On June 6, 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, forever reshaping the war during D-Day.

In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord.

If I had to single out one moment of the struggle which represented the zenith of our national achievement, the finest of British endeavours in peace or war, then it must be the Normandy Landings, writes MAX HASTINGS.

On June 6, 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, forever reshaping the war during D-Day.

Prints || Contact/Commission Me The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later Europe) from Nazi control, and

I have to be honest with you. I am not a history buff. I find it fascinating and interesting and I truly am learning more than I ever did when I was in school. However, I’m still not good at remembering dates and timelines. But that doesn’t mean I don’t teach them to my children....

Seventy five years ago today. June 6, 1944, in the misty gray light of early morning, landing craft approached the beaches of Normandy. Boats filled with frightened young men, many of them barely more than boys. Boys wishing they were still at home in bed. Shaking with fear. Praying. Maybe crying. Knowing that many of them would not survive the day. And yet, when those landing craft hit the beach, when those ramps opened, without hesitation, they stood and charged into the hail of bullets that would claim more than 4000 of them before the sun set. They saw their friends, their brothers in arms cut down beside them. Still they ran. Still they fought. In spite of their fear, and knowing that the fate of the entire world rested upon their shoulders, they claimed that beach and began the long, slow slog across Europe that would eventually lead to Hitler's demise. They were terrified. But still they did what needed to be done. Without crying. Without temper tantrums. Without needing Play-Doh, or a safe space. They stood up and acquitted themselves like men. Now, that is courage. And that is why they truly were The Greatest Generation. Most of those who stormed the beaches at Normandy that day are gone, and those who remain are well into their 90s. They'll be gone soon, too. It is up to us to teach our children what they did for us -- for the world -- that day in 1944. Not the school's. Not the History Channel's. Ours. We must tell the story. Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. Joel 1:3 So that we may never forget.

6th June 1944, Operation Overlord, D-Day and Airborne Landings On this day, more than half a century ago, Operation Overlord began, marking the beginning o

It’s no mystery why images of unremitting violence spring to mind when one hears the deceptively simple term, “D-Day.” We’ve all seen — in photos, movies, old news reels — what happened on the beaches of Normandy (codenamed Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword) as the Allies unleashed an historic assault against German defenses on June 6, 1944. But in color photos taken before and after the invasion, LIFE magazine’s Frank Scherschel captured countless other, lesser-known scenes from the run-up to the onslaught and the heady weeks after: American troops training in small English towns; the French countryside, implausibly lush after the spectral landscape of the beachheads; the reception GIs enjoyed en route to the capital; the jubilant liberation of Paris itself. As presented here, in masterfully restored color, Scherschel’s pictures — most of which were never published in LIFE — feel at-once profoundly familiar and somehow utterly, vividly new. "There were flowers blooming everywhere, and everywhere the people waited for the news from England. It was as though the whole nation stood on tiptoe, straining to hear the thunder of guns." — LIFE magazine on the mood in America in the run-up to Operation Overlord, codename for the historic assault. American combat engineers eat a meal atop boxes of ammunition stockpiled for the impending D-Day invasion, May 1944 Troops and civilians pass the time on the River Thames in the spring of 1944 An American corporal stacks cans of gasoline in preparation for the upcoming invasion of France, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, May 1944 A small town in England in the spring of 1944, shortly before D-Day An American Army chaplain kneels next to a wounded soldier in order to administer the Eucharist and Last Rites, France, 1944 An abandoned German machine gun, France, June 1944 Magazines scattered among the rubble of the heavily bombed town of Saint-Lô, Normandy, France, summer 1944 An American tank crew takes a breather on the way through the town of Avranches, Normandy, summer 1944 "We thought it was going to be murder but it wasn't. To show you how easy it was, I ate my bar of chocolate. In every other operational trip, I sweated so much the chocolate they gave us melted in my breast pocket." — Frank Scherschel describing his experiences photographing the Normandy invasion from the air, before he joined Allied troops heading inland. Above: GIs search ruined homes in western France after D-Day. View of the ruins of the Palais de Justice in the town of St. Lo, France, summer 1944. The red metal frame in the foreground is what's left of an obliterated fire engine "All the civilized world loves France and Paris. Americans share this love with a special intimacy born in the kinship of our revolutions, our ideas and our alliances in two great wars." — LIFE on the relationship between the U.S. and its longtime European ally. Along the coast of France, June 1944 From D-Day until Christmas 1944, German prisoners of war were shipped off to American detention facilities at a rate of 30,000 per month. Above: Captured German troops, June 1944 Maintenance work on an American P-47 Thunderbolt in a makeshift airfield in the French countryside, summer 1944 A French couple shares cognac with an American tank crew, northern France, summer 1944 A P-38 fighter plane sits in the background as the pilot arrives in a captured German vehicle, France, 1944 Church services in dappled sunlight, France, 1944 American Army trucks (note cyclist hitching a ride) parade down the Champs-Elysées the day after the liberation of Paris by French and Allied troops, August 1944 Frenchmen transport painted British and American flags for use in a parade, summer 1944 Tanks under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris during liberation celebrations, August 1944 "Paris is like a magic sword in a fairy tale — a shining power in those hands to which it rightly belongs, in other hands tinsel and lead. Whenever the City of Light changes hands, Western Civilization shifts its political balance. So it has been for seven centuries; so it was in 1940; so it was last week." — LIFE after the French capital was liberated in August 1944. Free French General and military governor of the French capital Pierre Koenig, left, pictured during ceremonies held the day after the liberation of Paris, August 1944 Celebrations in Paris after the liberation of the city, August 1944 American troops stand beside a World War 1 monument bedecked with French flags after the town (exact location unknown) was liberated from German occupying forces, summer 1944 (Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

76 years ago, in Northern France, one of the most essential operations of World War II took place. As a part of Operation Overlord, the Normandy landings

In what remains the biggest amphibious assault in history, some 156,000 Allied personnel landed in France on June 6, 1944.

D-Day, June 6 1944, Operation Overlord, Invasion of Normandy, World War II, Allies, Dwight Eisenhower, ,Omaha Beach, Nazis, Veterans,

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The invasion of Normandy launched on June 6, 1944, and was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history.

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Almighty God: Our sons and the pride of our Nation this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering hum…

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By JIM PURCRELL My father, then-Corporal James J. Purcell, Sr., was part of the invading force on June 6, 1944, when the Allies under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower landed on the Northern Coast of France. His combat engineer outfit was task organized with the 1st Infantry Division during their landing on Omaha Beach. A year before, he lost his brother, Gunner’s Mate Second Class David Purcell at the landing at Anzio beachhead, in Italy. My Dad never really talked about D-Day. Rather, he looked away, took a deep drag from his Marlboro cigarette and just said, “That was a real bad day…a real long one.” And, he had tears in eyes when he recalled it. He was looking past me, past our New Jersey suburban property, back through the long stretch of time. He remembered old pain. Back when I asked him about D-Day, he said, “It was terrible. So, now I am done talking about it.” Dad crushed out his cigarette on the front porch, folded the Newark Star-Ledger under his arm, and went back into the house and up to my parents’ bedroom. I didn’t see him for the rest of the night. When I saw him again, I got the feeling I shouldn’t ask him about D-Day anymore; or even the rest of the war. I got it…even when I was nine years old. Dad had a hard time remembering D-Day and Battlefield Europe. He lost friends on the beach, and in later actions. Dad was in the New Jersey Army National Guard when the war started, so he was technically considered Regular Army. This might also be the reason that he didn’t get out until 1946 and was briefly part of the Army of Occupation in Germany. American soldiers prepare to land on Omaha Beach After that, he started a taxi company in Newark, New Jersey after marrying my Mom, Ruth (nee Ford) Purcell in late 1946. Dad made good, had a nice home and kids. But, he never got over the last part of the war. D-DAY: THE PLAN On June 6, 1944, Allied Forces landed 160,000 soldiers on a 50-mile swarth of beaches in Normandy, France in a plan codenamed “Overlord.” The German Army had occupied France since November 1942 and the defenses along Normandy were substantial and included large machinegun nests, barbed wire obstacles, beach obstacles, mines and artillery batteries, to name a few. While the overall commander of the invasion was General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Deputy Supreme Commander was Air Marshal A.W. Tedder. The Commander in Chief of Land Forces for the invasion, as well as the commander of the 21st Army Group was British General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery. The Commander of the Expeditionary Force was Admiral B.H. Ramsay and the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force was Air Chief Marshal T. Leigh-Mallory. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower addresses soldiers from the 101st Abn The “Allies” was a phrase that covered a multitude of armies of nations fighting side-by-side throughout the war. At Normandy, soldier, sailors, marines and airmen from 13 countries were in the fight. Forces from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the Free French were prominent among the invasion forces. The Allies practiced their D-Day roles for months before the actual invasion. In fact, off the coast of Devon, in the United Kingdom, a German torpedo boat killed 749 U.S. soldiers and sailors training on landing exercises for Operation Overlord. A deception plan was also put in place by the Allies, called “Operation Fortitude.” This operation was aimed at confusing the Germans about when and where the landings would take place. Double-agents, among them Juan Pujol, attempted to divert German intelligence away from Normandy as a likely place for attack. The English Channel was a major factor in planning for D-Day. It was estimated by the Royal Navy that only 10 days in any given month were suitable for launching Overlord. Another factor in the planning for D-Day was that the Allies needed a full moon for illumination during the crossing from the United Kingdom to the coast of France. Allied airpower had to have the moon’s illumination to navigate the channel. Allied airpower was limited at Normandy due to weather General Eisenhower, in a June 5 meeting, gave the greenlight for Overlord after he was briefed by Chief Meteorologist Group Captain J.M. Stagg that there would be a brief improvement over the channel on June 6. Meanwhile, Admiral Bertram Ramsay confirmed that conditions would be marginally favorable for a June 6 crossing. Later, it would turn out that Stagg’s forecast was wrong. As a consequence of that, Allied airpower was limited during the actual invasion and the beaches’ defenses were left virtually intact on Omaha and Juno beachheads. However, the Germans were lulled into a false sense of security because of the bad weather. They were caught totally surprised by the invasion. The German High Command would not even be aware that Normandy was the main thrust of the invasion until June 7, when French General Charles de Gaulle made a radio announcement stating Normandy was the main thrust of the invasion to his countrymen. Soldiers at Omaha Beach had to wade through up to 100ft of water Throughout the invasion, men and women of the French Resistance coordinated with U.S. Forces to assist them in the liberation of their country. Using code words via radio broadcasts from Great Britain, Allied Forces signaled the impending invasion covertly to their partners on the continent. ALLIED ORDER OF BATTLE The Allied units dedicated for Operation Overlord included: - U.S. V Corps: U.S. 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. 29th Infantry Division - U.S. VII Corps: U.S. 4th Infantry Division, U.S. 101st Airborne Division and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division - British 6th Airborne Division - British I Corps: 3rd British Infantry Division and the British 27th Armoured Brigade - British XXX Corps: British 50th Infantry Division and British 8th Armoured Brigade - British 79th Armoured Division - 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade - Naval forces from eight Allied navies contributed 6,939 vessels - 1,213 warships - 4,126 transport vessels - 736 other vessels - 864 merchant vessels British 6th Airborne Division soldiers at Normandy GERMAN ORDER OF BATTLE German units in the direct areas of the landings included: - 716TH German Infantry Division - 352nd German Infantry Division - 91st German Air Landing Division - 709th German Infantry Division D-DAY: THE AIRBORNE GOES IN FIRST Early in the morning hours of June 6, the American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions dropped 13,100 U.S. paratroopers by parachute and via glider landings in the vicinity of Cherbourg and Carentan. The mission of these airborne soldiers was to disrupt the German defenses that would be opposing U.S. landings on Utah and Omaha beachheads later in the day. 6th British Airborne Division Patch Meanwhile, between June 5-7, the British 6th Airborne Division deployed 8,500 soldiers by parachute and glider landings in the vicinity of German defensesthat would oppose the British and Canadian forces at Gold, Sword and Juno beachheads. The mission of the British paratroopers was the same as their American counterparts: Disrupt German defenses, create confusion and in so doing assist the landings. Not everything went to plan, though. Due in part to fierce German anti-aircraft artillery and problematic weather, both American and British paratroopers were frequently dropped far from their planned drop zones. Still, these soldiers started the battle, largely, from wherever they landed and fulfilled their missions. American paratroopers sustained 1,003 killed, 2,657 wounded and 4,490 missing. Meanwhile British Forces sustained 800 soldiers dead or wounded. 82nd Airborne Division Patch In battle, the American paratroopers were responsible for 21,300 killed, wounded or missing among German defenders. British paratroopers were responsible for killing 400 German defenders and capturing an additional 400. THE BATTLE ON THE BEACHES The beaches of Normandy were assigned codenames: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The American VII Corps, which included the 90th Infantry Division Group and the 4th Infantry Division Group, among others, was assigned to Utah Beach. The next beach over, Omaha Beach, was assaulted by the American V Corps and its primary fighting units included the 2nd Infantry Division, 29th Infantry Division Group and the 1st Infantry Division Group. The British XXX Corps had primary responsibility for Gold Beach. It primarily included the 33rd Independent Armoured Brigade, the 49th Infantry Division, the 7th Armoured Division and the 50th Infantry Division Group. Phases of the Allied Invasion of Normandy Juno Beach was reserved for the 3rd Canadian Infantry Group, which was subordinate to the British I Corps. Reinforcing the 3rd Canadian Infantry was the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. The British 51st Division and 4th Independent Armoured Brigade, as well as the 3rd Infantry Division Group were tasked with securing Sword Beach. British XXX Corps Patch Utah Beach’s landings went fairly well overall. Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division landed at approximately 0630. By the time they landed, British Bomber Command had destroyed one of two strongpoints opposing the beach. Initial assault battalions on Utah Beach were quickly reinforced with armor support, along with several combat engineer units (equipped with demolition materials). By 0900, the beach was secured and combat units were moving inland. Point du Hoc was situated between Utah and Omaha beaches and was assaulted by the 2nd Ranger Battalion. The Rangers approached their targets by scaling steep cliffs to destroy German guns located on the heights. However, after contending with fierce German and French collaborator fire on the way up, the Rangers discovered the guns had already been uninstalled by the Germans. The Ranger casualties included 135 dead and wounded. Meanwhile, German casualties numbered 50 killed and 40 captured. An unknown number of French collaborators were summarily executed. American soldiers moving off Utah Beach The soldiers assaulting Omaha Beach faced the most heavily defended beach of the operation. Water currents were responsible for many landing craft veering off course and being destroyed. Bombers delayed their missions on Omaha Beach for fear of hitting American soldiers. Thus, the defending German units were unscathed when soldiers came from the sea. In addition, landing craft ended up frequently coming aground 50-100 meters from shore, forcing invaders to swim and wade through water just to begin the fight for the beach. With fire blasting at them from the beach cliffs, casualties were about 2,000 among Americans. At 0830, follow-on landings were suspended. Destroyers were called on to provide off-shore fire against the Germans. However, to exit the beach American Forces had to move gullies that were heavily defended by Germans. Still, late in the morning, a battalion-sized force had broken out and held the high ground. Even though Americans had broken out, it still took three days for American Forces to pacify their beach entirely. The 4th Infantry Division Patch At 0725, the British XXX Corps soldiers landed on Gold Beach. High wind conditions plagued the invasion force making for difficulty for landing craft. Thankfully, four German guns were taken out of service by naval forces supporting the invasion. The last of the German guns was operational and pinned down British Forces until German soldiers surrendered their position on June 7th. The Canadian landing on Juno Beach started out with choppy waters. This meant that, while the infantry landed, their armor support was delayed. Consequently, this created a lot of casualties among the invading force (961 men). The Canadians fought hard and made their exits off the beach despite being battered by German defenders. Yet, after finally getting off the beach, soldiers had to clear the towns of Courselles-sur-Mer, St. Aubin-sur-Mer and Bernieres-sur-Mer in house-to-house fighting. On Sword Beach, British tanks were the first wave ashore and were able to cover the infantry as it was shuttled ashore at about 0730. The beach was heavily mined, so this slowed British progress. British forces contended with German guns and it would not be until several days later than one German observation post was taken. French Forces, assigned with the British, captured a casino stronghold relatively soon after the landings. The path of Allied advance following the landings at Normandy At about 1600, the Germans attempted an armored counter-attack against the British Forces on the beach. The German armor units were pulled out to handle Allied attacks in Caen and Bayeux. D-DAY: OVERALL Though approximately 160,000 Allied soldiers had landed on contested beaches on June 6, an additional 875,000 Allied soldiers would disembark on those beaches by the end of June. On the first day, the Allies had sustained 10,000 casualties, with 4,414 confirmed as dead. President Franklin Roosevelt and British PM Winston Churchill The Germans had been dealt a crippling blow along the coast, with 4,000-9,000 either wounded, dead or missing. WHAT THE NEW FRONT MEANT Since 1942, the Western Allies had been promising a new front in Europe to the heavily besieged Soviet Union. Soviet Allies wanted a second European Front against the Germans because the two fronts would begin the process of squeezing German-occupied lands, forcing a retreat of occupiers back to Germany proper. It is much more difficult to manage a two-front war than a single-front war. Though American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wanted to go ahead with a European landing much earlier, it was British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who dissuaded him. It was Churchill’s idea to wait and strengthen Allied Forces and regain strategic strongholds the Germans were occupying in North Africa and Italy. Even though Normandy was finally decided upon as the landing site, other potential sites were considered in Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula and at the Pas de Calais. Following the overwhelming success of the Normandy Invasion, Allied Force, led by Free French Forces finally wrested Paris away from Germany’s grasp by August, signaling a new phase of the war. The Normandy Invasion can be considered one of the most pivotal victories by the Allies, or in military history for that matter, and led to a string of follow-on victories, which assisted in concluding the wat in favor of the Allies.