D-Day was a massive Allied operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast of France. The massive operation involved thousands of ships and over 100,000 troops storming five beaches, despite facing stiff resistance from German forces. It marked the beginning of the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control.

1. D-DayJune 6, 1944Battle of NormandyBeginning of the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II

2. Purpose of D-DayAfter Germany invaded most of Europe, the Allies determined that Germany had to be defeated.

3. Germany had killed millions and was willing to spread it's fear of foreigners to even more of the world and considered England to be the next target.

4. Had Germany just left England alone for a while, Hitler would have probably succeeded in his quest for power. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_page_id=1772&in_article_id=466554&in_author_id=464

5. Purpose of D-DayD-Day and the invasion points were guarded secrets.

6. The purpose was to get troops on the ground in an attempt to liberate France.

7. After Allied troops gained a foothold in Normandy, they were able to destroy much of the German occupation forces, liberate France and continue to march across Europe and ultimately destroy Germany.http://www.time.com/time/80days/440606.html

8. Project OverlordOperation Overlord was a huge assault on Normandy beaches in France. It was the largest focused military operation of all time. Developments such as nuclear weapons and missiles make it unlikely that such a concentration of ships and assault troops will ever be assembled again. Operation Overlord nearly failed due to weather, operational errors, and stiff resistance by well prepared German forces. In the end, Overlord succeeded, the Allies surged into France, and the fate of Hitler's Third Reich was sealed.Information from http://www.olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_ops_battles_1944normandy.phpPicture from http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/top-images.html

9. Before the InvasionDuring the first six months of 1944, the United States and Great Britain gathered and trained land, naval, and air forces in England.At the same time, the Soviet Union tied down a great portion of the enemy forces.Allied airplanes photographed enemy defenses, dropped supplies to the resistance, bombed railways, and attacked Germany’s industries.Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-DayPicture from http://www.usaaftroopcarrier.com/

10. D-Day DiagramPicture from http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh3.google.com/_aGPQSJGNQRk/RsLkTtTbCKI/AAAAAAAAASw/DU3shZ4G-sA/s800/P6051198.JPG&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9VAwHVcorEnpiQXFwKo0eA&h=600&w=800&sz=122&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=HcfyrGSVTHjGlM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3DD-Day%2Bdiagram%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

11. D-Day LandingsClick on Map