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In 1944, the US military conducted Exercise Tiger as a trial for the Normandy invasion, but it was discovered by German attack craft, resulting in the deaths of nearly 800 Americans. The delay of D-Day by one day and the involvement of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and JD Salinger are also noted.
War is hell, but preparing for war can be pretty disastrous too. An unfortunate example took place in 1944 when the US military was preparing for the invasion of Normandy in hopes of ending World War II. Because the operation was so massive, US commanders decided to carry out a trial known as Exercise Tiger, preparing eight tank landing ships in an area of the English Channel known as Lyme Bay off the coast of Devon and Dorset.
The ships carried hundreds of military personnel and equipment. Although live ammunition was used to make the exercise look real, everything had to be done quietly and in secret. But there was so much chatter on the radio that a group of German attack craft became suspicious and found out about the operation. Without a destroyer to protect them – one was assigned the task but was withdrawn for repairs – the US ships were easy targets for torpedoes.
The ensuing massacre cost the lives of nearly 800 Americans (or nearly 1,000 by some reports), who were either killed in the fighting or died in the freezing water. Despite the catastrophe, news of the failed operation was kept under wraps by US leaders. The facts finally came to light decades later.
Some surprising facts about D-Day:
Part of the success of the Normandy invasion is attributed to the decision to delay the attack by one day, from 5 June to 6 June 1944, due to forecast bad weather.
President Teddy Roosevelt’s son Theodore Jr. was part of the first Allied group to land on the Normandy beach. He was 56 years old and a general at the time.
Author JD Salinger was part of the second wave of men who landed in Normandy and brought part of his novel The Catcher in the Rye with him.
