Saturday, June 6, 2020

Honoring The Sacrifices of The D-Day Invasion














On June 6, 1944, Allied soldiers bravely stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. The Normandy beaches were chosen because of the range of air cover, and it was shortest distance from Great Britain. Five landing beaches were selected for the assault: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. As dawn broke, the largest armada ever assembled began its assault on the beaches of Normandy. By the end of the day, the Atlantic Wall, (which took the Germans years to build), had fallen and the invasion was a success. The events of D-Day forged partnerships and reinforced trans-Atlantic bonds that remain strong today.

- 150,000 Allied soldiers land on the shores of Normandy.

- 5,000 vessels with 30,000 vehicles crossed the English Channel to France.

- 13,000 men parachuted into France.

- 11,000 planes were involved

- More than 300 planes dropped bombs.

- 9,000 allied soldiers were dead or wounded after the first day.

- At Omaha Beach, 9,387 Americans are buried.

- The beaches were approximately 200 yards before any natural protection.

- Factors to determine D-Day included the need for long day, a day near a full moon (to guide ships/airborne troops) and strong tides.

- D-Day was scheduled one day earlier but due to weather concerns General Eisenhower moved the date to June 6.

- The beaches of Normandy were so named as part of the five sectors of the Allied invasion. The beaches are still known today by the D-Day code names.

- Utah Beach

- Omaha Beach

- Gold Beach

- Sword Beach

- Juno Beach

- U.S. troops stormed only two of the five beaches (Utah and Omaha). Great Britains and other smaller forces stormed Gold and Sword beaches while the Canadiens stormed Juno Beach.

- Decoding Enigma, the great German code machine, intercepted German codes helped pinpoint German fighting units in the Normandy area.

- D-Day is the largest amphibious (land and water) invasion in history.

- Operation Overlord was the code name for the invasion.

- Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day and all 5 were not linked until June 12th.

- The landing craft boats were originally designed for use in Louisiana swamps.

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