BROADMAYNE D5
D-Day and the Normandy Invasion
The 6th of June 1944 was D-Day, the first day of the Normandy campaign known as Operation Overlord, which would ultimately lead to the liberation of Nazi occupied France.
D-Day began with history's largest ever amphibious assault - Operation Neptune - as British, Canadian, US and Free French Forces that had been camped in preparation along the south coast of England, crossed the Channel heading for the beaches of Normandy.
The operation was overseen by a joint Allied staff under the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force with General Eisenhower at the top as Supreme Commander, his deputy Arthur Tedder, Bertram Ramsay in charge of the Navy, Bernand Montgomery the Army and Trafford Leigh-Mallory the air forces. A great visual breakdown of this chain of command can be seen
on the Ecyclopaedia Britannica website, here: Normandy Invasion: Anglo-American chain of command
The beaches, code named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword, were defended by static German gun emplacements, part of Hitler's Atlantik Wall with Panzer support placed further inland.
US troops landed at Omaha and Utah, while the 2nd Rangers went to Point du Hoc to take out a large gun emplacement.
Despite the fact that the guns had been moved since the RAF's aerial reconnaisance photos were taken, they still came up against heavy fire and were later reinforced by the 5th Battalion Rangers, but successfully achieved their target of securing the area.
Canadian forces landed at Juno, British at Gold and Sword along with the Free French. The amphibious invasion was supported by air power and dropping paratroopers further inland to help capture roads and bridges. Omaha saw some of the bloodiest fighting, with the highest number of casualties, memorialised in Hollywood classics such as Saving Private Ryan, but eventually all beach heads were established and the 77-day push towards Paris and Belgium that followed, began.
Below are a few links to helpful sites that cover D-Day and the Normandy campaign in far greater detail:
Encyclopaedia Britannica - The Normandy Invasion
BBC History - Operation Overlord
The Canadian War Musem - Normandy Campaign
Wikipedia - Invasion of Normandy
If you'd like to research the Normandy Landings in more depth, we recommend the following books:
D-Day and the Battle for Normandy, Anthony Beevor
The Longest Day, Cornelius Ryan
Overlord, D-Day and the Battle for Normandy, Max Hastings
Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives, Peter Caddick-Adams
Monty's Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe, John Buckley