Posted on Jun 6, 2021
Here's what happened on D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion ever undertaken
1.14K
12
2
9
9
0
D-Day -- the military term for the first day of the Normandy landings -- was the largest amphibious invasion ever undertaken and laid the foundations for the Allied defeat of Germany in World War II.
The invasion took place June 6, 1944, and saw of tens of thousands of troops from the United States, the UK, France and Canada landing on five stretches of the Normandy coastline -- codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches.
Planning for D-Day began more than a year in advance, and the Allies carried out substantial military deception -- codenamed Operation Bodyguard -- to confuse the Germans as to when and where the invasion would take place.
The operation was originally scheduled to begin on June 5, when a full moon and low tides were expected to coincide with good weather, but storms forced a 24-hour delay.
The invasion took place June 6, 1944, and saw of tens of thousands of troops from the United States, the UK, France and Canada landing on five stretches of the Normandy coastline -- codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches.
Planning for D-Day began more than a year in advance, and the Allies carried out substantial military deception -- codenamed Operation Bodyguard -- to confuse the Germans as to when and where the invasion would take place.
The operation was originally scheduled to begin on June 5, when a full moon and low tides were expected to coincide with good weather, but storms forced a 24-hour delay.
Here's what happened on D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion ever undertaken
Posted from cnn.com
WWII World War Two
D-Day
Military History
Europe
France
Edited 3 y ago
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 1
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
What happened on D-Day?
The amphibious landings -- codenamed Operation Overlord -- were preceded by an extensive bombing campaign to damage German defenses.
Deception tactics employed in the months leading up to the attack led the Germans to believe that the initial attacks were merely a diversion and that the true invasion would take place further along the coast.
Allied divisions began landing on the five beaches at 6:30 a.m. June 6.
The US troops were assigned to Utah beach at the base of the Cotentin Peninsular and Omaha beach at the northern end of the Normandy coast. The British subsequently landed on Gold Beach, followed by the Canadians at Juno, and finally the British at Sword, the easternmost point of the invasion.
By midnight June 6, the troops had secured their beachheads and moved further inland from Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword.
However, not all the landings were successful; US forces suffered substantial losses at Omaha beach, where strong currents forced many landing craft away from their intended positions, delaying and hampering the invasion strategy.
Heavy fire from German positions on the steep cliffs, which had not been effectively destroyed by Allied bombing before the invasion, also caused casualties.
US Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces, gives the order of the day to paratroopers in England. "Full victory — nothing else" was the command just before they boarded their planes to participate in the first wave. The invasion — code-named Operation Overlord — had been brewing for more than two years.
What happened on D-Day?
The amphibious landings -- codenamed Operation Overlord -- were preceded by an extensive bombing campaign to damage German defenses.
Deception tactics employed in the months leading up to the attack led the Germans to believe that the initial attacks were merely a diversion and that the true invasion would take place further along the coast.
Allied divisions began landing on the five beaches at 6:30 a.m. June 6.
The US troops were assigned to Utah beach at the base of the Cotentin Peninsular and Omaha beach at the northern end of the Normandy coast. The British subsequently landed on Gold Beach, followed by the Canadians at Juno, and finally the British at Sword, the easternmost point of the invasion.
By midnight June 6, the troops had secured their beachheads and moved further inland from Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword.
However, not all the landings were successful; US forces suffered substantial losses at Omaha beach, where strong currents forced many landing craft away from their intended positions, delaying and hampering the invasion strategy.
Heavy fire from German positions on the steep cliffs, which had not been effectively destroyed by Allied bombing before the invasion, also caused casualties.
US Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces, gives the order of the day to paratroopers in England. "Full victory — nothing else" was the command just before they boarded their planes to participate in the first wave. The invasion — code-named Operation Overlord — had been brewing for more than two years.
(1)
(0)
SFC Randy Hellenbrand
The American 4th Cavalry was the first of the seaborn landings to hit enemy soil and they liberated the British Channel islands. I'm coined to Troop E of the 4th.
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google