June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.
The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, 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.
http://www.army.mil/d-day/slideshow.html
http://www.army.mil/d-day/resources.html
http://www.history.com/topics/d-day
3 comments:
Incredible bravery! I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for those troops to step off those boats onto the beach. God bless them each and every one for their service to this country! Brings tears to my eyes.
I always think about Saving Private Ryan and the horror of that beach if you made it out of the water or boat for that matter. Talk about post traumatic syndrome. Brave souls :)
I thought of that, too, Kelly. It's hard to watch that movie. Unreal.
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