Operation Overlord  "D-Day"
In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war,
the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord. General
Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the operation that ultimately involved the
coordinated efforts of 12 nations.
After much deliberation, it was decided that the landings would take place on the long, sloping
beaches of Normandy. There, the Allies would have the element of surprise. The German high
command expected the attack to come in the Pas de Calais region, north of the river Seine
where the English Channel is narrowest. It was here that Adolf Hitler had put the bulk of his
panzer divisions after being tipped off by Allied undercover agents posing as German
sympathizers that the invasion would take place in the Pas de Calais.
Just after midnight on June 6, 1944, Allied airborne troops began dropping behind enemy lines.
Their job was to blow up bridges, sabotage railroad lines, and take other measures to prevent
the enemy from rushing reinforcements to the invasion beaches. Hours later, the largest
amphibious landing force ever assembled began moving through the storm-tossed waters
toward the beaches.
By nightfall, about 175, 000 Allied troops and 50, 000 vehicles were ashore with nearly a million
more men on the way that summer. Read more about the Normandy invasion on the WW2
Memorial Website.