D-Day
On June 6, 1944 the combined forces of the British, American, and Canadian landed on the beaches of France. The British and Canadians landed on GOLD, JUNO, and SWORD Beaches. The Americans landed on two beaches, UTAH and OMAHA. This was the greatest invasion by sea the world has ever seen. With a total of 180,000 men, 3,000 guns, 1,500 tanks, and 15,000 other vehicles Allied forces attacked the German Army in Normandy. The invasion of Europe by the Allies was years of planning, training, and build up the materials and men. Of the 180,000 destine to step foot on the Normandy beaches fewer than 2,500 were killed on D-Day itself. Allied planners had planned for 10,000 deaths on D-Day.

Normandy Invasion
Supreme Commander--General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Allied Expeditionary Naval Forces--Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay
21st Army Group--General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery
Allied Expeditionary Air Forces--Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh- Mallory

United States Army       United Kingdom Land Forces

First Army               Second British Army
V Corps                  1st British Corps
VII Corps                30th British Corps
1st Infantry Division    3rd British Infantry Division
4th Infantry Division    6th British Airborne Division
29th Infantry Division   50th British Infantry Division
82nd Airborne Division   3rd Canadian Infantry Division
101st Airborne Division

Air Forces

U.S. Army Air Forces     Royal Air Forces

Eighth Air Force         2nd Tactical Air Force
Ninth Air Force

Allied Expeditionary Naval Forces

Western Task Force       Eastern Task Force
(United States)          (British)

Omaha Beach
The regiments of the 1st and 29th Infantry divisions and Army Rangers who landed on OMAHA Beach was even more difficult than expected. When the first wave landed at 6:30 a.m., the men found that naval gunfire and prelanding air bombardments had not weakened the German defenses. Enemy positions that looked down from bluffs as high as 170 feet, and water and beach obstacles lined across the narrow strip of beach, stopped the assault at the water's edge for much of the morning of D-Day.

Utah Beach
In the predawn darkness of June 6, the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were air dropped behind UTAH Beach to secure four causeways across a flooded area directly behind the beach and to protect the invasion's western flank. Numerous factors caused the paratroopers to miss their drop zones and become scattered across the Norman countryside. However, throughout the night and into the day the airborne troops gathered and organized themselves and went on to accomplish their missions. Ironically, the paratroopers' wide dispersion benefited the invasion. With paratroopers in so many places, the Germans never developed adequate responses to the airborne and amphibious assaults.

The 4th Infantry Division was assigned to take UTAH Beach. In contrast with OMAHA Beach, the 4th Division's landing went smoothly. The first wave landed 2,000 yards south of the planned beach--one of the Allies' more fortuitous opportunities on D-Day. The original beach was heavily defended in comparison to the light resistance and few fixed defenses encountered on the new beach. After a personal reconnaissance, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who accompanied the first wave, decided to exploit the opportunity and altered the original plan. He ordered that landing craft carrying the successive assault waves land reinforcements, equipment and supplies to capitalize on the first wave's success. Within hours, the beachhead was secured and the 4th Division started inland to contact the airborne divisions scattered across its front.