Battle+of+Normandy+(and+D-Day)

The Battle of Normandy The original invasion was planned on June 5, but due to bad weather the operation was pushed back to the next day. On June 6, 1944, Americans, British, and Canadian forces landed in northern France to liberate the French from the Nazi regime. It was the largest amphibious invasion ever, including over 5,000 ships. The battle ended in a decisive allied victory. D-day has no meaning, it was used to tell time in code. There were other days such as A-day and E-day.

Time line of invasion 12:00 (0000)- Paratroopers begin to land in France, knocking down power lines and telephone poles to disrupt communication of the Nazi's.

5:30 (0530)- Bombers drop bombs on German targets to weaken defenses.

6:20 (0620)- The first waves of allied landing craft lands on the beach sectors, Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

1:30 (1330)- American troops begin to secure Omaha Beach.

7:00 (1900)- The first command post is set up in Normandy.



A total of nine nations fought on the beaches. They included the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Free France, Poland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Utah Beach- 32,000 British and Americans landed on Utah Beach suffering only 200 casualties.

Gold Beach- Various British forces faced heavy resistance initially, but eventually stormed the beach with 400 casualties.

Juno Beach- Two Canadian and one British forces landed on Juno Beach, the first waves suffered the most out of the 980 casualties.

Sword Beach- 28,845 British and Free French took Sword Beach but suffered at least 680 casualties.

Omaha Beach- 43,250 Americans and British men plus 120 ships fought to take control of Omaha Beach. Very little went as planned, German defenses were stronger than expected and small groups of survivors improvised attacks. It resulted in over 3,000 casualties.



media type="custom" key="25337912" align="center"

media type="custom" key="25429870"

Test Questions: When was the original D-day? June 6, 1944 Who were the biggest contributors to the invasion of Normandy? USA, United Kingdom, Canada What were the five code names for the beaches? Omaha, Juno, Gold, Sword, and Utah Where was the toughest beach located? Omaha Beach

Resources: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=dday_main http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_Beach