According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing. However, by day’s end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. D-Day Landings: June 6, 1944īy dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. Later that day, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying troops and supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion. He told the troops: “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. A Weather Delay: June 5, 1944Įisenhower selected June 5, 1944, 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. 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. In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. 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 January 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) was appointed commander of Operation Overlord.
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