On June 6th, 1944, Allied forces1 began landing
along the coast2 of Normandy, in France. The event is known as3 D-Day. It was the beginning4 of
a campaign by the United States and its allies5 to end
the German occupation of Europe. D-Day
was a turning point6 in World War II7.
By the end of 1943, the German military had suffered defeats8
and was weakened9. But it was still
powerful10 enough11 to control France, Belgium12,
and much of the rest of Western Europe13.
The time had come14 for the United States and its Allies to liberate the continent. The Supreme Allied Commander, American
General Dwight Eisenhower, used radio to speak to the troops preparing to land
on Normandy.
“Soldiers, sailors15 and airmen16
of the Allied Expeditionary Force: you are about to embark upon17
the great crusade, toward which18 we have striven19
these many months.
In company with our brave20 allies and brothers
in arms on other fronts, you will bring about21 the
destruction of the German war machine22, the
elimination of Nazi tyranny23 over24 the
oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.”
The German leader Adolf Hitler had known25 an
invasion was coming. But he did not know
where the Allied force would strike26. Most27 Germans
expected the Allies would attack at Calais, in northern28 France. But they were wrong29.
General Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy, across30
the English Channel.
Eisenhower had 150,000 men and 12,000 airplanes for the attack. But most importantly31,
he had surprise on his side32. Even after33 the
invasion began34, General Erwin Rommel and other
German military leaders could not believe35 that the
Allies had really attacked at Normandy.
But attack they did. On the night
of June 5th, tens of thousands36 of Allied soldiers parachuted37
behind German lines38.
Then, Allied planes began dropping bombs39 on
German defenses. And in the morning,
thousands of ships approached the coastline40, carrying41
men and supplies42.
The battle43 quickly became44
fierce and bloody45. American, British and other Allied forces
moved on five beaches46 from their landing craft47. The Germans had strong defenses. They were better-protected than48
the Allied troops on the open beaches. But the Allies had more troops.
On all but one49 of those areas, German resistance was lighter than expected50.
At Omaha Beach, two American divisions were slowed by51 the
rising tide52 and heavy German gunfire53. It was the fiercest and bloodiest
battle54 of D-Day.
Slowly55, the Allied
soldiers moved forward56 on one part of the Normandy
coast, then another. The Allies
continued to build up57 their forces in France. Within one week58 they
had brought nearly59 90,000 vehicles and 600,000 men
into France. And they pushed60
forward.
A total of 3,000 American soldiers died61 on
Omaha Beach alone 70 years ago. On the first day of the invasion, almost62
10,000 Allied troops were killed or wounded63.
The Battle of Normandy continued through64 August,
as Allied troops fought65 the Germans through
France. In less than66 four
months, General Eisenhower and the Allied forces had regained67
almost all of France. More than 400,000
Allied and German troops were wounded, killed or missing in action68.
Vocabulary
- Allied
forces = forças aliadas
- began
landing along the coast = começou a
desembarcar ao longo da costa
- known
as = conhecido como
- beginning
= inicio
- allies
= aliados
- turning
point = ponto de virada
- World
War II = Segunda Guerra Mundial
- had
suffered defeats = tinha sofrido derrotas
- was
weakened = estava enfraquecido(a)
- it was still powerful = ainda era
poderosa
- enough
= o bastante
- Belgium
= Bélgica
- Western
Europe = Europa Ocidental
- The
time had come = A hora tinha chegado
- sailors
= marinheiros
- airmen
= aviadores
- you
are about to embark upon = voces estão prestes a embarcar em direção a
- toward
which = para a qual
- we
have striven = nós temos nos
esforçado
- brave
= valente, corajoso
- bring
about = ocasionar, acarretar
- war
machine = máquina de guerra
- Nazi
tyranny = tirania nazista
- over = sobre
- had known = tinha sabido
- would strike = atacaria
- Most =
a maioria
- northern
= região norte
- wrong
= errados
- across
= do outro lado
- most
importantly = o mais importante
- on his
side = do lado dele
- Even
after = mesmo após
- began
= começou
- could
not believe = não conseguiam acreditar
- tens
of thousands = dezenas de milhares
- parachuted
= pularam de para quedas
- behind
German lines = atrás das linhas alemãs
- dropping
bombs = jogar bombas
- approached
the coastline = aproximaram-se do litoral
- carrying
= transportando
- supplies
= suprimentos
- battle
= batalha
- quickly
became = rapidamente tornou-se
- fierce and bloody = feroz e sangrenta
- beaches
= praias
- landing
craft = embarcações de desembarque
- better-protected
than = melhor protegidos do que
- On all
but one = em todas menos em uma
- lighter
than expected = mais leve do que o esperado
- were
slowed by = foram retardados por
- rising
tide = maré crescente
- heavy
German gunfire = pesado fogo de artilharia alemã
- the fiercest and bloodiest battle = a
batalha mais feroz e sangrenta
- Slowly
= lentamente
- moved
forward = moveram-se para a frente
- build up = acumular
- Within one week = dentro de uma semana
- had brought nearly = tinham trazido quase
- pushed = empurraram
- died = morreram
- almost = quase
- killed or wounded = mortos ou feridos
- through
= através, ao longo de
- fought
= lutaram
- less
than = menos de
- regained
= reconquistar
- missing
in action = desaparecido em ação