1. D-Day :
Normandy
Landings

2. May 6 1944, the allied forces were ready to liberate
France from German control
The plan was to conduct landings on the beaches of
Normandy
This was codenamed Operation Overlord
Would be later known as the largest amphibious
invasion in history

3. To land and secure five beaches, spanning 50 miles
along the coast of Normandy
To liberate France from German occupation, then to
make their way on to Germany to end Hitler’s reign
Pictured here are Stalin,
Roosevelt , and Churchill
planning for the landings

5. Allied forces knew that Hitler was prepared for a beach
assault, so Operation Bodyguard was created.
It was to make Hitler think that they were
going to be attacking the Pas de Calais. Hitler
sent a large force to defend the Pas de Calais
and did not realize the diversion until
it was too late.
Plan :
To build up fake armies and equipment Rubber inflatable tanks were used
like this one
to fool Germans reconnaissance into thinking
a attack was imminent
Decoy aircraft were also
used

6. Although the Germans thought that the Allies were going to attack Pas de
Calais, Hitler set up defense along the coast for security. He sent his best
general Rommel to ensure the beachfronts were
secure.
There were many reinforced pillboxes, machine gun
nests, anti tank, AA cannons and light artillery
as well as mines placed underwater.
“
Rommel inspecting defenses
“They built around 15,00 fortifications
and defenses”
German defense battery

7. The Landings were split into two different phases;
Operation Neptune (By sea & land) the assault phase, and
by air.
By Air :
Allied paratroopers take off to Normandy and the
air assault successfully lands 24,000
American, British and Canadian troops
Allied bombers were also scheduled to begin
bombing runs at 0500 hours (5 am)
Paratroopers get ready to deploy
The paratroopers came from many forces such as the 1st Canadian
Parachute Battalion, the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the
British Special Air Service
Main job was to capture bridges to eliminate possibilities of German counter attacks

8. Operation Neptune
The Allied soldiers arrived to the beaches in
the largest fleet of ships ever (7000)
Within a few hours 5,000 Allied casualties and
only 1,200 German casualties
Omaha beach had the highest casualties,
Juno beach following with second highest and
Utah beach with the lightest casualties Landing forces at beach head

9. Sword Beach: The 1st Special Service Brigade arrived with low casualties but
failed to complete some objectives
Juno Beach: The Canadian Forces that were at Juno landed 30,000 men and
were one of the most successful, and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
pushed further into France than any other Allied force, despite having faced
strong resistance at by elements of the German 21st
Gold Beach: 25,000 men were landed, but with heavy casualties
Omaha Beach: Landed 50,000 men but the heavy resistance only left 2
surviving tanks out of 16. All objectives were completed though
Utah Beach: The landing crafts were pushed to a
wrong location because of a strong current. They
were pushed to a less defended position and the
only casualties were 197 out of the 23,000 landed
Canadian troops
approaching Juno beach

10. By the end of D-Day, the Allies landed 130,000 men by
land and 29,000 by air
France was liberated because of the Landings and the
Allies would advance through Europe liberating other
countries
The Normandy Landings was a
turning point in the war and
caused Germany to
surrender in 1945
Alfred Jodl signs an unconditional German
surrender, thus ending WWII

11. Casualties on both sides was approximately 425,000 men
-2700 British
-946 Canadians
-6603 Americans
-German Casualties unknown, but estimated between
4000-9000