Josh Weiner
The sands are clear and the sea is tidal, and the white-headed spurs show the loneliness here and the heavy feeling brought by the history. A small number of visitors are standing here, perhaps in the old nostalgia, imagining the British Isles more than 100 kilometers away from the shore, is in the eye.
Seventy-five years ago, gunboats, bombers, trenches, and soldiers had once made the battle of the old ones here. Here is Omaha Beach, known as the Bloody Omaha. In the war, the war may not leave marks, but the legacy of a modern democratic spirit that aspires to peace and confronts totalitarianism is left behind.
Falling down
2019 is the 75th anniversary of the Allied landing on Norman. On June 6, 1944, in the late World War II, the largest sea, land, and air ally in the history of the British Isles was in Omaha Beach, Utah, Utah, and Juno Beach in the Normandy region of northern France. Waiting for five landing sites to successfully grab the stalls and destroy the Atlantic Wall that Hitler called “the defense line.” This is the fourth time since the fall of France in 1940, after allied forces have stepped on French territory.
But it was a battle that truly demonstrated the brilliance of humanity. The practice of landing 3 million troops on the beach was tantamount to exposing the army to uncovered beaches and letting the Nazis shoot. The Allies are also expected to be defeated, and indeed many soldiers have been shot at the beach, making the sea red.
However, at the same time, the Nazi Germans who also ran into the Soviet Union against the Soviet Union were not involved, and they needed to dispatch troops to carry out defense operations everywhere, and the Western defense line was empty. After the successful landing of Normandy, the Allied forces opened a gap for the Western Front War. They took the victory and attacked the German army who occupied France. They drove straight forward and finally regained control of the Western European continent. The Nazi Germans lost their ground and signed a surrender in May of the following year.
Therefore, the Battle of Normandy was regarded as the turning point of World War II, and it was also the end of the Allied forces to lay the victory.
The reel of the 20th century military history was opened, and the Battle of Normandy was the first joint victory of the US-European Union. The comprehensive strategy of the landing war and the unprecedented fleet of the whole army rely on the concerted efforts of the British, American, French and other multinational allied forces, thus achieving the most glorious counter-attack war in the modern world history.
It is the embryonic form of transatlantic military cooperation, which has made it necessary for North American and Western European countries to understand the needs of the military alliance. With the warming of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union after the war, indirect pavements will form the basis of the NATO military alliance in the future.
NATO: The full name of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was officially established on April 4, 1949 under the leadership of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The original intention was to achieve defense cooperation between Europe and North America, and the former Soviet Union. The Warsaw Convention, which is composed of its satellite group, contends.
However, in the past 75 years, the US-European Union seems to be dying. In recent years, populism in the United States and Europe has continued to heat up, and politicians who focus on local interests have become the priority flag of their own country and are gradually favored by many people. In the past, we relied on multilateral mutual assistance and mutual benefit to make friends. As countries became more self-interested, they threatened the long-term cooperative relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic since the Battle of Normandy.
Will Churchill speak the words of Trump?
Since President Trump took office, the White House has always adopted a very tough diplomatic attitude toward Western European countries. Regardless of the trade agreement, 5G technology, NATO military fees, etc., Trump has put up a “no retreat” attitude, under the premise of the US supreme interests, these diplomatic attitudes are in line with the White House’s right-wing populist strategy. However, operating a transatlantic relationship may not be a good thing.
A few days ago, during Trump’s visit to the UK, the Queen gave him a “Memoir of the Second World War” written by the wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. As a gift, he might hope to send it to Trump. Don’t forget the history of war. The lesson is that the national interest is placed too high and the alliance with Europe is sacrificed.
Atlantic storm now populist tradition one faction losing ground
However, depending on the other side, a large part of the EU countries in the NATO organization, due to the strong populist style of each country, has internal differences. The voter turnout for the European Elections held last month hit a 20-year high, close to 51%. The results of the vote showed that the anti-globalization left-wing party and the suspected European right-wing party achieved considerable results, and the power of the traditional pro-European party was greatly reduced. For example, the CDU, led by German Chancellor Merkel, won only 27% of the vote, down 8% from the last election. The Rassemblement National, led by France’s Marine Le Pen, received a 23% approval rate, overwhelming President Marlon’s centrist party and winning the most votes in the country. The results further show the current situation of local voters dissatisfied with the EU in recent years, as well as the centrifugal force for the integration of Europe.
The traditional political forces of the countries in the European Union have begun to lose momentum, and leaders who have been committed to maintaining European solidarity have been more difficult than ever. Although the French President Mark Long still insists on his European strategy of continuous integration, he has even proposed to build a “European army” to jointly safeguard European interests. However, the results of the European Parliament elections show that Mark Long’s claims are not necessarily recognized by mainstream public opinion. His best partner, German Chancellor Merkel, almost decided to withdraw from politics after leaving office in 2021. He also indicated that he is not in touch with EU affairs, and the future diplomatic orientation of Germany is even more uncertain. After the Brexit, France and Germany are more important to maintain the unity of the EU. The public opinion of the two countries determines the future development of the European Community.
The hidden divisions within Europe, as well as the US’s non-stringing (Trump’s visit to Britain, which is expected to reach as many as 200,000 Londoners), threaten the operation of the Transatlantic Alliance in the past few decades. Although the increasingly cold relationship between the United States and Europe does not appeal to Gan Ge, the suspicions of both sides and the differences within Europe itself will hinder the long-term cooperation against global terrorism and lay a crisis for the world’s security and stability.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Normandy’s landing, it is an opportunity for the world to remind itself that the world is stable and harmonious, but it has never been easy. For politicians in various countries, this meaning should be especially inscribed in the heart.
