The Great Commander

This film (drama)Also known asOverlord，is aUnited KingdomProducerwomen sex，At1975Released in year 。The dialogue language isEnglish，Current Douban rating7.6(For reference only)。

The 1975 film "The Great Commander" depicts the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, which was the largest Allied operation in World War II, known as the Normandy "Great Commander" landing. Directed by Stuart Cooper, it won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and has become a reference for many subsequent World War II films. 　　Film Background: 　　On the morning of June 6, 1944, Allied forces, primarily made up of American and British troops, landed on the beaches of Normandy in southern France. This marked the opening of the so-called second front, dubbed "Operation Overlord"; some translations refer to it as the Supreme (Lord) or Dominator. In fact, OVERLORD refers to a British monarch. Due to the secrecy surrounding the Normandy landings, many were unaware of the actual start time of the attack, and the highest authorities referred to it only by code; D-Day represents the day of the attack, and H-hour signifies the moment the attack commenced. Subsequently, all Allied attacks adhered to this model. The Allies also adopted large-scale deception measures, one operation codenamed "Fortitude" misled the Germans into believing the Allies would land in Calais, the narrowest part of the English Channel. At the same time, extensive air raids were carried out to weaken German forces near Normandy. Allied Commander Eisenhower initially planned for the landing to take place on June 5 but postponed it due to poor weather to June 6. 　　In fact, the weather was still quite severe during the landing, causing many soldiers to suffer from seasickness and vomit, enduring significant physical strain. However, driven by a strong belief, most soldiers silently tolerated the adversity and showed little resistance. On the contrary, they hoped to escape the agony of waiting in the assembly area and engage in combat with the Germans as soon as possible. For most, only one thing mattered: when would the attack begin? To alleviate boredom and frustration during the long wait, soldiers turned to gambling for entertainment, which was particularly popular among American troops and could be found almost everywhere; in Taiwan, they might have already faced confinement for such behavior. 　　The plan divided the Normandy beachheads into five sections, from west to east: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. The American 4th Division was responsible for landing at Utah Beach, the 29th and 1st Divisions at Omaha Beach, the British 50th Division at Gold Beach, the Canadian 3rd Division at Juno Beach, and the British 3rd Division at Sword Beach, with an initial deployment of 176,475 personnel and 20,110 vehicles over the first two days (D-Day + 2) to complete the landings. Over 10,000 aircraft and more than 5,000 ships and landing craft were dispatched to support them. After landing, all beachheads managed to successfully establish a foothold with only slight resistance, the exception being Omaha Beach, which suffered heavy casualties due to ineffective airstrikes and neglect of German reinforcements from the 352nd Infantry Division. A total of 2,500 were killed or wounded at Omaha, accounting for over a quarter of all Allied casualties on D-Day. 　　In Operation Overlord, a special plan was made to deploy three airborne divisions to drop behind enemy lines, controlling key routes to slow down German reinforcements, thus facilitating Allied ground forces' attacks. To maximize the element of surprise, the airborne assaults were scheduled to occur at night, taking advantage of darkness for cover and shock effect. The high command initially estimated that the casualty rate of airborne operations would be extremely high, potentially reaching 50%, with some units facing losses as high as 70% or more. For Eisenhower, approving the airborne operation was a dilemma; he knew the losses would be severe but felt he had no other choice. Ultimately, he authorized the task to be undertaken by the American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, along with the British 6th Airborne Division, consisting of over 18,000 troops. Eisenhower spent more than an hour before the operation talking with the paratroopers, and after their departure, General Eisenhower gazed at the night sky; NBC reporter Reed Muller unexpectedly discovered that the general had tears in his eyes. 　　After the Allied landings, to ensure the beachhead's integrity and a continuous supply of materials, extensive logistical infrastructure was prepared. Among the most noteworthy was the design of artificial ports, a first of its kind. The artificial ports were named Mulberries, each roughly the size of Dover Harbor, with two constructed. Between the breakwaters and the shore, many three-story high concrete boxes (codenamed Phoenix) and floating causeways (codenamed Whale) were deployed, and aerial balloons were used on the beachheads to deter German aircraft. Additionally, there were underwater oil pipelines connected directly from the British mainland to the beachhead. Daily supplies delivered to the beachhead reached a million tons, fully supporting the Allies. However, due to the continued bad weather, severe storms eventually hit, destroying the artificial ports, yet their existence remained the Allies' only barrier and support for consolidating the beachhead during the initial stages of landing.