Code named Operation Overlord, the D-Day Invasion occurred on June 6, 1944, as elements of five Allied infantry and three Allied airborne divisions assaulted the Normandy coast of Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Under the overall command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the landings on Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Omaha beaches succeeded in establishing a foothold on the continent. Following an arduous campaign in Normandy and savage fighting across the German frontier, troops of the Western Allies met the Soviet Red Army, advancing from the East, and Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.
D-Day
Throughout his career, Cornelius “Connie” Ryan wrote a number of stunning books on World War II: The Last Battle, about the struggle for Berlin; A Bridge Too Far, about the ill-fated race to cross the Rhine bridge at Arnhem in 1944; and, of course, the book with which his fame will always be linked, The Longest Day. Read more
D-Day
Commonly known as D-Day, the Western Allies invaded Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II on June 6, 1944. Read more
D-Day
In the early morning of June 6, 1944, LCA (Landing Craft, Assault) 668 was gliding across the choppy, green waters of the English Channel, transporting First Sergeant Len Lomell, Staff Sergeant Jack Kuhn, and most of the 2nd Platoon, 2nd Ranger Battalion. Read more
D-Day
To Colonel Edson Raff, jumping out of a plane was “like getting out of the bed in the morning.” Read more
D-Day
Bobbing alongside his troops in a wildly careening LCVP, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. gripped the walking cane he used to get around on his bum left knee—the unwelcome souvenir of the first Great War, after receiving a German machine-gun bullet taken near Soissons in July 1918. Read more
D-Day
The Normandy Invasion (code-named Operation Neptune) was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of armed conflict. It combined efforts from nearly 290 escort vessels, 5,000 landing and assult craft, and 160,000 troops. Read more
D-Day
SUPEREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. Read more
D-Day
As many World War II enthusiasts know, many battles in the war were fought in places that held no prior historical significance. Read more
D-Day
A German SS officer, holding a white flag of truce, walked through the American lines and up to a tall lieutenant from Texas. Read more
D-Day
The townspeople of Vierville-sur-Mer awoke around 3 am on June 6, 1944, to the sound of bombs. In the early morning of the Normandy Invasion, American Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers were dropping their payloads, preparing the invasion beaches for the coming attack. Read more
D-Day
Developed by the British in World War II, “Mulberry harbours” were portable, temporary harbors that could be used for rapid on- and off-loading of cargo ships during the D-Day Invasion. Read more
D-Day
General George S. Patton, Jr., once said, “An army is like a piece of cooked spaghetti. You can’t push it, you have to pull it after you.” Read more
D-Day
In the heart of Pennsylvania, not far from the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, stands the U.S. Read more
D-Day
Operation Bolero, the marshaling of Allied forces for the planned 1944 invasion of Normandy, was in full swing by late 1943, and much of England had been turned into a great armed camp. Read more
D-Day
On June 6, 1945, two Stars & Stripes newspaper reporters traveled to Normandy with a mission: to photograph the effects of the year-old D-Day landings on the beaches, towns, and fields. Read more
