest drops on the other side of the hedgerow and moves south, it could be days before they meet up as a coherent unit. They weren't misdropped. They were SEPARATED. Ditto the flooded areas, etc. I've walked around Drop Zone 'O' at 2am on June 6 (2015, I think), and I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, literally. Marty is right also that Market-Garden was mostly successfully -- 90% right, as Browning or Brereton or someone said 😊 The missing 10% resulted in the entire operation establishing a salient that went nowhere. Overall I still believe that "nothing attempted, nothing gained." The results and impact of Boston and Albany on D-Day is indisputably positive.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

"The missing 10% resulted in the entire operation establishing a salient that went nowhere." This should be one of Woody myth busts. In fact, the British and Canadian advance into Germany took place from the area captured in Market Garden. East of Nijmegen through the Reichswald. This was 90% into the targeted advance to Arnhem, so the salient didn't lead nowhere. It lead into Germany... and was used. There was also a follow up salient enlargement that proved very useful. Operation Aintree, which took Overloon. The southern Netherlands was on the British line of advance into Germany. It had to be taken, whether in Market Garden or a later advance which would likely have been more of a struggle in worse weather across boggy ground and with a stronger German presence. Market Garden was actually the fastest allied advance against German opposition in the entire September 1944 to February 1945 period. 100km of German held ground in just 3 days. Cheers.

[@ed12151]

I learnt during my time with the 82nd back in the 70's not everything goes by plan with night mass jumps, and we didn't have the hostile fire going into the DZ. This was a good video, today in Fayetteville, NC the Airborne and Special Operation Museum, it's a very informative visit.

[@frederickwiddowson]

Last week I ordered, "Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy," as I am trying to find out what my cousin, Guy Widdowson, a S.Sgt in the HQ of the 507th PIR, did. I know he dropped on Neptune and Varsity, and even learned the plane number and the pilot's name for Normandy. But digging into this stuff is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I just want to learn more about what my cousin did and I suspect I'll find some incorrect information, too. This presentation has really fired up my interest even more. Fascinating stuff.

[@edsoncorreia1080]

Excellent interview. If I may add to the discussion, I think D Day veterans themselves help perpetuate the chaos and disaster myth. Not in a deliberate way but when telling the story as you guys alluded to, the initial moments of chaos after jumping down a better narrative then the rest of the action. And as for mission failure, completely agree is nonsense. These two divisions took an active role for most of the Normandy campaign, 82nd closing the peninsula and 101 instrumental in taking Carentan, both actions instrumental in the taking of Cherbourg port and city. Thus recovering and liberating more of their mis dropped comrades.

[@scottgrimwood8868]

Marty does an excellent job showing that the missed drops was not significant. Paratroopers did their jobs and gave the Germans fits on June 6 and following days. I am glad Marty's dog could join the presentation.

[@NormandyBattleTours]

How many of their objectives were taken by the 507 and 508 PIRs?

[@buonafortuna8928]

Wow, just wow. Some huge ideas in just over 20 minutes: catastrophe bias; pornification of the narrative; battle against the entertainment product.

[@donrussell1394]

They've all been hard to top, but this has been my favorite myth-busting show yet. Catastrophe bias...that is a great lens! The influence of emotion. Similar, mass paratrooper drownings?

[@lau03143]

Marty is always a great guest.

[@nowthenzen]

The puppers is distressed bc he don't know who Marty is talking to. Dogos dont understand wireless communication.

[@timbrown1481]

Yep! Logistics, communication, and support weapons ain’t sexy. BUT necessary for mission accomplishment

[@johncarey6053]

Another great show about a subject close to my heart. We definitely have an ability to view success as failure and find the negative. Hopefully this is now changing 👍

[@stevej8005]

This Myths series of shows has been absolutely brilliant Woody, well done to yourself and all of the presenters who have been involved. Marty touched on something I like to call "Hollywood History" where you do not let the facts get in the way of a good story!!

[@alanmountain5804]

Thats a great interview, and I loved the 🐕

[@TheHistoryUnderground]

That was outstanding. I always enjoy the long form content but there WW2TV blitzes are equally good.

[@tferedo]

Thanks Paul and Marty. Learned something new again

[@johnlucas8479]

another excellent presentation, the maps are very informative.

[@glenn4412]

This show is excellent!

[@michaeljacob4287]

It's ok, even if it's hard to shake bad paradigm. Thanks guys!

[@seegurke93]

Good show!

[@danielstickney2400]

Here's a question for a future discussion: I understand that the scattering was not as significant as the romantic narrative would have you believe and that most of the forces actually landed at or reasonably near their drop zones but didn't the scattering that did occur contribute to the overall success of the operation by sowing confusion amongst the defenders? I can see how being dropped well off your LZ would be extremely traumatic at the individual level but at the operational level it probably gave the Germans one hell of a time identifying the main point of effort somewhere in the midst of a vague cloud of reports of paratroopers landing all over the place. Wouldn't this have also given the officers who landed at or reasonably near their drop zones more time to concentrate and organize their forces? Is it too much to say that the minority that did get scattered sowed as much or even more confusion than they experienced?

[@Canopus44]

Great video! I think watching "The Longest Day" as a kid gave me an impression of missed DZ's but reading more about the paratrooper landings as i got older dispelled that impression for me.

[@markmildorf2873]

Thank you!

[@brunozeigerts6379]

I've never heard of the 57 mm antitank gun being described as a 'rifle.' Just scratching my pedantic nerve.

[@StevenSeiller]

22:50 Woody: Give me someone who knows nothing, than someone who learned it wrong! 👌As an educator, I’ve long held the same preference. Although I do like a challenge!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Great saying. A new one for me ✌️

[@marktuffield6519]

Always appreciate another reason to add to my dislike of a certain Air Marshall ! As an aside a late friend of mine was the second pilot of a Horsa that had to cast off early because of a problem and never crossed the channel on D-Day. The first pilot always felt he was a failure as a result, but I don't think so. They later took part in the Arnhem landing and my friend remembered being bombed by an Me 262, presumably belonging to Kommando Schenk. He missed the Rhine Crossing as he was on leave, my friend served throughout the war but was only ever in combat at Arnhem.

[@billballbuster7186]

This was a very good talk on what really happened with the US Paratroopers on D-Day. I was very pleased to see the 6 Pounder (57mm M1) in action knocking out the Stug IIIs with shots penetrating the frontal armour which was 80mm thick, with standard rounds, probably APCBC. The show was worth watching for this segment alone THANK YOU! It would seem that paratroopers not landing on their drop zones and reaching objectives late, became part of the blame game the Americans were so fond of.

[@Chiller11]

I’m uncertain, are you asserting that American’s, through some common cultural failing, have a tendency to falsely blame others undeservedly?

[@billballbuster7186]

@@Chiller11 LoL Are you serious, the Officers of US Army spent the entire inter-war years politicking among themselves They had nothing else to do with a combined Army and Air Force of only 180,000 (1939). They were fighting for dead mens shoes, so no surprise that "pass the buck" was the order of the day in WW2

[@thewhiteknightman]

To be fair, everything about WW2 comes off as a blame game in popular imagination: Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Market Garden, the Bulge etc. It's always this general's fault or one division or corps mucking up that the war wasn't won instantly. People just can't seem to fathom nuance and skip straight to armchair generalship.

[@billballbuster7186]

@@thewhiteknightman The problem with that is that its very rare to find an instance were a British General publicly lays the blame. It was not considered professional. It was the Americans that felt the need to lay blame and they did it constantly, especially in NW Europe.

[@thewhiteknightman]

@billballbuster7186 As far as I know, that's accurate, but that didn't prevent politics among British officers from happening. This video already talks about Air Marshal Mallory's less than stellar role in the planning of Overlord, but what also comes to mind is the unwarranted blame on Sosabowski for the failure at Arnhem or the drama between LTG Crerar, CG of the First Canadian Army, and Monty over that Dieppe Anniversary. Perhaps there wasn't very many public statements from these officers, but I'd argue the British press did that for them: they'd have some sort of correspondents present in these headquarters, and they didn't have the same qualms about headhunting.

[@MichaelSmith-pp3wp]

It felt like a lot of this show was look at what the paratroopers accomplished, instead of how much or little they missed their drop zones. Any look at the maps of where the paratroopers actually landed in relationship to where they were supposed to land shows big misses for lots and lots of paratroops. They were much less organized than anticipated and had fewer troops because so many were lost, wondering, or hiding out. They accomplished what they did DESPITE the bad landings, not because the landings were so good.

[@WW2TV]

Well that was rather the point. The missdrops are a non story, most men were pretty near their DZs and just got on with it

[@MichaelSmith-pp3wp]

@@WW2TV Are the missed DZs a myth or a non-story, because those are definitely not the same thing. Let's also say your definition of "pretty near" is quite a bit different than mine if anyone bothers to look at the actual maps and measure the distances. Which brings up another point. Why does guest not address the actual number?. How many paratroopers landed on their designated DZs? What was average distance dropped away from DZ? What was anticipated re misses by operation planners and was reality better or worse? Probably a lot more things that could have been presented hard evidence to support the "myth" being a myth rather than hand waiving it away with "but they accomplished a lot" (which is an entirely uncontroversial point).

[@WW2TV]

Because determining exactly where everybody landed would be impossible. The maps the US military created were based on guesses as to where the middle of each stick landed. The point of this video was starting from the "they were all lost" mindset is not the best way to assess the operation. These guys ran 3 miles before breakfast and had maps and compasses. Even if they were 3 miles away from their DZs to get to the RDVs would be less than an hour, with objectives to seize over the next 12 hours or so. The other factor is that the DZs were central areas in the middle of various objectives. Look at DZ A for the 502nd, their objectives included causeways 3 and 4, St Marcouf,m Crisbecq, Ravenoville, XYZ etc. A spread of men around the DZ may have even favoured the overall plan. As I say the missdrop story is not the story

[@the1magageneral323]

I enjoy the stories of the 101st Airborne on D day.

[@petesheppard1709]

Very interesting! Knowing how events are modified for entertainment value is one reason I am loathe to watch 'war movies'. While not a historian (or very knowledgeable about history), I know enough to get annoyed by inaccurate portrayals, and am eager to learn when I am wrong.

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

General Gavin brought up the sorry case of a soldier who was dropped 17 miles too south in his war autobio "On to Berlin." That soldier was Lt. Al Alderton -- and yes -- they did meet -- as detailed in Gavin's account. Poor Al was all alone -- drifting down into the waiting arms of the 17th SS Division. He never got off a shot. His over-shoot was entirely due to a panicked/frozen flight crew. He could NOT get them to punch the Green light until way too late. The pilot was not willing to slow down to jump speed until he'd left the FLAK behind. (!) Oops. Accounts, such as Gavin's, have gone a long, long way towards pushing the catastrophe narrative.

[@douglasstrother6584]

How much confusion and mayhem did the American and British paratroopers cause since the Germans expected a major landing at Pas De Calais? Was it considered as a gigantic Commando raid?

[@WW2TV]

Well, there were of course Germans (including Rommel) who did suspect it would be Normandy, but yes the scale and spread of parachute landings did make it hard for the Germans to determine the objectives and intentions

[@philbosworth3789]

Another myth explained well

[@SweeturKraut]

Two thoughts. I think I saw The Longest Day when I was under ten years old, the quick capture of Pegasus bridge in the film, I understand, is very accurate in terms of the speed of that action. I suspect seeing things in historical movies skews the way your average person sees history. TWO, I recently did a lesson with my high school social studies students about defining success as it relates to civil war history. They mostly had difficulty understanding how to do so. I was … concerned. I am NOT the actual content teacher, I teach special education, but occasionally teach lessons as I also have a degree in history. Thanks.

[@timbrown1481]

Agree. Shoot-em-up action makes money! Marty explains these myths very well. “Pornification”. Great word😂

[@jeffbosworth8116]

I fully understand your point, the misdrops were a mixed blessing to be sure - advantages and disadvantages. The 507th in particular lost most of one battalion to a misdrop at Granges - as you both well know. I didn’t notice them being mentioned. Would the 507th been better served in those troops were available at La Fiere? Or were they better served by delaying the 17SS approach to Carentan? Who’s to say? My dad (1/507 supply sergeant) was more or less under Major Smith’s command. (Thanks to Marty for including dad in your 507th book by the way, that was very cool). Dad was one of those who were misdropped. He said he landed about ¼ mile east of Orglandes (he was last man out). Based upon a recording I heard of 1LT Law (first out) describing the jump, I kind of wonder if his particular plane was one of those that made a u-turn? Although both from 1st battalion - he and 1Lt Law ended up with LtC Timmes.

[@WW2TV]

The defenders at Graignes did not delay the 17th SS getting to Carentan at all - another oft repeated myth. The units of the 17th SS that did engage there were delayed but the larger part of the division made their way there without any hindrance - well except air power

[@michaelparks5669]

when I was a paratrooper in '71-73 we on occasion missed the drop zone. even landing in the streets or in a tree or in the swamp.

[@SeasideWitcher]

Thank you , l remember my uncle saying that most of the guys in the gliders got shot up pretty badly , perhaps they weren't.

[@WW2TV]

Perception v reality, or maybe he was referring to Sicily?

[@maikelvane5185]

Do you have an overview video of which regiments jumped into d-day? As i always get lost with 506/507 and 101st airborne/82 aa.

[@WW2TV]

No, but it's pretty simple. For Normandy the 82nd was the 505th, 507th and 508th, the 101st was the 501st, 502nd and 506th. Not counting the Gliderborne units of course

[@maikelvane5185]

@@WW2TV Aah. Thanks a lot Paul! And thanks a lot in general for all the information you put out there for us. It keeps fascinating how much info we have about this battles. With names and everything from the soldiers operatinng in the actions.

[@WW2TV]

We're all always learning

[@OldWolflad]

Which PIR do most Americans consider the best-performing overall? I do realise its a sort of arbitrary question because in general they were all elite troops, but just wondered if there was a generally- favoured PIR within 82nd and 101st? Having studied Market Garden in some depth, 504th and 505th seem to be very highly regarded, and I think 'easy brigade' were in 506th. Were 508th really ill-regarded because of the sometimes maligned Lindquist?

[@WW2TV]

It's like asking a group of people what their favourite movie is I think. Yes the 508th get some underserved stick

[@johncarey6053]

It’s always the one you’ve served with. Within that you’re always in the best Battalion, Company and Platoon. No bias in the military whatsoever 😂

[@OldWolflad]

@@WW2TV I do understand that, just wondered what popular perception might be

[@WW2TV]

People will always have their favourites I guess

[@maryannallen9885]

❤dogs By the way, how many men were in the 506 of the 101st?

[@WW2TV]

It's around 2000

[@maryannallen9885]

@@WW2TV thank you, I was curious. My dad was there, but he died when I was very young😢

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Great show. I'm not as clued up on the details of the US paras activities in Normandy as much as other aspects so this was most helpful. One thing I noticed though. Isn't the picture of the Stug at 11:14 one of the two lost near Carentan on June 13th, from 17th SS? That's how it's captioned in one of my books (Panzers And The Battle For Normandy by Bernages page 92). I had always taken it as from 17th SS, as they had circa 40 Stugs. I always thought the attack at La Fiere involved only early war French tanks of the 100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion?

[@WW2TV]

Pretty sure its near Sainte Mere Eglise, you can even match the location

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@WW2TV Interesting. Do you know of any comparison photos I can see online? The Panzers And The Battle of Normandy book may be wrong then. It lists 46 French tanks on the inventory of the 100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion in June. Zetterling in Normandy 1944 doesnt list any Stugs with that unit either. I'll have to find out more about this. Cheers Woody.

[@WW2TV]

Here you go www.flickr.com/photos/mlq/44522833680/in/photolist-2aQkais

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Excellent. Thanks Paul. Brilliant. I did not know about Panzerjäger-Abteilung 709 with 9 Stugs. Probably listed somewhere in Zetterlings book. The Normandy Panzers book by Bernages is wrong then. Very good to know. Cheers, and a happy new year to you.

[@WW2TV]

Whatever next, a mistake in a Bernages book lol. Happy New Year

[@stewartorr1939]

I think that "rifle" was a Gun My friend landed over the rhine with one. Sadly he has passed

[@lokischildren7862]

Any chance of a video on the 3rd battalion of the 507 if the 82 nd airborne and the Battle of Graignes

[@WW2TV]

We've done two on Graignes, one with Marty kzbin.info_y8xA74Zy7I?si=QHZ5QlyxVtidmQii and this one kzbin.infoWtdfg_66BeQ?si=Q4yTTeUxGvIyF2Gl

[@porksterbob]

I will spam this comment on three of your myths videos in hopes it gets acknowledged. Can you please do a myths show on the "Chinese were hoarding lend lease to fight the communists"? It is a myth that pops up a lot even with people who should know better like the ww2 week by week people. Rana mitter, hans van deven, or richard frank would be good names to interview.

[@NormandyBattleTours]

If the 507 drop could be classed as being accurate (or accurate enough), why did they not achieve the majority of their objectives due to a lack of boots on the ground? The same question can be applied to the 508 PIR. As for the 505 PIR (the most accurate drop of the 3 regiments of the 82nd), why was Ste Mere Eglise taken with only a third of that particular force's anticipated strength, thus the necessity for Turnbull's stand (the crucial northern approach) being fought with just 42 men (initial intention of a full battalion of 650). Surely the aftermath of the drop, in that only a fraction of the 82nd's objectives were taken, due to a lack of manpower, prove that the majority of the paratroopers were mis-dropped and that this had a massive negative consequence (unless the Americans were simply sat around drinking tea?). Just because the Germans were unable to exploit this particular situation doesn't mean that the American operation had been effective. I personally believe that the American airborne operation was overall a success was due to the ineffectiveness of the Germans, rather than the effectiveness of the Americans.

[@WW2TV]

Isn't it both? Effectiveness of the Airborne elements (I include 6th Airborne) AND mistakes made by the Germans. But the key objectives were achieved across the board, proving that after a shaky start at Husky that massed Airborne landings will work (mostly) My greater issue is why we don't celebrate the Commandos more than we do

[@NormandyBattleTours]

If we take the 507 as the case study, we can learn a lot by asking the questions 'what were the objectives' and 'were those objectives taken'? If we agree the objectives were not taken (I presume we do, correct me if I am wrong), then the most reasonable conclusion is that this was as a consequence of not having enough men on the ground. The most sound explanation of having such a lack of strength at that critical time was it being a consequence of the misdrop. I feel that citing that many men from the 507 were dropped in close proximity to the DZ (true enough) is far too simplistic and ignores completely the fact that the majority of the regiment who were dropped in close proximity to DZ T, were in fact dropped into marshland and at the far side of the railroad, thus meaning that assembly became impossible and key objectives such as Cauquigny were relinquished in favour of consolidation in a strategically meaningless orchard at the far side of Amfreville. The same can be said of the 508 (how many men were available to move on Hill 30) and the 502 in the flooded area behind Utah (as a consequence the whole northern approach to Utah Beach east of Ste Mere Eglise was left wide open) - all these units had the majority of their strength overshoot the DZs, admittedly not by a great distance, but as a consequence of missing the DZ, a very significant proportion were dropped in flooded marshes the consequence being that concentrating the intended fighting force was impossible therefore objectives were not attained. In contrast if these men had hit the DZ, there would be more men available to launch a coordinated assault on objectives which in such a scenario may well have been successful. As we know the defense of the approach to Sainte Mere Eglise was the objective of 3 regiments, 2 of those 3 regiments (507 and 508) were immediately taken out of the immediate battle as a consequence of being misdropped, only the 505 had any resemblance of order (especially in an resemblance of structure of command) and (IMO) even they only achieved their assigned objectives due to the thankfully woeful response of an ineffective enemy (we talk of the British stopping for tea, but why is the lack of urgency of those such as Timmes and Raff never mentioned - they would seemingly rather hunker down and save their own necks, rather than move on key objectives). I agree about the Commandos btw but then as we all know, history is brought to the majority by Hollywood, don't hold your breath for any production featuring the 47 RMC road to Port en Bessin!

[@WW2TV]

Fair points

[@angloaust1575]

The pilots were unnerved by the flak and took evasive action Causing many to miss the Designated areas Maybe it caused confusion To the germans as well Anyway some did and took Their objectives!

[@WW2TV]

There really wasn't much flak, that's another myth. The manoeuvres were due to the cloud bank

[@the1magageneral323]

Trust the word of the soldiers who were there, not the Band of Brothers documentary.

[@christopher-ke9nj]

Well if, the wind had been less, strong they wouldn't have fallen down the throats of the garrison at St Mer Eglise

[@WW2TV]

That was more to do with the cloud bank than the wind

[@christopher-ke9nj]

I stand therefore corrected

[@WW2TV]

No worries

[@fryaduck]

@WW2TV Marty Morgan is incorrect about the two lower front plate hits on the StuG III G (image at 24:50), those two hits came from a Sherman one day later, do your research. Additionally, if you're going to claim authority (both WW2TV and Marty) as a WWII historian/s you had better get your weapons nomenclature 100% correct. The gun depicted is a 57mm Gun M1 not a M1 57mm Anti-tank rifle.

[@WW2TV]

If you look at the other photos of that specific Stug, you can enlarge the photo and measure the size of the shell holes - no way are they 75/76mm. 57mm all day. There were other Stugs on the N13 hit by Shermans but not this one.

[@mmkkggggoodd2315]

What did they talk about? All I heard was a dog moaning in the background the whole time.

[@WW2TV]

Exaggerating much there? Everyone else understood just fine

[@tonetriv]

Very clear for me.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

If you've got nothing good to say, then say nothing. Don't troll.

[@bigwoody4704]

@@lyndoncmp5751 good to see you are turning over a new leaf for the new year John,err I mean Lyndon.I predict you won't last a week before shyting all over the GIs

[@scottgrimwood8868]

I had no problem hearing Marty. The dog was great. This is an animal loving channel.

[@charleshoughton525]

Morgan's a clown. Only the 505 landed accurately. About 1.7% of 507 sticks, and 5% of 508 sticks hit their drop zone, with 71% scattered across 15-25 square miles And so you know, those 507 blue dots on your jump map that just missed DZ T came down in adjacent swamp, from which 36 drowned paratroopers, an entire platoon, were recovered, with estimates of over 100, and entire company, having landed there. AND you lost all credibility with the gliders. The gliders were an absolute disaster, ending forever US nightime glider assaults. Of 220 troops of the first lift gliders, 127 were killed, wounded, or injured, a 58% loss. Of 1,190 troops in 176 gliders of the second lift, 142 gliders were destroyed, with 394 casualties, a 33% loss. NO IDEA WHAT RECORDS HES STUDYING???????

[@WW2TV]

What records/archives have you studied? Sounds to me like you are citing secondary sources. I will let you calling him a clown slide this one time, but I don't allow personal insults.

[@WW2TV]

Not sure where your data about 36 drowned 507th guys comes from. The latest research puts the figure at only about 50-60 drowned for the two divisions

[@WW2TV]

Your figures of glider infantry losses are totally wrong. For the 82nd, 325th GIR only lost 200 KIA in the whole Normandy campaign. Then there is 74 KIA in the 401st (who came by ship) plus a couple of dozen PFA guys. Then there are 103 in the 327th KIA in the Normandy campaign. Plus maybe 60 PFAB guys. So that's just over 400 glider-borne troops killed in the ENTIRE campaign, and yet you have over 500 killed in the gliders themselves. That just is not correct.

[@Chiller11]

Unfortunately you undermine your argument by the sophomoric name calling in your first sentence. I have my own issues with Marty Morgan and you might have engaged me in criticism of his work but calling someone a clown just immediately alienates me. Learn to disagree, even passionately disagree, with a position without attacking the messenger. (Ya dumb f**k).

[@jimwalsh1958space]

@charleshoughton525 you're welcome anytime but we don't insult each other here friend. happy new year !