D-Day Invasion: (June 6, 1944)
D-Day:
June 6, 1994: 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50 mile stretch of fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called it a crusade: “ we will accept nothing less than full victory.”
5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day Invasion. D-Day totals were more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers killed or wounded. The Airborne Assault as part of the D-Day Allied invasion of Europe was the largest use of airborne troops up to that time.
http://www.army.mil/d-day/
Orders:
"Supreme Commander--General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Ike's D-Day Message, Order of the Day, 6 June 1944
Allied Expeditionary Naval Forces--Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay
21st Army Group--General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery
Allied Expeditionary Air Forces--Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh- Mallory"
OPERATIONS:
"The invasion itself gave prominence to land forces but provided major roles for air and sea components. Allied air forces carried three airborne divisions into battle, protected the force as it crossed the English Channel, and attacked targets throughout the invasion area before and after the landing in support of the assault forces. More than 5,000 ships--from battleships to landing craft--carried, escorted and landed the assault force along the Normandy coast. Once the force was landed, naval gunfire provided critical support for the soldiers as they fought their way across the beaches. In the invasion's early hours, more than 1,000 transports dropped paratroopers to secure the flanks and beach exits of the assault area. Amphibious craft landed some 130,000 troops on five beaches along 50 miles of Normandy coast between the Cotentin Peninsula and the Orne River while the air forces controlled the skies overhead. In the eastern zone, the British and Canadians landed on GOLD, JUNO and SWORD Beaches. The Americans landed on two beaches in the west--UTAH and OMAHA. As the Allies came ashore, they took the first steps on the final road to victory in Europe"(http://www.kansasheritage.org/abilene/ikedday.html).
Sources
D-Day, The 6th of June, Center of Military History Map Guide, Washington, D.C. 1994 Normandy, U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II pamphlet, Center of Military History, Washington, D.C. 1994.
June 6, 1994: 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50 mile stretch of fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called it a crusade: “ we will accept nothing less than full victory.”
5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day Invasion. D-Day totals were more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers killed or wounded. The Airborne Assault as part of the D-Day Allied invasion of Europe was the largest use of airborne troops up to that time.
http://www.army.mil/d-day/
Orders:
"Supreme Commander--General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Ike's D-Day Message, Order of the Day, 6 June 1944
Allied Expeditionary Naval Forces--Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay
21st Army Group--General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery
Allied Expeditionary Air Forces--Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh- Mallory"
OPERATIONS:
"The invasion itself gave prominence to land forces but provided major roles for air and sea components. Allied air forces carried three airborne divisions into battle, protected the force as it crossed the English Channel, and attacked targets throughout the invasion area before and after the landing in support of the assault forces. More than 5,000 ships--from battleships to landing craft--carried, escorted and landed the assault force along the Normandy coast. Once the force was landed, naval gunfire provided critical support for the soldiers as they fought their way across the beaches. In the invasion's early hours, more than 1,000 transports dropped paratroopers to secure the flanks and beach exits of the assault area. Amphibious craft landed some 130,000 troops on five beaches along 50 miles of Normandy coast between the Cotentin Peninsula and the Orne River while the air forces controlled the skies overhead. In the eastern zone, the British and Canadians landed on GOLD, JUNO and SWORD Beaches. The Americans landed on two beaches in the west--UTAH and OMAHA. As the Allies came ashore, they took the first steps on the final road to victory in Europe"(http://www.kansasheritage.org/abilene/ikedday.html).
Sources
D-Day, The 6th of June, Center of Military History Map Guide, Washington, D.C. 1994 Normandy, U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II pamphlet, Center of Military History, Washington, D.C. 1994.