D-Day landing craft

Taking cover

June 6, 1944  

21st Panzer Division

US soldier - Omaha Beach

Explosion on Utah Beach

Preparation for D-Day

Juno Beach

Omaha Beach

Destroyed 88mm gun

German armor

D-Day map

P-51 Mustang in invasion stripes

Howitzers shelling near Carentan

Canadian soldiers approach

Mulberry harbor on D-Day

US bombers fly over the invasion fleet

Rangers scale Pointe-du-Hoc

British soldiers advance in Normandy via Sword Beach

Free French fighters greet American soldiers

Landing Craft before D-Day

First wave lands

British paratroopers

Hedgerow cutters

Bombing mission

Canadian troops disembark

Japanese POW

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D-Day: June 6, 1944

The invasion of France on June 6, 1944 was a triumph of intelligence, coordination, secrecy, and planning. The bold attack was also a tremendous risk. Ultimately it succeeded because of individual soldiers' bravery in combat. An invading army had not crossed the unpredictable, dangerous English Channel since 1688 -- and once the massive force set out, there was no turning back. The 5000-vessel armada stretched as far as the eye could see, transporting over 150,000 men and nearly 30,000 vehicles across the channel to the French beaches. Six parachute regiments -- over 13,000 men -- were flown from nine British airfields in over 800 planes. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion.

1) National D-Day Memorial Foundation: National memorial to the Allied forces who participated in the WWII invasion of France, June 6, 1944.

2) D-Day: American Experience: D-Day participants describe the planning and execution of the Normandy invasion during World War II, and the battle for the French beaches.

3) World War II & D-Day Maps: Your resource for maps of D-Day and the rest of World War II.

4) The Pegasus Archive: The British Airborne Forces from 1940 - 1945.

Sources:

1) PBS.org - www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/

2) 100th Bomb Group Foundation - www.100thbg.com

3) Wikipedia.com - www.wikipedia.com

4) Universite de Caen. L'Annee 43: Guerre Totale. France

5) Olmsted, Merle. "A Crew Chief Remembers: To War with the Mustang"
       FlightJournal.com.