Higgins Boats
The Higgins Boats (invented by John Higgins) were made of wood, and used in transporting fully armed troops, light vehicles, and other equipment and supplies essential to amphibious operations. It was these boats that made the D-Day landings at Normandy, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and hundreds of lesser-known places possible. Without Higgins' uniquely designed craft there could not have been a mass landing of troops and material on European shores or on the beaches of the Pacific islands, at least not without a tremendously higher rate of Allied casualties.
The LCVP could land a platoon of 36 men with their equipment, or a jeep and 12 men, extract itself quickly, turn around without broaching in the surf, and go back out to get more troops and/or supplies. This was critical—any landing craft that could not extract itself would hinder the ability of succeeding waves to reach the beachhead. The tough, highly maneuverable Higgins boats allowed Allied commanders to plan their assaults on relatively less-defended coastline areas and then support a beachhead staging area rather than be forced to capture a port city with wharves and facilities to offload men and material. The 20,000+ Higgins boats manufactured by Higgins Industries and others licensed to use Higgins designs landed more Allied troops during the war than all other types of landing craft combined.
The LCVP could land a platoon of 36 men with their equipment, or a jeep and 12 men, extract itself quickly, turn around without broaching in the surf, and go back out to get more troops and/or supplies. This was critical—any landing craft that could not extract itself would hinder the ability of succeeding waves to reach the beachhead. The tough, highly maneuverable Higgins boats allowed Allied commanders to plan their assaults on relatively less-defended coastline areas and then support a beachhead staging area rather than be forced to capture a port city with wharves and facilities to offload men and material. The 20,000+ Higgins boats manufactured by Higgins Industries and others licensed to use Higgins designs landed more Allied troops during the war than all other types of landing craft combined.
Turning The Tide of The War
The “D-Day” invasion of Europe—officially known as “Operation Overlord”—was designed to change the losing. Following months of troop build-ups, Allied land, sea and air combat units, all under the command of Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, left England’s southern coast shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944. Their target was a 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France, just a few hours away to the south.
In all, approximately 160,000 Allied troops, 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft took part in the invasion. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed during the first 24 hours of the attack. But within the next few days, the Allies had secured the French beaches and from there were able to begin a march across Western Europe that would ultimately end 11 months later in Berlin. Hitler was no more and Germany fell in May 1945. This all started with the bold D-Day attack.
The D-Day invasion was a massive gamble that could have gone wrong in any number of ways. What would have happened if Operation Overlord had failed? Although historians may debate the specifics, most agree that:
In all, approximately 160,000 Allied troops, 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft took part in the invasion. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed during the first 24 hours of the attack. But within the next few days, the Allies had secured the French beaches and from there were able to begin a march across Western Europe that would ultimately end 11 months later in Berlin. Hitler was no more and Germany fell in May 1945. This all started with the bold D-Day attack.
The D-Day invasion was a massive gamble that could have gone wrong in any number of ways. What would have happened if Operation Overlord had failed? Although historians may debate the specifics, most agree that:
- WWII could have easily dragged on for at least another year, resulting in tens of thousands of more deaths as well as the total extermination of European Jewry through Hilter’s Final Solution.
- Britain would have been devastated by Germany’s new rocket weapons.
- American air power would have been seriously threatened by Hitler’s emerging first generation of jet-powered fighters.
- The Soviet Army, which by 1944 had become virtually unstoppable, would have likely defeated Germany by mid-1945, perhaps continuing its march west until it placed all of Europe behind the “Iron Curtain.”