D-Day June 6, 1944

Who was involved in D-Day? United States VS. Britain Germany Canada

The Plan Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt agreed it was time to open up a new front in the West through the beaches of France The obvious choice for a landing area was the Pas de Calais so the Allies decided to attack in Normandy instead but believed they had to deceive the Germans they intended to attack elsewhere

Normandy It Is! Normandy is a peninsula on the French Coast It was chosen because the Germans expected the attack to be on the Pas de Calais

The Criteria The enemy must remain ignorant of the proposed landing site The enemy must be prevented from bringing up reinforcements quickly once the allies landed Complete Allied air and naval superiority in the English Channel Local defenses must largely be destroyed by air and sea bombardment

Preparation Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics was 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. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day/videos/d-day-deception

Soldiers lifting an inflatable tank. Part of the Ghost Army

The Obstacles 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 fortifications consisted of a series of reinforced concrete gun emplacements supported by well protected infantry strong-points and heavy machine gun nests overlooking the beaches. These were surrounded by trenches with mortars and machine guns.

The Obstacles The beaches were strewn with obstacles and mines. Hedgehogs- three iron bars intersecting at rights angles had been constructed on the beaches. Fields of barbed wire and mines covered the land past the beaches. Also the seafront houses provided excellent observation and firing positions for snipers.

The Obstacles Approximately 1.2 million tons of steel went into the Atlantic Wall. The Nazis also poured 17 million cubic meters of concrete into the defenses.

Pictures of Allied bombing damage at Before the Invasion In the days leading up to the main invasion, Allied planes bombed the Atlantic Wall defenses all along the coast of France Pictures of Allied bombing damage at Pointe du Hoc, France

Before the Invasion The night before the invasion, Allied troops parachuted behind enemy lines in France They tried to destroy railroad lines and disrupt communication General Eisenhower speaking to airborne troops on the evening before the invasion

US troops in a Higgins landing craft approaching the coast of Normandy What Happened? On June 6, 1944 more than 150,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel They attacked the German military along a 60 mile stretch of the coast in Normandy, France. US troops in a Higgins landing craft approaching the coast of Normandy

What Happened? Troops sailed from different ports in Great Britain and attacked the Germans together on five different beaches in Normandy, France The British at Gold, and Sword, the Americans at Utah, and Omaha, and the Canadians at Juno

What Happened? Soldiers faced intense opposition from the Germans when they landed

What Happened? Many men were killed or injured before they even reached the beaches US troops take shelter behind German “hedgehogs.” The obstacles were designed to prevent Allied landing craft from getting too close to the shores of France.

The Canadians 30 000 Canadians Land at Juno beach Troops from the 48th Royal Marines at Saint-Aubin-sur-mer on Juno Beach, Normandy, France, during the D-Day landings, June 6, 1944. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 30 000 Canadians Land at Juno beach They were the only ones to achieve all of their goals for the first day of the attack 358 dead 715 injured Troops of the Canadian 3rd Division, leaving their ship with their bicycles. G. Milne/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Why Did It Happen? The Allies wanted to free France from German control They had to first conquer the coast of France so that they could then liberate western Europe and defeat Hitler

How Did It Affect The War? D-Day was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe The Allies were able to liberate France from German control after several months of fighting

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day

Images courtesy of: Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/index.html United States Army: D-Day http://www.army.mil/d-day/index.html United States National Archives http://www.archives.gov/