Welcome to History's Not Boring by kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we dive into today's incredible story, we have a very special shout-out. Oh yeah! A huge shout-out to Riker, who is seven years old. Hi Riker! We hear you live in London and have an American mum and a German dad. And Riker actually gave us a specific, super cool request for today's episode, right? He sure did. Riker asked for the story of the brave assault on Point Duh. This one is for you, Riker. I can't wait! So, where are we travelling today? Close your eyes and imagine standing on a beach. You look out over the ocean, and the water is completely covered by almost 7,000 ships. 7,000 ships? That would look like a giant floating city. Exactly. It was the largest fleet of ships ever gathered in the history of the world, all moving together. What were they all doing out there? They were preparing to launch the biggest seaborne invasion ever attempted. It was a day that changed the entire world. Let's go! What day was it? It was June 6, 1944, a day known to history as D-Day. Okay, so 1944. That means we are right in the middle of World War II. Spot on. By this time, much of Europe had been taken over, and the Allies wanted to break in and begin freeing everyone. The Allies were countries like the United States, Great Britain, and Canada, right? Yes, and they spent over a year planning a massive secret mission called Operation Overlord, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. A whole year of secrets? How do you hide an army with 7,000 ships? They used a ghost army. They literally built fake inflatable rubber tanks and wooden airplanes.
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SPEAKER_00No way! Like giant green bouncy castles shaped like tanks. Exactly! They placed thousands of them far away from the real army to trick the enemy into thinking they would attack a totally different beach. That is brilliant! Did it work? It totally worked! The enemy thought the real attack was a fake, and the fake attack was real. But then, disaster almost struck. Uh-oh, what happened? The invasion was scheduled for June 5th, but a massive storm hit. The wind was howling and the waves were huge. Oh no! If they waited too long, someone might discover their secret ghost army. Exactly. But a very clever meteorologist named Group Captain James Stag studied the weather charts. Did he find a way to stop the storm? Not stop it, but he predicted a tiny 24-hour window of clear skies for the very next day, June 6th. General Eisenhower said, Let's go! The invasion actually started in the pitch black of night, before the ships even arrived at the beaches. Wait, how? Did they swim over in the dark? Nope, they flew! Over 11,000 aircraft roared across the English Channel, dropping thousands of paratroopers. 11,000 planes? That would sound like a million thunderstorms all at once. It was deafening. And it wasn't just paratroopers jumping out, they also flew silent gliders made of wood and canvas. Wooden gliders flying in the dark? That sounds terrifying. It was incredibly dangerous. Many crashed into flooded fields, and the paratroopers were blown miles away from their targets. Did they get lost? Some did. One famous paratrooper named John Steele actually got his parachute snagged on a church spire in a town called Saint-Mère Église. Oh no! Was he stuck dangling from the roof? He was! He had to pretend to be a statue for two whole hours, while fighting happened right below him until he was finally rescued. Phew! That is so lucky. But what about all those thousands of ships? While the paratroopers landed, 156,000 soldiers were crossing the rough ocean. 156,000? That's enough people to fill two giant football stadiums. Exactly! And they were packed into flat bottomed boats, being tossed around by huge six-foot waves. Ugh, I bet they were all super seasick. Almost all of them were. They were freezing, wet, and sailing right towards some of the heaviest defences in the world as the sun began to rise. So where exactly were they landing their boats? They landed on a 50-mile stretch of coastline in Normandy, France, which they split into five different beaches. Did the beaches have secret codenames? They did! They were called Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Which one was the hardest to capture? Omaha Beach had terrible, dangerous fighting. But Riker specifically asked about a place right between Utah and Omaha. Ooh, what was it called? Point Duhoc. It wasn't a sandy beach. It was a massive, rocky cliff stretching 100 feet straight up from the crashing ocean waves. 100 feet? That's as tall as a 10-story building. Why would they land there? Because at the very top were giant 155mm cannons that could shoot and sink the Allied ships from miles away. But how do you climb a 10-story cliff from a tiny boat in the ocean? 225 brave US Army Rangers fired heavy ropes with metal grapple hooks attached to actual rockets. Rocket ropes? That sounds like something Batman would use. The hooks clamped onto the cliff edge, and the rangers climbed the slippery, mud-covered ropes while under heavy fire from the enemy above. They climbed straight up. That takes unbelievable bravery. It really did. And when they finally reached the top, they found something shocking. The giant cannons had been moved. Oh man, did they just give up? No way. The Rangers tracked the heavy wheels through the dirt, found the hidden cannons a mile away, and destroyed them entirely. Wow! The Rangers completely saved the ships. What a mission! They sure did, and across all five beaches, by the time the sun went down on June 6th, the Allies had finally secured a foothold in France. It must have been a really tough and scary day for everyone there. It was. It was a fierce and terrible battle, and many incredibly brave soldiers didn't make it home. But their bravery helped bring the war toward its end, right? Exactly. Breaking through those beaches meant the Allies could finally begin freeing Europe. D-Day was the ultimate turning point of World War II. That is just incredible. Such massive history. Do you have any other weird facts about D-Day? I do! Did you know the paratroopers used special metal clicker toys to find each other in the dark?
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SPEAKER_00Wait, like those little toy crickets. Click clack. Yep. One click meant, are you a friend? And two clicks back meant, yes I am. That's genius. What if they lost their clicker? Did they have a secret password? They had those too. The secret challenge word was Flash, and the reply was thunder. Flash! Thunder! I love that. History is so cool. Alright, Finn. I think you know what time it is. It's quiz time! Are you ready? Oh boy. I hope I remembered everything. Let's do this. First question. What was the exact date of D-Day? Next one. About how many ships made up the massive invasion fleet? Question three. What bouncy objects did the Ghost Army use to trick the enemy? Here's number four. What was the name of the hundred-foot cliff the US Army Rangers climbed? Last question. What were the two secret code words used by the paratroopers? Great job! Let's see how many you got right. The answer to question one is June 6, 1944. For question two, there were almost 7,000 ships in the fleet. Number three, they used fake inflatable rubber tanks. Question 4. The massive cliff was called Pointe du Hoc. And the final answer is Flash and Thunder. Wow, I still can't go over those rangers climbing a 10-story cliff with rocket ropes. That is unbelievable. It really shows how incredibly brave people can be when they are fighting for freedom. Hey, if you thought those rocket ropes were as awesome as I did, please leave us a five-star review. Yes, just scroll down on your podcast app and tap those five stars. It really helps other kids find the show. Oh, and don't forget to check out our site kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games and activities waiting for you. Definitely head over to our site kidopoly.com to explore. And if you want a shout out like Riker or just want to say hi, ask a grown-up to email us at hello at kidopoly.com. We love hearing what parts of history you want to explore next. Thanks for listening, everyone. See you next time on History's Not Boring.