N TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 1944, sits 100 miles across the English northern coast of France in the Allied invasion of the Channel from England. anticipation of an invasion, though Nazi-controlled European Stormy weather delayed the he did not know exactly when or mainland began. Code-named invasion for 24 hours. But it had to where it would occur. “Operation Overlord,” it is still proceed as moon phases and tides Allied land forces, under the recognized as the largest military played a significant role in the command of British Gen. Bernard operation ever undertaken by air, operation. Aerial and naval Montgomery, endured heavy losses land and sea — U.S., British and bombing and airborne troop to take the beachheads, dodging Canadian military numbered landings behind the German lines mines, wooden stakes, barbed wire over 156,000. preceded the infantry invasion of and other obstacles. More than Under the direction of the the five beaches at Normady — 4,000 Allied troops, half of them Supreme Allied Commander, U.S. Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and American soldiers, lost their lives in Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Sword. German Field Marshal the D-Day invasion, and thousands troops descended on Normandy, Erwin Rommel had developed more were wounded. Nazi casualties the northern region of France that heavy fortifications along the were estimated at 4,000 to 9,000. Swansea London JUNE 5, 5 P.M. Cardiff ENGLAND Ships loaded Ostend with troops, supplies and Dover ammunition U.K./CANADIAN STAGING AREA Dunkirk Ghent begin leaving Southampton BELGIUM southern Calais U.S. STAGING AREA Portsmouth England. Newhaven Exeter Poole Torquay Roubaix Weymouth Isle of JUNE 6, 5:23 A.M. Dartmouth Wight DECEPTION Portland Lille An elaborate Plymouth Allied ships Fowey open fire on deception — Nazi positions part of Operation Falmouth in Normandy. Fortitude — helped convince JUNE 6, 6:30 A.M. the Nazis that the main landing Saint-Quentin First troops would be at land on French Calais instead of Cherbourg beachheads. Normandy. Laon JUNE 5, 11 P.M. July 25 UTAH Le Havre Allied aircraft Guernsey ENGLISH CHANNEL OMAHA GOLD Rouen prepare for JUNO SWORD Compiègne takeoff with Jersey Saint-Lô Bayeux JUNE 6, 12:15 A.M. 23,400 Caen Seine paratroopers. Coutances First Allied River July 31 gliders land in France. Paris Granville AUG. 13 U.S. forces Paimpol Saint-Malo Dreux Avranches British forces Alençon AUG. 20 Fougères AUG. 25 Canadian forces Rennes Laval Invasion route FRANCE Le Mans Paratroupers Lorient Allied troop movements DATE Area under Angers allied control Tours Saint-Nazaire All routes shown are approximations KEY PLAYERS THE NUMBERS Under Allied control BEACHHEAD INVASION FORCES June 12 U.S June 25 20,000 U.K. U.S 25,000 CANADA 34,000 21,400 U.K. 29,000 10,440 UTAH total aircraft, including bombers, fighters, gliders and air transports Gen. Dwight Pointe du Hoc D. Eisenhower Sainte-Marie-du-Mont OMAHA Appointed Supreme Vierville-sur-Mer Commander of the Allied GOLD Colleville-sur-Mer JUNO Expeditionary Forces in La Cambe SWORD late 1943, he oversaw the Carentan Arromanches-les-Bains 6,330 entire liberation of total ships, including Nazi-occupied Europe. Courseulles-sur-Mer minesweepers, warships, He, along with six others, Bayeux destroyers and troop would be promoted and cargo carriers to five-star general in December 1944. Saint-Lô Caen 12,500 MILES Caumont-I’Éventé Torigni-sur-Vire Villers-Bocage tanks and other ground 0 5 vehicles landed at Normandy beaches Concrete bunkers BREAKING THROUGH THE ‘ATLANTIC WALL’ housed 88mm D-DAY CASUALTIES Gen. Bernard guns. Montgomery Field Marshall Rommel’s Including those killed, wounded or missing: As Commander in Chief elaborate system of mines and obstacles covered the of the Allied Ground Pillboxes atop Utah beach: Less than 300 beachheads at Normandy. Barbed wire Forces for the invasion, the seawall Americans Behind them were steel he continued in command housed Nazi Omaha beach: 2,400 reinforced bunkers where Stone of the 21st Army Group soldiers with Americans the Germans had the upper boxes for the rest of the machine and hand — an elevated position Gold beach: 400 British campaign in Europe, antitank guns. eventually receiving the looking down at the Juno beach: 1,200 unconditional surrender approaching Allied troops Canadians of German forces in 1945. storming ashore. Sword beach: 630 British SEAWALL Total Americans killed on Landing craft , also known as D-Day: 2,499 Higgins boats, brought 36 men (or a single vehicle) at a time Total other Allied troops to the beachhead killed on D-Day: 1,914 from larger ships German losses: 4,000-9,000 Hedgehogs offshore. casualties on D-Day were meant to damage Entire Battle of Normandy: the hulls of ฀฀฀฀฀ approaching casualties; nearly 37,000 HIGH TIDE landing crafts. dead among the ground forces; 16,714 among the Field Marshal Log posts and log ramps air forces Erwin Rommel were angled seaward ฀฀฀฀ and topped with mines. German troops killed or Rommel developed the They were hidden wounded coastal defenses along underwater during ฀฀฀ the Atlantic Wall in high tide. anticipation of an Allied Once civilians killed invasion. He would the LCVP’s Belgian gates As many as 6.5 gate opened, About stood 8-foot-tall. million mines commit suicide in Sources: Encyclopedia Brittanica, BBC, October 1944 instead of the men in front 12,500 Higgins The steel were deployed Stars and Stripes, U.S. National D-Day facing trial after being were most vulnerable boats were baracades were on Normady Memorial Foundation to the Nazi’s machine deployed during used to impede beachheads. implicated in a plot to Graphic by Kevin Burkett | (Logansport, assassinate Adolf Hitler. gun fire. Operation Overloard. allied vehicles. Drawings are not to scale Indiana) Pharos-Tribune.