D-Day, the 6th of June 1944

Today is the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy and it should not go without notice -especially by military history buffs like me -but also because it is important to remember the sacrifices made that day to defeat the horrors of Nazism as well as the sacrifices made throughout that war.

During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British, Canadian and Free French and forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.

Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces was General Dwight Eisenhower . The operation, planned by a team under Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan, was the largest amphibious invasion in world history and was executed by land, sea, and air elements, landing on June 6, 1944. 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved. The invasion required the transport of soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The cost was over 12,000 Allied casualties.

Today's Reflection:

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Live Long and Prosper...