The Allied invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, widely regarded as D-Day, is considered by many the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe. Also known as Operation Overlord, the effort to free Nazi-occupied France represented the largest multi-national amphibious attack and operational military airdrop in history. According to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (formerly known as the Army Map Service), “an estimated 850,279 men, 148,803 vehicles, and 570,505 tons of supplies landed in Normandy.”
Critical to the campaigns success were 5,000 Allied ships that protected the English Channel and 12,000 Allied airplanes which protected the skies.
Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force General Dwight D. Eisenhower shared this message with the troops on June 6, 1944: “The eyes of the world are upon you…The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. Your task will not be an easy one…Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely…I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!”
Along a 50-mile stretch of northern beaches in Normandy, France, 160,000 troops landed to repel Nazi German troops. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded in the battle which marked a turning point in the war and made it possible for 100,000 soldiers to press on across the continent until Europe was liberated and the Nazis were definitively defeated on May 8, 1945.
We honor the courage and sacrifice of our Allied soldiers, which shaped the free world as we know it today. Among other events, the U.S. Army and American Battle Monuments Commission will live stream a special commemorative event from the Normandy American Cemetery in France on June 6, 2024, at 6:30 am EDT.
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