Without Rommel the invasion probably would have been a lot easier. Since Hitler and most of the German high command were convinced the attack was going to happen in the Pas-de-Calais he's the real reason why the Germans were as dug in as they were. The German army was essentially on vacation until he got there and forced them to build defenses. I recall that his order to put tank traps and obstacles in both high and low tide positions actually caused the Allies to change the time of their attack.
I've spent a lot of time studying the Second World War but actually seeing the beach with my own eyes was a sobering experience. It's pretty crazy to think about what these men were up against when they landed on those beaches. Years ago a friend and I walked from Sword beach all the way to the end of Juno and it was really amazing seeing all the Canadian flags and inukshuks.
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