Wednesday, June 06, 2007

D-Day: Invasion of Normandy, 63-Years-Ago Today   [W. Thomas Smith Jr.]

We'll have more in our forthcoming Military Roundup.

In the meantime, there was a little-known U.S. Army-Marine Corps rivalry at Normandy on June 6, 1944.

I wrote about that rivalry here.

So why didn't U.S. Marines storm the French coast with their Army counterparts?

First, the Marine Corps was then—as it has always been—much smaller than the Army. During World War II, the Corps swelled to a force comprising six divisions, whereas the Army expanded to 89 divisions. The Corps' resources were stretched thin, and much of its efforts were focused on the fighting in the Pacific.

Second, a deep-seeded rivalry between the Army and Marines was in full bloom: Its origins stretching back to World War I; the defining period of the modern Marine Corps. ...

Read story here.

Editor’s note: Please see this note.

06/06 10:49 AMShare