Was Normandy Landing necessary?

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>>1642143

They had promised Stalin to open up a western front. You seem to forget that even by the capitulation of Germany in 1945, there was still fighting going on in Germany. The alps are historically a dreadful place to break through, from any direction. It's a surefire way to sink billions of dollars worth of resources and hundreds of thousands of casualties into something that will yield relatively poor results in a long drawn out campaign.

>>1642169
>The alps are historically a dreadful place to break through
They didnt have to go through the Alps to achieve this
>They had promised Stalin to open up a western front.
That was a year before and the Russians were getting their shit pushed in at the moment
By winter of 1944 they had already turned the tide

>>1642210
but they did do that with operation dragoon

>>1642210

A promise is a promise. Stalin expected it.

>>1642143
>Push Axis north and out of Italy
Italy suck for attackers though

Bagrations success relied on Germany pouring massive reserves into the West. All new gear and equipment that was desperately needed in east was sent to west.
That is why two front war was a known disaster and why every German with brains wanted to avoid such a scenario.

Italy was well defended and as people say, Alps are a natural defence barrier.
Crossing the Channel was the most natural way to get into France, and to the Central European plain (stretching from English channel well into Baltics/Belarus).

Furthermore, logistics is always a defining factor. Supplying northern France was easier than southern France, coming from England or even from North America.
Read about Operation Dragoon, they had severe supply issues, and their advance was slow not because of resistance but due to fuel issues.
Meanwhile the Allies managed to get fuel lines to transport massive amounts of fuel via pipes to northern France, allowing faster and more efficient logistics.

But maybe Normandy wasn't truly necessary. Red Army might have made it to Berlin in 1946 at latest without Allies tying up German forces in the west.
But did the Allies want to grab land in Europe and prevent Soviets from gaining more influence? Hell yes.

>>1642225
Hmm didnt know that
It was after Overlord though, probably to relieve pressure from the WF
Seems like it was all about ending the war a year earlier