Deaths WW2 Civilian and Military: Axis total 8,268,000 Germany 4,200,000 700,000 civilian Japan 2,350,000 350,000 civilian Romania 460,000 Hungry 430,000 290,000 civilian Italy 410,000 80,000 civilian Austria 334,000 104,000 civilian Finland 84,000 2,000 civilian Allied total 39,963,700 USSR 20,000,000 10,000,000 civilian. The majority of Soviet Union civilian casualties were Ukrainian. China 10,000,000 7,500,000 civilian Poland 5,800,000 5,700,000 civilian Yugoslavia 1,700,000 1,400,000 civilian France 600,000 350,00 civilian Czech/slovak 415,000 215,000 civilian US 400,000 negligable civilian UK 388,000 62,000 civilian warchronicle/numbers/WWII/deaths.htm President Hollande has agreed to huge fees being forced on those who want to show the event to a worldwide audience inspite of Mr Hollande originally insisting that the commemorations - which will be attended by the Queen and President Obama - are sacred events which should be free for everybody. It was the sacrifice of mainly British and American troops which ensured the success of the greatest seaborne invasion in military history - one which ultimately liberated France from the Nazis and paved the way for victory in World War II. But now many living abroad, including veterans, could be deprived of live coverage of the commemorations. Public broadcaster France Televisions and TF1 have been granted exclusive live rights to the all the commemorations in Normandy on June 6th. And, in an unprecedented move, both companies now want more than £160,000 from a variety of agencies, including AFP (Agence France-Presse) the Associated Press, Reuters and ENEX for the rights to re-transmit the ceremonies. express.co.uk/news/world/479453/France-accused-of-profiting-D-Day-anniversary-commemoration The story of D-Day is as much about years of diplomatic skirmishing among Churchill, Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin as it is about the landings themselves on the beaches where President Obama and other world leaders will gather this week. And in that convoluted tale lies a lesson in leadership, for FDR’s patient maneuvering in 1941, ’42 and ’43 was that of a President at once constrained and determined as he sought the right answer in the calamitous times. What seems straightforward in retrospect was, in real time, highly improvisational—and at moments, dare we say it, Franklin Roosevelt led from behind. As 1942 began, several key American figures—notably Army Chief of Staff George Marshall and General Dwight Eisenhower—argued for a predictably American strategy. If the target were Germany first, they argued, then hit Germany first, hard and quickly. The fastest way to relieve the immense pressure on Stalin was to cross the English Channel in 1942. There was a problem, though: Winston Churchill. The Prime Minister was averse to a large-scale strike against Germany for at least two reasons. The first was biographical. As First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I, Churchill had presided over the disastrous Gallipoli strategy that killed 28,000 British soldiers in the ill-considered invasion of Turkey. The experience crushed him and he resigned from the government and led an infantry battalion at the front in France. The second reason was his preference for secondary operations on the periphery of Hitler’s empire to weaken the enemy at less cost. And—though this was and is much disputed—placing British troops in position to protect colonial and postwar interests. Stalin wanted a Second Front in Europe yesterday. So Roosevelt found himself in the midst of a push-pull between London and Moscow. Churchill carried the day for 1942 and ’43, arguing for other operations and suggesting that there were not yet sufficient resources to mount a successful attack on the French coast. As much as FDR wanted to take the direct route across the Channel, he at first sided with Churchill against Stalin, approving a Mediterranean strategy. For Roosevelt the hour of decision came at Tehran in November 1943. Stalin pressed for a cross-Channel operation, and Churchill, while always agreeing in principle, managed to raise a seemingly infinite number of reasons to delay. Stalin spoke starkly: Were his Western allies truly with him or not? Roosevelt then made his choice, insisting on Overlord and overruling Churchill. The industrial might of America had by now built a huge war machine; the men were trained; and in that moment in the Tehran autumn, the new world of competing superpowers, with Britain in a subsidiary role, came into being. Roosevelt was right to make the call he made at Tehran, which led to Overlord in June 1944; Churchill was also right early on in resisting a hasty cross-Channel operation. “It is fun to be in the same decade with you,” Roosevelt once told Churchill. For the rest of us, it was more than fun. time/2814428/d-day/
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 19:47:14 +0000