D-Day 6th June, 1944

Background On D-Day, June 6, 1944, “Operation Overlord”, the long-awaited invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, began with Allied armies from the U.S., Britain and Canada landing on the coast of Normandy. The victory was a turning point in World War II and led to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany. Fourteen thousand young Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day.

“Operation Overlord” The invasion plan called for an amphibious assault by five infantry divisions on a fifty mile stretch of the Cotentin Caen area of the Normandy coast. The five infantry divisions, two British, one Canadian and two American were assigned to beaches code-named, from east to west, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.

On D-Day, Canada would land the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division at Juno beach in the centre of Second British Army's sector. The plan called for the Canadians to establish a beachhead, capture three small seaside towns, and advance ten miles inland. Their objective was to cut the Caen -Bayeux highway, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the British beachheads Sword and Gold.

Invasion Force U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander who gave the go ahead for the invasion one day later than planned due to bad weather. With that decision a vast array of 5300 ships and landing craft carrying 150,000 men, 1500 tanks, and 50,000 vehicles prepared to move into place for the invasion.

Juno Beach- the Canadian Landings Juno beach was five miles wide and stretched on either side of the small fishing port of Courseulles-sur-Mer, France. Two smaller villages, Bernières and St. Aubin, lay to the east of Courseulles. Although a total of 14,000 Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day, there were not more than three thousand young Canadians in the first wave - all ranks.

German Defences The Germans used millions of slave labourers during four years of occupation to construct the 'Atlantic Wall' - a modern fortification system along the coast of France. The coastline bristled with guns, concrete emplacements, pillboxes, fields of barbed wire and mines.

Conclusion Fourteen thousand Canadians landed in Normandy on D-Day and to ensure the victory 340 Canadians had given their lives. Another 574 had been wounded and 47 taken prisoner. The Allies had landed more than 150,000 troops in France by sea and air. Thousands of vehicles, hundreds of guns and about 4,000 tons of supplies had also been landed. Ahead lay eleven more months of bitter fighting.

Video: D-Day Documented by Newsreel Cameras (8:47) – History Channel