Did you know…

On June 6th the Canadian soldiers getting off their landing crafts were issued bicycles that they had to carry on their backs then upon arriving dry land would ride into battle ! Most of the soldiers just tossed them aside or gave them to the thankful French (who had been deprived of their bikes by the Germans) who welcomed the free transportation.

It just wasn’t practical to ride a bicycle during combat, you can’t dismount fast engough to take cover, you can’t fire your weapon as you need both hands and the craters made by the aerial bombardment made it even harder to cycle around them or through them. A good idea in theory a bad idea in real combat situation !