Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30. The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault-the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Adolf Hitler placed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion. The weather on D-Day was not ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and time of day, that meant only a few days each month were deemed suitable.

In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. Planning for the operation began in 1943. The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. ġ0,000+ casualties 4,414 confirmed dead Ĥ,000–9,000 killed, wounded, missing or captured 170 coastal artillery guns (Includes guns from 100mm to 210mm, as well as 320mm rocket launchers.).

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