Within a year of the landings, Adolf Hitler was dead and Germany had surrendered to the Allied forces, ending the Western theatre of the war. Limited planning for an invasion of Europe began soon after the evacuation of Dunkirk in , but detailed preparations for Operation Overlord were not submitted until , by Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan. The Allied forces also undertook a targeted deception campaign known as Operation Bodyguard, in a bid to convince the Nazis that the Allies would launch an invasion through Pas de Calais or possibly even Norway, rather than Normandy.
Taking the thinly stretched Nazi defences by surprise, some , Allied troops sailed across the Channel from ports on the south coast of England and stormed the beaches of Normandy at five separate points, code-named Utah, Juno, Sword, Omaha and Gold. A total of 7, ships were involved in the attack, including 3, troop carriers, escort vessels and minesweepers.
Nevertheless, the Allies immediately came under heavy fire, and the work of the beach-clearing teams was both difficult and dangerous, the Daily Express adds. The Allies are estimated to have suffered at least 10, casualties that day, with more than 4, confirmed dead, but by evening, five vital access points for Allied military operations into Europe had been established.
By June , an operation was under way to liberate the Italian Peninsula, but establishing a foothold in Normandy was essential for a full-scale invasion. Following their defeat on the beaches, the Nazi forces in Western Europe were so depleted that the Allies were able to advance, capturing Paris by 25 August, and Brussels by 3 September. By late April , the Allies had advanced deep into German territory and liberated Munich, one of the key Nazi strongholds.
Unable to defend two fronts at once, the Nazis were decisively beaten by the Red Army in Berlin, leading to the suicide of Hitler and forcing the surrender of Nazi Germany on 8 May The name D-Day has been used for many military operations, but it is now firmly associated with the Allied invasion of Normandy. D-Day 70th anniversary: Special Newsround programme. Veterans remember D-Day landings. What is Remembrance Day? How much is a lightsaber worth?
Gerrard announced as new Villa manager - is it a good move? Home Menu. D-Day: What is it and why is it important? Getty Images. These veterans all served on D-Day. What was D-Day? US army troops landing on the beach in Normandy for D-Day. What happened on D-Day? Where did D-Day landings happen? The D-Day planning map shows where each team landed on the beaches in Normandy. Who took part in D-Day landings? Why was it called D-Day? By late August , all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans.
The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. The Americans entered the war in December , and by they and the British who had been evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in May after being cut off by the Germans in the Battle of France were considering the possibility of a major Allied invasion across the English Channel.
The following year, Allied plans for a cross-Channel invasion began to ramp up. Hitler charged Rommel with finishing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,mile fortification of bunkers, landmines and beach and water obstacles. In the months and weeks before D-Day, the Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais the narrowest point between Britain and France rather than Normandy.
In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics were used to carry out the deception, including fake equipment; a phantom army commanded by George Patton and supposedly based in England, across from Pas-de-Calais; double agents; and fraudulent radio transmissions. Eisenhower selected June 5, , as the date for the invasion; however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours.
On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. The eyes of the world are upon you. Later that day, more than 5, ships and landing craft carrying troops and supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11, aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasions began at a. According to some estimates, more than 4, Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing.
Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over , troops, more than 50, vehicles and some , tons of equipment had landed at Normandy. For their part, the Germans suffered from confusion in the ranks and the absence of celebrated commander Rommel, who was away on leave. At first, Hitler, believing the invasion was a feint designed to distract the Germans from a coming attack north of the Seine River, refused to release nearby divisions to join the counterattack.
Reinforcements had to be called from further afield, causing delays. He also hesitated in calling for armored divisions to help in the defense. Moreover, the Germans were hampered by effective Allied air support, which took out many key bridges and forced the Germans to take long detours, as well as efficient Allied naval support, which helped protect advancing Allied troops.
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