During the WWII, the Allied forces of America, British, France and Canada attacked the German forces along the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. This huge naval, air and land assault comprised of over 150,000 soldiers as well as nearly 200,000 naval troops. This famous assault came to be known as D-day or the Battle of Normandy.
Historically, the D-day invasion is considered one of the largest military assaults. It required extensive planning, strategic and training on the part of the Allies. The Allies also knew they would lose a large number of troops in the assault. However, it had to be done to turn the war against Nazi Germany.
By 1944, Germany had effective control of most of mainland Europe. This prevented the American, British or other Allied armies from assaulting Germans in Europe. Allied leaders like Roosevelt and Churchill contemplated a large-scale amphibious assault on German-occupied Europe as early as 1942. The purpose of such an assault would be to dislodge German control on some key areas such as the coasts of France. This would then provide the Allies with a springboard to launch a more concerted counter-offensive against the Germans.
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched the assault on German-occupied northern France. This day became known as D-Day in history. The assault comprised of both airborne and seaborne invasions. To create a ruse for the Germans, the Allies also trumped up a fake operation with the codename of ‘Operation Bodyguard’. This was meant to serve as a distraction and deceive the Germans about the actual point of Allied landings. The Allied seaborne troops landed on the five beaches of Normandy. Airborne troops were dropped behind enemy lines earlier to cut logistical links and prevent Germans from mobilizing a counter-offensive in time.
By the end of the D-Day on June 6, 1944, the Allied forces had made little progress. They could connect only two of the five target beachheads. However, they slowly progressed and pushed back the German forces. On the first day of the assault alone, Allied troops suffered more than 10,000 casualties where the German losses were estimated to be around 4,000 to 9,000 men. Despite the slow progress and scarce victories on D-Day, events of the day paved the way for Allied success in the Battle of Normandy. The Allies were successful in this battle, ultimately liberating Paris and marching on Germany to end the war.
Allied forces were successfully able to storm Normandy on D-Day. This helped them push back the Germans and retake France. By the next year, the Allies were in Germany where they forced German troops to surrender. This marked the end of World War II.
