D-Day: The Planning and Execution of the Allied Invasion of Europe 

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A video on the US Interstate System would be a good one too

I got a suggestion you might like: During the 1850s and 1860s the city of Chicago had to install it's sewer system, but since the city was already built at only about 4ft above the shores of Lake Michigan they actually raised the entire city, building by building on jackscrews as they built the sewers. Literally raising the elevation of an entire city is pretty mega.

3:25 I think he meant 338k not 338 lol

The trench systems of the Great War's Western Front were extensive, elaborate, and far more sophisticated than the hole in the ground that most people think of when they think WWI. Those trenches seem like they would qualify as a megaproject.

As being a truck driver in the United States. I think the United States interstate system would be a neat idea to cover. But I've been watching most of your channels for a year now. Love every video. But this has by far been my favorite channel so far.

Bonus Fact: Teddy Roosevelt's son landed on Utah beach. He was the only general to land in the first wave, was in his mid 50s, walked with a cain from his WW1 injury, and had a heart condition. He proceeded to lead the most successful landing on D-day, despite landing hundreds of yards off course. When asked what to do when they found out about the landing error, he replied, "then we'll start the war here!"

How about the mass movement of factories by the Russians in early ww2 and reestablishing those factories after the movement.

Megaproject Suggestion. Longest deep bore ice core in Antarctica. Took years, loads of drama with it and they found some cool stuff like a fresh water lake under the ice containing previously unknown lifeforms. Would go Well with the other hole projects that are popular Speaking of deep holes, how about the Kidd Mine as well?

"War is war and hell is hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse." - Hawkeye Pierce

US Marine island hopping campaign in the Pacific!

“Amateurs study tactics,” goes an old saying, “armchair generals study strategy, but professional soldiers study logistics"

My Grandpa was one of the men in the 101st that jumped into France for D-Day. His recount of those few days was quite sobering.

Simon calm tf down with uploading everything at once. You absolute mad man. I can only take so many dookie breaks at work

My grandfather was there on the second day. I can't imagine the fear he felt. He survived but according to my father, he never once talked about it and didn't even collect the metals that he earned.

you should do a mega project on the clean up of downtown Manhattan from 9/11

If you haven't Juan Pujol Garcia deserves his own video on TodayIFoundOut or Biographics. The man was a legend.

A video on the St Lawrence Seaway would be a good megaprojects video. It’s construction took place during the late 40s and 50s to connect the Great Lakes with the Atlantic through a series of locks, dams, and canals.

Operation Market Garden. A good follow up episode to this one for sure!

In the spirit of this video, perhaps a video on the taking of Vimy Ridge. It required immense planning and preparation, and is a key moment in the history of Canada.

There was many deaths during training here in the US as well. When I was much younger our neighbor was a veteran of D-Day. 101st Airborne. His brother was killed in a plane crash during his pilot training program, in Nebraska. He was killed in WW2 and never even left the US. May God bless these heroes always!!!!!

3:25 Um Simon, did you mean 338,000 soldiers?

338[thousand] I thinkn you meant to say! Not just 338! lol

The largest blackpowder cannons ever built, the coastal guns on Malta, deserve an episode!

My grandfather was one of the several or more meteorologists determining the best conditions and day and time to launch the ships. Other one was in the pacific in Navy. Grandmothers were nurses.

How about the Canadian Pacific rail line through the rogers pass

I was there just a few weeks ago. My brother and I walked on this stretch of beach close to Ouistreham (far Eastern flank of the invasion). We thought noone would be stupid enough to land there since the beach is so wide. It takes a good 10minutes (maybe a bit less) to walk from the shorelines to the village. In real life 120 French Commandos landed there. The 7th Paras were dropped at Pegasus Bridge, just outside Ouistreham, which is in itself a great story of the landing and a great feat of airmanship by the glider pilots.

Thank you for choosing that particular version of the photograph of Eisenhower greeting the troops on the eve of D-Day. My late Uncle, Sherman Oyler Jr, is the paratrooper standing closest to the camera. In most versions of the photo, he has his back to the camera. He survived the war and married a lovely girl from Kent. He became a teacher of American History and corresponded with Eisenhower until the Generals death.

The story of how Simon Whistler became one of the most diverse RU-vid video creators.

I'd like to see you do a "Mega Project" video on the worlds largest office building, "The Pentagon."

I heard a humorous story that I can't seem to find any credit for, but the story goes that as the sun rose that day a young German officer radioed that there were enemy ships approaching the beach. The headquarters radioed back asking how many ships were involved in the invasion. The young officer just said: "All of them"

Well done, Simon. My father was one of the physical survivors of Omaha Beach and the later Battle of St. Lo. (29th Infantry Division/115th Infantry Battalion) However, it left him with what we call PTSD today. Both he and my mother are interred together at Arlington National Cemetery. He used to say that Arlington is the largest peace demonstration the U.S. will ever see because everyone there died to either keep it or restore it. I think he would've approved of your work on this.

You should also make a video how Soviet Union moved it's industry from west to Siberia/Central Asia during WW2

simon please do a video about the original world trade center towers that was destroyed on september 11th,2001

As a Canadian, I’d love to hear about the Taking of Vimy Ridge.

My grandfather served in these battles during WW2. I didn't understand it back when he was alive, but I could tell that even into his 90s, he was affected by the war really badly. I recall him being woken up by nightmares thinking he was back in the war, he'd wake me up yelling and groaning. He didn't even talk about it until his early 80s as I've been told. From my understanding, he had to go through rehab to get deprogrammed after the whole thing ended. Regardless, he was the strongest man I ever knew! I really miss him.

Simon, possibly one of the best videos you've ever done. Thank you for this. I had an old family friend who landed at Juno who was never able to talk about that day. As I have researched it more and more, it has become a fascinating, heroic, necessary, and tragic thing all at once.

Love seeing the logistics mentioned

Uncle served on HMS Quorn which took part in D-Day but was sunk a month or so after the landings off the coast of Normandy. My Grandmother just got a one-line telegram saying he was MIA. Good vid and one that should be shown to a younger generation who do not understand or appreciate the sacrifice of many. Also the lengths that extremists will push their fellow humans.

Simon, with the exception of the "338 soldiers" reference, this is by far one of your best efforts. There was a lot to cover, and you hit the highlights with sufficient detail to raise a few eyebrows, I'm sure. There are several examples of Megaprojects within the planning and build-up to D-Day, including the design and building of Mulberry Harbors. ... As an aside, the only mass evacuation of people to eclipse Operation Dynamo, the "Miracle at Dunkirk", was the nearly half-million civilians evacuated from Manhattan Island (NYC) on September 11, 2001. While the planned evacuation of Dunkirk took nine days due to the limitations of the vessels and distances traveled, the evacuation of Manhattan was completely unplanned and spanned just nine hours. There is a great video of that narrated by Tom Hanks.

Eisenhower wrote two letters one released, one written just in case. "Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."

I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to be a 20 year old tasked with taking part in one of the most crucial battles of the war. They stepped up when the world needed them. Good video as always!

2:55 - Chapter 1 - Background 4:40 - Chapter 2 - The planning 5:40 - Chapter 3 - Pre invasion 9:20 - Chapter 4 - Logistics 11:35 - Chapter 5 - Training 12:55 - Chapter 6 - The great crusade - Chapter 7 - - Chapter 8 -

Would you consider doing a video on the Moffat Road (also known as Corona Pass) and the Moffat Tunnel? The road was originally a route for trains to get over the Rocky Mountains from Denver CO before the tunnel was built. Alpine tunnel would also be cool but not as much history since it wasnt used for long

The Dieppe Raid was worth a mention for the build up of the invasion as it taught us valuable lessons.

Simon what about a video on the Vw Beetle

Can you do Flying Scotsman

D-day is surreal to read about, hear about or see, even in fictional movies. Band of Brothers especially has left a special appreciation for the events surrounding D-day, possibly one of the best depictions of the lead up, the actual assault, and the movement through Europe. In fact, I'm gonna rewatch that.

a common misconception is that great generals are all about superior tactics and strategies in battle, but alot of what makes a general great is in the planning and logistics of huge movements of troops and equipment such as this. Being able to put the right people in the right place at the right time makes all the difference.

Hey there Mr Simon how about you do more about ww2 planes or attack plans? Plz? ♥️

I could've viewed 2 hours of detail on this topic!! Well-done!!!

Amazing video simon and ollie, lest we forget

Great video. I've been a war buff since I was a kid in the 70's and that was spot on mate.

Maybe look at the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in Victoria, Australia. Australia's largest ever engineering works. Happened in the 60s and employed over 100k people, mainly Souther European migrants fleeing poverty after WW2, including my father in law. Can argue is responsible for transforming Australia from a nation of Brits to a cosmopolitan nation full of Greeks, Italians, Yugoslavs and Spaniards. Not earth shattering but might be worth a look.

Hey simon I love your vids and my day feels incomplete without you man... I especially enjoy the projects of the wars as they always seem to be the most ambitious yet still get completed, mostly. @3:25 you say three hundred and thirty eight soldiers made it off the beaches of dunkirk, when I'm pretty sure you meant to say 338,000 soldiers made it off...just thought you might like to know. Thanks for the content and keep up your awesome energy

I really liked your presenting D-day as a planning-execution megaproject separated out from the huge individual bravery and suffering aspect that most d-day presentations focus on. It complements the more customary accounts focusing on individual bravery and suffering well. The extreme complexity and number of individual efforts, that were part of it is amazing. the question "how did they do something so complex" come up. The modern passenger jet plane like 707, space rockets like atlas centaur (millions of separate (above electrical board level) parts) seem mysterious and possibly wonderful for their scale of complexity. The scale of d-day shows the effect the scale of american production, and the world scale of the conflict (every us tank had to fit into the hold of a liberty ship.) The cooperation of the services, air force, navy, army.

My uncle Keith was a Lt. jg. in the U.S. Navy, flying a Corsair fighter off the U.S. S. Hornet during WW2. Not once did he ever speak about what he did back then. He passed away at the age of 90 a few years ago. Fair winds and following seas, uncle Keith.

Thanks Simon for the brief recap of the GREATEST INVASION by the GREATEST GENERATION! The preparations involved were simply unbelievable. I recently read about Juan Pujol Garcia and was amazed at his dedication and efforts just to become a double agent let alone playing a key role in throwing off the Nazis leadership. This man is an incredible hero which history has seemed to forgotten. It would be great if your Biography channel showcased JPG. Cheers.

"Saving Private Ryan" will forever be my favorite movie for the D-Day scene alone.

Back in the early 90s the History Channel had an hour long program called "Spies", and one episode covered Juan Pujol Garcia. It was a well done episode, and my favorite of the series. How he was able to fool the Germans so well is amazing and comical at the same time. That the Allies first rejected him, and then later when they discovered what he was doing recruited him and helped him expand his work. Whoever it was that called him Garbo said it was because he was such a beautiful actor.

Thanks for mentioning the mine-sweeping carried out prior to d-day, without which the invasion could not have gone through, and was a mega-project in it's own , as the whole operation took months to complete, from sweeping and keeping the Channel clear, then the 5 main routes towards the beaches and finally clearing the last stretch into the the beaches themselves which was done at the last moment prior to the landing craft going in. My Dad was serving aboard one of these smaller, lighter sweepers and told me about hearing the shells whistling overhead as his ship (Hms Kellet) was clearing the last stretch into Omaha beach. This aspect of d-day never gets the attention it deserves and would make an interesting episode of Megaprojects.

I don't know if it counts as one single project, but the Alberta Tar Sands were an immense undertaking.

The United States Pacific Fleet in WW2. The size and power was awesome. maybe focus on the fast carrier task forces operations during the last year of the war.

I think the best Megaproject subject would be how Simon runs so many different channels with such a high quality.

I love this video, one of the sad truths of military history is that no one documents the logistics of armies, battles, or wars. Look at the Romans, very little is know of the support structure of the legions. German in WWII is much the same. We know a little about preparations for specific events but not of the national or strategic planning and distribution. Logitic are a fundamental aspect of war and it's sad that we document so little of it. Again great video!

" THE EYES OFTHE WORLD ARE UPON YOU. THE HOPES AND PRAYERS OF LIBERTY LOVING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE MARCH WITH YOU " 👏👏👏😋

0:42 "Disney to let go 28,000 furloughed workers in California & Florida theme parks" is quite a depressing headline. The Disney parks aren't the Disney parks without the magic CMs bring to the parks. My heart goes out to all of the CMs affected

In a similar vein Operation CHASTISE, the Dambusters raid is always worth a look at. No account of the development of the bouncing bomb would be complete without including it's smaller sister of HIghball, a smaller bouncing bomb designed for use against moored ships, although never used.

When I was in 5th grade a older gentleman came to our class to speak to us. He was a half track driver at D-Day +3. “I’d never seen anything like it! I grew up in this spot in the road like all y’all! (Arkansas). You couldn’t blink without bumping into somebody.” Lol I’ll never forget that. We grew up in a town of maybe 1k people, probably 500 when he went to war. I could have to listen to him talk all week.

Simon, I would like to see you cover the Trans-Canada Railroad. It helped unite a nation that stretched from ocean to ocean!

Very interesting as usual but by Jove you should do a little research on the pronunciation of foreign names (it is quite easy nowadays); I think there is one French town in this video and it does not sound like 'kane'.

This might be one of our best yet. Excellent coverage of what happened on D Day. Thanks.

The greatest military invasion in history. This is a historical event that continues to be studied and will be for decades to come. Thank you for this great video. As a former serviceman myself, I like to study great WW II battles.

Get this comment to the top for a megaproject video about Simon's beard

Hey, could you do one on the Forth rail and road bridges? It is three bridges that show the fashion of bridge building of the last three centuries.

While on holiday in France in 2012, we explored all of the notable locations for Overlord, from Brecourt to the Pegasus Bridge, and all 5 beaches. Stayed at a little guesthouse right at Omaha, and one morning at dawn, I swam out into the depths, then turned and waded ashore right on Dog Green Sector (Saving Private Ryan)...and tried to imagine what it must have been like on the morning of the Day of Days. In a similar move to Tom Sizemore's character - I filled a small jar with beach sand from Dog-1, smuggled it home in my luggage...and I'm staring at it sitting above my TV as I type this in Geelong, Australia.

Though the numbers are very sobering, and very high, this was my favorite megaprojects video by far! Thank you very very much for producing it and sharing it.

do one on Operation MK-Ultra

If Hitler hadn't invaded Russia, it's doubtful the Allies could have won the war in Europe without using the Bomb. 2 out of 3 German troops died on the Eastern Front. On D-Day the allies would have faced millions more German troops, thousands more tanks and a robust Luftwaffe operating from forward airbases.

Wow, that was well done, superbly researched and riveting to watch and listen. Thank you for putting so much effort into this epic world changing event.

Simon! Panama Canal! You and your crew, allegedly...put out amazing content! Lol. I'm surprised you haven't done the Panama Canal. I guess you did it on Geographics. Likewise with the Great Wall. Perhaps...the Trans Canada Highway?? That would be awesome. Heck...West Edmonton Mall or even the Mall of America...Keep up the great work!

Here is a "mega project" to cover. How about the Apollo Moon Landing? It's by far the most mega of projects in our hominin history.

would you do a megaprojects on the sequencing of the human genome?

Simon, what a great topic. The planning involved in the invasion is beyond amazing. Pre computer all done by hand.

Big shout out to that wonderfully deceptive Spaniard✌️. Also Simon no need to worry about this being abstract, details of the planning you just told us about are quite jaw dropping, keep up the good work!

Mega Projects suggestion... The Avro Vulcan Bomber... Probably the best looking & sounding plane ever built... Oh and it nuked America twice 👍 Don't worry it will all make sense in the research 👍😁

Could you do Operation Downfall? It's the U.S. plan to invade Japan that was eclipsed by the use of the Bomb.

I’m fascinated by the logistics of massive operations. Great video

That was an extremely good video and as others have said of all your channels this is probably my favourite. Keep the good work up it is appreciated.

Here's a suggestion: the cologne cathedral

Can you do one on the M1 Abrams tank from the US.i think I would be cool.

I would highly recommend the videos on the American Veterans Centre channel. They have a lot of interviews with WWII veterans, some of which landed on D-Day. You always see documentaries that focus on the numbers/tactics/events behind the war. These interviews put a human face to everything. Also, would really love to see a video on the McKinley Climatic Laboratory. It's a huge facility that is used for testing vehicles and can produce any kind of extreme weather.

Brilliant video! Anyone who says that logistics in wartime isn’t interesting is crazy. The Longest Day is a great D-Day movie and it’s on YT for free.

Please make a video on *The battle of kursk*

I feel like "The Internet" would be an obvious topic for a video.

This was outstanding. Between the writing and the presenting I think this might be your best serious video todate.

I managed to get a hardcover edition of ‘The Longest Day’ from a public library many years ago. It was an incredible read. That edition had a lot of photographs and images of primary source material, which made things very real.

MAKE A VIDEO ON THE ANTARCTIC SNOW CRUISER

Idea: airbus a380

Great call for this video, wouldn’t have thought of it for this channel but once I saw it made perfect sense and had to watch