[Watermoon]

Will history change?

During the Second World War, the Allies coordinated a massive build-up of troops and supplies to support a large-scale invasion of Normandy in the D-Day landings under the code name Operation Overlord. The Germans were dug into fortified emplacements above the beaches. Caen, Cherbourg, Carentan, Falaise and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the Battle of Normandy, which continued until the closing of the so-called Falaise gap between Chambois and Montormel, then liberation of Le Havre.

This led to the restoration of the French Republic, and a significant turning point in the war. The remainder of Normandy was liberated only on 9 May, 1945 at the end of the war, when the Occupation of the Channel Islands ended.

[killim]

No - reason: simple mathematics, as conducted by te OKW staff.

[Rojik of the Arctic]

If I understand the question correctly then no: failure at Normandy would have only allowed the Soviets to dominate Europe but that whole rotten edifice would have collapsed anyway.

[killim]

No, Caen was a direct result of the Blitzkrieg. The tanks lost contact to their support units and there was a great danger of overstreching the support lines, which would have resulted in annihilation. Thats why Rommel was ordered back. The sucess of the mobile warfare assignment tactic was limited again by fear like in the WWI at the Maas, but at this time it wasn't really important for the outcome of the war.

[Cookie Monster]

The best chance Germany had was to stop the allied forces at the beaches. Once the allies had a foothold, it didn't matter which battle the Germans won. They coudn't cope with the quantitative superiority of the allied forces.

[killim]

They couldn't cope with the room and the industrial output, which was clear from the beginning of the 2-front war.

Stopping the alied forces in the Normandy would have resulted in a communist Europe and an isolated USA/U.K, which was the cause why the invasion really happened.

[Cookie Monster]

Stopping the alied forces in the Normandy would have resulted in a communist Europe and an isolated USA/U.K, which was the cause why the invasion really happened.

Very true. But if we limit ourselves on the question of stopping the forces of the Americans/Brits/Canadians/Free French, then their best chance was at the beaches. A victory at Caen would only have delayed their advance.

[Thunderhawk]

If the initial invasion attempt failed horribly, then the subsequent waves and reinforcements would not have been sent. These reserve forces would pin German armour and might in Northern France as the allies continued to grind up Italy and Southern France, eventually forcing the Germans to reposition in which case another invasion (probably some where else) could happen.

[killim]

At that time the red Army would already have "rescued" Paris....

[Cookie Monster]

So if the Germans had won in Normandy, we might have a united Europe under socialist rule.

[Tailz]

The German forces did kind of win by defending Caen, since Caen was part of the D-Day objectives to be captured, but yet the German defenders held out against capture of the city. But what did happen was that important German forces (mostly panzer forces) were drawn into the fighting around Caen which meant that the Allies forces elsewhere had less armour to worry about.

[Vanasalus]

Will history change?

Yup. It would lead to construction of a wall dividing Paris instead of Berlin.

[Potemkin]

When one of his sycophants congratulated Stalin on capturing Berlin, Stalin simply replied, "Tsar Alexander I got as far as Paris." And then he sighed deeply.

[Cookie Monster]

"Tsar Alexander I got as far as Paris."

I read this as "Alexander I got" instead of "Alexander I got".

So did Stalin had serious expectations of liberating all of Europe?

[Potemkin]

Not really; he kept pestering the Allies as to when they would open up the second front by invading Europe. But a man can dream, can't he...?

[Cookie Monster]

Suppose he had not asked and the Italian front was not started because of this...

He should have been more patient to realise his dreams.

[Potemkin]

The Soviet people were paying a heavy price to defeat Hitler. If Stalin had not persistently asked the Allies to open up a second front, eyebrows would have been raised in the Soviet Union itself.

[Cookie Monster]

I guess there was no alternative for his requests.

[secator553]

The Soviet people were paying a heavy price to defeat Hitler. If Stalin had not persistently asked the Allies to open up a second front, eyebrows would have been raised in the Soviet Union itself.

They've been persistently asked the Allies to open up a second since 1942. But it happened only in 1944, when Germans were already out of Soviet Union.

[Tailz]

They've been persistently asked the Allies to open up a second since 1942. But it happened only in 1944, when Germans were already out of Soviet Union.

And with what forces would the Western Allies create a second front in 1942? The Western Allies didn't have enough material and manpower in the right place to open a second front in 1942 in mainland Europe.