June 6, 1944

United States

Britain

Canada

VS.

Germany

In the days leading up to the main invasion, Allied planes bombed the Atlantic Wall defenses all along the coast of France

Pictures of Allied bombing damage at Pointe du Hoc, France

The night before the invasion, Allied troops parachuted behind enemy lines in France

They tried to destroy railroad lines and disrupt communication

General Eisenhower speaking to airborne troops on the evening before the invasion

On June 6, 1944 more than 150,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel

They attacked the German military along a 60 mile stretch of the coast in Normandy, France.

US troops in a Higgins landing

craft approaching the coast of Normandy

British, American, and Canadian troops sailed from different ports in Great Britain and attacked the Germans together on five different beaches in Normandy, France

Soldiers faced intense opposition from the Germans when they landed

Many men were killed or injured before they even reached the beaches

US troops take shelter behind German “hedgehogs.” The obstacles were

designed to prevent Allied landing craft from getting too close to the shores of

France.

The Allies wanted to free France from German control

They had to first conquer the coast of France so that they could then liberate western Europe and defeat Hitler

D-Day was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe

The Allies were able to liberate France from German control after several months of fighting

Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museumhttp://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/index.html

United States Army: D-Dayhttp://www.army.mil/d-day/index.html

United States National Archiveshttp://www.archives.gov/