Deceived, the Germans moved only slowly to reinforce the Normandy defenses after the initial landing. Moreover, a successful Allied deception plan had led the Germans to believe the point of the attack would be further north and east on the coast near Calais and the Belgian border. In contrast, the German air force managed only 500 sorties. On D-Day alone, the Allies flew 14,000 sorties. However, the Allies had an overwhelming advantage in naval and air power. They had deployed five infantry divisions, one airborne division, and one tank division along the Normandy coast. Some 5,000 naval craft and more than 11,500 aircraft supported the initial invasion.Īt first, under the overall command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the Germans had held the advantage in battle positioning. The invasion forces numbered about 175,000 Allied troops and 50,000 vehicles. On the night before the amphibious landings, more than 23,000 US, British, and Canadian paratroopers landed in France behind the German defensive lines by parachute and glider. The beaches were code named: Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword, and Utah. During the operation, Allied troops landed on five beaches on the coast of Normandy. On the ground, it was commanded by British General Bernard Montgomery. Operation “Overlord” was organized under the overall command of US General Dwight D. Since then, June 6, 1944, has been known in World War II history as “D-Day.” On June 6 of that year, under the code name Operation “Overlord,” US, British, and Canadian troops crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. Western Allied troops, however, did not gain a footing on the European continent until July 1943 with the invasion of Sicily.īut it was the Allied landing in northern France in June of 1944 that ultimately ensured Allied victory over the Nazis.
Before the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army carried on the bulk of the Allied fighting in Europe.
After the German conquest of France in 1940, the opening of a second front in western Europe was a major aim of Allied strategy during World War II.
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