D-Day

[Neroon]

I could actually see peace negotiation between the Allies and Germany happen in this situation precisely because the Germans have no more hope of winning the war. My explanation for this appearant Enigma:
As was said before the Soviets were pretty much unstoppable by this point so even an immediate cease - fire would not have enabled the Axis to acutally defeat the Soviet Union, nonetheless it might just have led to a peace by exhaustion between them. And in that situation would the Allies not prefer Europe divided between TWO evil totalitarian regimes (especially if they hate each other more than they hate you), rather than all of it under the control of ONE ?
So if it seems the Soviets will win the war on their own and before a 2nd landing has a realistic hope of freeing at least part of western Europa, the Allies might have to make peace with Germany accoring to the divide your enemies thing.

 

[Grimm Reaper]

Bear in mind that failiure on June 6th, 1944 effectively destroys substantial elements of five divisions plus the airborne. As by August the Western Allies had almost 40 divisions in France, the losses may be heartbreaking but not a death-blow. What happens is that the West shifts forces into Operation Dragoon, the invasion of SOUTHERN France!

Additionally, the forces freed up for Hitler, including Norway, now that a major invasion of the Atlantic Wall is off for this year will probably suffice to shore up the Eastern Front until the middle of 1945. By shore up, I mean a defense line holding Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Poland west of the Vistula while rescuing most of the troops in the Baltic States(not the heavy equipment). That plus all of France(the golden goose of German occupation) and Benelux.

So with jet fighters appearing in large numbers, and the new U-boats ripping through the Atlantic, with Churchill out of office and FDR dead, it might actually come down to a one-front war for the Germans in 1945.

 

[Bulgaroktonos]

Additionally, the forces freed up for Hitler, including Norway, now that a major invasion of the Atlantic Wall is off for this year will probably suffice to shore up the Eastern Front until the middle of 1945. By shore up, I mean a defense line holding Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Poland west of the Vistula while rescuing most of the troops in the Baltic States(not the heavy equipment). That plus all of France(the golden goose of German occupation) and Benelux.

So with jet fighters appearing in large numbers, and the new U-boats ripping through the Atlantic, with Churchill out of office and FDR dead, it might actually come down to a one-front war for the Germans in 1945.

All of that is predicated upon the idea that Hitler is going to be intelligent. He left Army Group North to die in the Courland, there is no reason he will rescue them now...

Secondly, the Germans can't hold the Vistula. Bagration castrates them, and Rokossovsky was ready to deliever the deathblow to Ninth Army by at least August 8th, in which Zhukov and Rok. both agreed that there were no major military obstacles to continuing the advance. In late summer of 1944, the Nazis are on the ropes. It's only the great delay in the Soviet January offensive (due to the Warsaw Rising) that gives the Germans any breathing room.

Realisitically, the Soviets could have ended the war much sooner......

 

[wkwillis]

Es macht nichts.
We had air superiority, battleships reducing German divisions to battalions anywhere within twenty miles of the beaches, and an entirely separate invasion too far away for Hitler to switch forces to contain, not to mention Patton with the other 34 divisions opposite Calais, waiting their turn.
And the Russians in the process of destroying the German army in Poland and Prussia after already having evicted them from the Balkans and the oil supplies of Rumania.
The war might have lasted the three months longer for us to have used nukes to force the Rhine, but I doubt it.

 

[Chingo360]

There were about 3 other smaller Allied attacks prepared for Bordeaux and other western French spots. Hitler would have been screwed no matter what happened.