Germany occupied Northwestern France by the beginning of May 1940. America joined the was in December 1941 and by 1942 they and the British, who had evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 after being cut off by the Germans during the Battle of France, were considering launching a major allied invasion across the English Channel. The following year allied plans for a cross channel invasion began to ramp up. Adolf Hitler was aware of the invasion threat and put Erwin Rommel in charge of spearheading the defense operation in the region. The Germans did not know exactly where the Allies wanted to strike. Hitler gave Rommel the job of finishing the Atlantic wall which a 2,400 mile fortification of bunkers, landmines, …show more content…
Their intention was to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais with double agents and fraudulent radio transmissions. Eisenhower wanted June 5, 1944 to be the date for the invasion; however thanks bad weather on the days leading up to the invasion resulted in it to be delayed 24 hours. The morning of June 5, 1944 after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go ahead for Operation Overload. Sometime that day over 5,000 ships, landing crafts carrying troops, and supplies left England to travel across the channel to France. While that happened more than 11,000 aircrafts were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
The day of June 6, 1944, many paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasion began at 6:30 am. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition in order to capture beaches code named Gold, Juno and Sword. The Americans landed on Omaha Beach then faced heavy resistance however, but by days end approximately 156,000 Allied troops successfully stormed the Normandy beaches. It is estimated that at least 4,000 allied troops died during the invasion, and over 2,000 American casualties. Then within a week, all beaches were