Operation Overlord: The Battle of Normandy

It’s dawn on June 6th, 1944. Thousands of Allied ships emerge through the fog and land on the beaches of Normandy, France. It is the largest seaborne assault in history. The goal of the landings is to liberate France from Nazi German control and to help bring an end to Germany’s advance across Europe. Behind the attack are three major Allied powers: Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

Four years earlier, Germany invaded France. They pushed out British forces there and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill vowed to liberate France. A year later, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, joined the side of the Allies. Shortly after, American President Franklin Roosevelt brought the United States into the war, to support the Allies. In December 1943, Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt hold a meeting, the Tehran Conference.

They need to find a way to weaken the German forces that are moving across eastern Europe, and stop them before they occupy more territory. They decide to launch an invasion of France from Britain, to force Hitler to spread his resources more thinly They call the plan Operation Overlord; US Commander Dwight Eisenhower will lead it, directing troops from thirteen different countries. The Allies know that to successfully land on the coast of France and push into the rest of the country, they will need to surprise the Germans. A well-coordinated German defense would stop their attack in its tracks. So before the planned Normandy landings, the Allies mislead the Germans on the timing and location of their attack.

The deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, works. Unsure where and when the Allies will arrive, the Germans are forced to spread defenses thinly across the entire coast of northwest Europe. Meanwhile, the Allied forces ready themselves for the Normandy attack. In May 1944, two million American and 250 000 Canadian troops arrive in Britain. Millions of tonnes of supplies are shipped from the USA to British ports.

In the first few days of June, troops begin boarding ships ready for departure. On the morning of June 5th, with a forecast of calm weather, Eisenhower gives orders to launch the attack the next day. In the early hours of June 6th, D-Day commences. Bombers take off across the English Channel to attack German coastal defenses. Allied ships meet at their agreed point off the Isle of Wight and make their way in convoy towards France.

They land on five separate sites close to Normandy. Troops disembark and storm the beaches. Allied planes support the ground troops and hamper German defense attempts. In the week following D-Day, thousands more Allied troops and vehicles arrive in Normandy. Gradually, they spread across northern France.

Over the next few weeks, they battle German troops to capture key towns and ports. On August 15th, the Allies launch Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Provence, and liberate most of southern France. France’s capital, Paris, remains in German hands, but on August 19th, French Resistance forces there rise up. They quickly receive help from US troops who come up from the south. By August 25th, Paris is liberated.

The Allies capture more key sites, and five days after Paris’ liberation, the Germans retreat from the last French battleground. At the close of Operation Overlord, it is clear that the attempt to draw German forces away from Eastern Europe has succeeded. Now, Soviet forces can advance towards Germany whose military is much weakened, both in number and morale.