D-Day in Pictures: Part I
D-Day in Pictures: Part II
D-Day in Pictures: Part III
D-Day in Pictures: Part IV
“After enduring all the ordeals and training in England, we felt like we were completely ready for anything, and we were very ready to fight the Germans, and we looked forward to the day that we could actually get into the real fight.”
– Sgt Bob Slaughter, 116th Infantry Regiment, US 29th Division
On June 6, 1944, the Normandy landings began. “D-Day” marked the Allied invasion into German-controlled France. There are two parts to D-Day, the airborne assault and the amphibious landing. Around midnight, American, British, Canadian and Free French airborne troops parachuted into France to help secure the flanks and approaches for the beach landings. At 6:30am, Allied troops stormed the 50-mile stretch of coast which the Germans had heavily fortified. Over 150,000 Allied troops fought with the help of more than 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft support. D-Day became the largest amphibious landing in history. The cost of the invasion was high with around 9,000 Allied soldiers wounded or killed. As a military move, D-Day was successful, it allowed the Allies a foothold in France and to the eventual downfall of Nazi Germany.
A U.S. tank unit in England readies for D-Day in 1944.
(Pictured L-R) Captain Leonard Brusky, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Sergeant Wilfred F. Thomas, Wisconsin; Sergeant Frank L. Niner, Louisville, Kentucky; Pfc Harry H. Smith, Louisville, Kentucky.
