On this day in history, the D-Day operation of June 6, 1944 united the land, air and sea forces of the Allied armies in what has been called the largest amphibious invasion in military history, according to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Youth Home in Abilene, Kansas.
“The operation, codenamed OVERLORD, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy in France,” notes the same source.
“The beaches were codenamed: UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, and SWORD.”
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The historic invasion force that landed on D-Day included 7,000 ships and landing craft with over 195,000 Marines from eight Allied countries and nearly 133,000 troops from the United States, British Commonwealth and Allies.
The preparations for D-Day were very well coordinated.
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In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally ready to deal their biggest blow of World War II, a cross-Channel invasion of northern France, as evidenced by the National Museum of World War II, codenamed OVERLORD.
Photograph of D-Day landing craft, boats and seagoing vessels used to transport a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from sea to shore during an amphibious assault. Dated 1944. (Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
According to the same source, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander-in-chief of the operation, which ultimately involved the coordinated efforts of 12 nations.
After deliberation, it was decided that the landings would take place on the long, sloping beaches of Normandy – and that’s where the Allies would experience the element of surprise, the same source says.
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The landings would take place on the long, sloping beaches of Normandy.
“The German High Command expected the attack to take place in the Pas de Calais region, north of the Seine where the English Channel is at its narrowest,” says the National WWII Museum.
“Here Hitler stationed the bulk of his armored divisions after being tipped off by Allied undercover agents posing as German sympathizers that the invasion would take place in the Pas de Calais.”
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The invasion was carried out in two main phases: an air raid and amphibious landings, according to the UK’s Imperial War Museum
Just after midnight on June 6, over 18,000 Allied paratroopers were dropped into the invasion area to provide tactical support to infantry divisions on the beaches, the same source reports.
In addition, Allied air forces flew over 14,000 sorties in support of the landings and had secured air supremacy prior to the invasion, reports the UK’s Imperial War Museum
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On June 6, 1944, American soldiers are shown on a landing craft en route to the beaches of Normandy during the invasion of Europe. (Keystone/Getty Images)
According to the National WWII Museum, conducting a successful landing presented challenges because surprise was an essential element of the Allied invasion plan.
“It was particularly disheartening given that the English Channel was notorious for its rough seas and unpredictable weather and the enemy had spent months building the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile line of obstacles,” says the same source.
By daybreak on June 6, 1944, according to History.com, thousands of paratroopers and troops of gliders were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads.
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The amphibious assaults began at 6:30 a.m., multiple sources say.
By the end of the day some 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed the Normandy beaches.
According to History.com, the British and Canadians overcame some resistance and captured beaches codenamed Gold, Juno, and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach.
Aware of the importance of the sector dubbed Omaha Beach, which the Allies would need to connect and secure the beachheads, the Germans made sure it was heavily defended, says the National D-Day Memorial Foundation.
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“Fortifications and elevated terrain meant the American landing at Omaha would be the bloodiest of the day,” says the same source.
American assault troops in a landing craft near a beachhead in northern France. The landing is supported by naval gunfire. (MPI/Getty Images)
According to History.com, US forces met stiff resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties.
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“By the end of the day, however, about 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed the beaches of Normandy,” says the same source.
It is estimated that more than 4,000 Allied soldiers died in the D-Day invasion and thousands were wounded or missing, according to History.com.
The British secured Gold Beach with the help of artillery, tanks and air support, the National D-Day Memorial Foundation says.
The British secured Gold Beach with the help of artillery, tanks and air support, the National D-Day Memorial Foundation says.
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Canadian forces pushed back the Germans and secured Juno’s beachhead by the afternoon, the same source says.
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“By the end of the day, the British were tasked with securing Sword Beach and were three miles from their intended target at Caen,” says the same source.
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“By nightfall on D-Day, Allied forces passed the German defenses at all five bridgeheads. Hitler’s vaunted Atlantic Wall lasted less than 24 hours.”
On June 6, 1944, US assault forces saw the landing at Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and about 100,000 tons of equipment had landed in Normandy, History.com says.
On June 26, 1944, the Allies captured the French port of Cherbourg and the Germans were in retreat, NPR reports.
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By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed on the Normandy shores, according to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.
“The battles of brave soldiers, sailors and airmen of Allied forces on the Western Front and Russian forces on the Eastern Front resulted in the defeat of German Nazi forces,” the same source says.
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On August 25, 1944, Allied troops, with the help of the French resistance led by General Charles de Gaulle, liberated Paris after four years of German occupation, NPR reports.
The following spring, on May 7, 1945, General Dwight Eisenhower accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender at Reims, France.
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At midnight on May 8, 1945, the war in Europe was officially over.