D-Day

[nick47]

If the Allied pre D-Day aerial bombardment had hit the German positions on the beach front would the Allies have had significantly less losses?

[Jehan]

Not sure I understand your question.

As far as I remember, there were aerial bombardment of german position and also support from the sea.
You mean if thoses bombing would have been more efficient? Yeah of course the losses would have been less signnificant.

[Blondie]

The problem is 90% of Wehrmacht was on eastern front, that's why germans had zero chance to stop the british-american forces. Rommel has done a great job with Atlantic Wall but you can't do anything against such outnumbered army, it was the reality.

[Armenian Bishop]

The problem is 90% of Wehrmacht was on eastern front, that's why germans had zero chance to stop the british-american forces. Rommel has done a great job with Atlantic Wall but you can't do anything against such outnumbered army, it was the reality.

Yes, the preponderant number of Axis troops at the Eastern Front surely posed a big problem for the defense of he Atlantic Wall. It went deeper than that though: (1) In the first place, the Luftwaffe's heavy losses at the Eastern Front, as well as in the Battle of Britain, paved the way for Allied air superiority. Consequently, the Luftwaffe wasn't able to properly defend Axis ground forces. (2) More importantly, Allied code breakers were able to break the Axis communication code systems (in the Pacific, as well as Europe), which meant that the Axis Powers lost the element of surprise. Worse yet, the Atlantic Wall was weakened by a lack of secrecy that allowed the Allies to ease-drop upon confidential Axis strategic decisions.