D-Day—June 6, 1944

On June 6, 1944, approximately 150,000 American, British, and Canadian forces attempted to take control of five beaches along the coast of France. The beaches were in the Normandy region, and the this operation is sometimes called the Battle of Normandy. The landings of the troops in the Normandy region and the battles to take control of this area have been referred to as the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe.

Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Germany at the time of World War II, knew that the Allies were going to try something to win the war, but he did not know what it would be. Hitler put Erwin Rommel, one of his top commanders at the time, in charge of defense along the northern coast of France. Rommel was to finish an Atlantic Wall, which was a fortification along the coast that stretched over 2,000 miles in length. This fortification consisted of landmines, bunkers, and obstacles in the water and on the beach.

Many deceptions were used by the Allies to convince Germany that the invasion would be coming from another area, but by dawn on June 6, 1944, the invasion had begun, with thousands of troops already on the ground behind enemy lines. These troops were paratroopers and glider troops, and their objective was to prevent the Germans from using the bridges and roads to escape or to bring in reinforcements. By 6:30 a.m., the first invasions had begun by water, with British, Canadian, and American troops invading from boats that brought them as close to the shores as they could. Allied air and naval support helped to protect the troops whenever possible and continued to bomb bridges and roads to further hamper the German troops. Even with all of this support, the Allies lost an estimated 4,000 lives in this operation, but they succeeded in turning the balance of power in Europe. They were joined by forces from other Allied countries after the initial invasion, and by May 8, 1945, less than one year later, Germany had unconditionally surrendered.

Can you label the beaches on the map below where the Normandy invasion took place on D-Day?

Match the term or person with the correct description.

_____1. Operation Overlord a. A top commander in Hitler’s German forces _____2. English Channel b. Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces _____3. Adolf Hitler c. Commanded all Allied ground forces during assault phase of the Normandy invasion _____4. Erwin Rommel d. Westernmost D-Day beach; it was taken by U.S. forces _____5. Atlantic Wall e. Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander _____6. Dwight Eisenhower f. Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force _____7. Utah Beach g. Nazi leader who controlled Germany during World War II _____8. Frederick Morgan h. The middle beach of the five assaulted on D-Day, taken by British forces _____9. Sir Bertram Ramsay i. One of the bodies of water that separates England and France _____10. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder j. German fortifications along the shores of France _____11. General Sir Bernard Montgomery k. Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief _____12. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory l. Code name for bundles of metal foil strips dropped over the English Channel to confuse German radar operators _____13. Omaha Beach m. Code name for D-Day invasion _____14. Window n. Deputy Supreme Commander _____15. Operation Neptune o. Name given to beach Canadian forces landed on during D-Day invasion _____16. Mulberry Harbour p. Name given to easternmost beach assaulted on D-Day, taken by the British _____17. Sword Beach q. Code name for the naval assault portion of the D-Day invasion _____18. Gold Beach r. Artificial harbor for D-Day invasion _____19. Juno Beach s. Name given to beach taken by U.S. forces; it was the site of the most casualties during the D-Day invasion

__m__1. Operation Overlord a. A top commander in Hitler’s German forces __i__2. English Channel b. Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces __g__3. Adolf Hitler c. Commanded all Allied ground forces during assault phase of the Normandy invasion __a__4. Erwin Rommel d. Westernmost D-Day beach; it was taken by U.S. forces __j__5. Atlantic Wall e. Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander __b__6. Dwight Eisenhower f. Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force __d__7. Utah Beach g. Nazi leader who controlled Germany during World War II __e__8. Frederick Morgan h. The middle beach of the five assaulted on D-Day, taken by British forces __k__9. Sir Bertram Ramsay i. One of the bodies of water that separates England and France __n__10. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder j. German fortifications along the shores of France __c__11. General Sir Bernard Montgomery k. Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief __f__12. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory l. Code name for bundles of metal foil strips dropped over the English Channel to confuse German radar operators __s__13. Omaha Beach m. Code name for D-Day invasion __l__14. Window n. Deputy Supreme Commander __q_15. Operation Neptune o. Name given to beach Canadian forces landed on during D-Day invasion __r__16. Mulberry Harbour p. Name given to easternmost beach assaulted on D-Day, taken by the British __p__17. Sword Beach q. Code name for the naval assault portion of the D-Day invasion __h__18. Gold Beach r. Artificial harbor for D-Day invasion __o__19. Juno Beach s. Name given to beach taken by U.S. forces; it was the site of the most casualties during the D-Day invasion