Let's Play Axis and Allies Part 18: Defense of Normandy

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In this episode of Axis and Allies: It's a good thing that this map only requires you to hold off against the opponent instead of kicking him fully out, otherwise it would only result in more bad juju.

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In Directive No. 51, Hitler ordered that the Western Front would now receive priority in the allocation of resources. To facilitate this renewed effort, Rommel received a special commission to inspect the defenses of ‘Fortress Europe’ from Denmark to the Bay of Biscay. What he found was depressing indeed — a real Potemkin village. His inspection quickly revealed that Josef Goebbels’ impregnable fortress existed only in the overactive imagination of the propaganda minister. The Germans had constructed a few fortifications along the Pas de Calais, where most German military leaders believed the Allies would land — a calculation that the Anglo-Americans delightedly confirmed through the means of a massive deception plan.

Rommel began his inspection on November 30, 1943, in Denmark. He was to report his findings to Hitler, while keeping the overall commander in the West, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, informed of his progress. Meanwhile, the staff of Army Group B now based itself at Fontainebleau in preparation for Rommel’s assumption of command of a northern army group that would extend from Belgium to Brittany. Army Group B’s responsibilities would include the presumed main threat areas of Pas de Calais and Normandy.

The weaknesses that Rommel found along the coast appalled him — especially the lack of preparedness in the immediate coastal areas. In effect, German troops in the West had been on vacation — certainly in comparison to what was happening on the Eastern Front.

Now that it was clear that he would assume command of the defense of northwestern Europe, Rommel had already developed his conception of how the Wehrmacht must conduct that defense. The German general best known for his lightning-quick armored advances across the desert now concluded that he would have to prepare the strongest possible positional defense. The most immediate need was to energize the forces along the English Channel and quickly marshal the resources necessary to build an effective system of fortifications along the coastal regions. For the next six months, he spent much of his time and energy pushing everyone within his area of responsibility to build field fortifications and bunkers, lay barbed wire, dig trenches and emplace beach obstacles between the low and high tide limits. Under his direction, the Germans also embarked on a massive p