Today we remember D Day, the Allied landings on the shores of Normandy and the successful invasion of Nazi-held Europe. It was the largest amphibious attack in history, a record it will probably hold for the foreseeable future.
U.S., British and Canadian troops participated in the landing, on beaches named Gold, Omaha, Sword, Juno, and Utah. Since there was no place to dock ships, much came ashore over the unsheltered beaches during the first few days. Allied control of the skies over the landing beaches was near-total and made a huge difference.
The Allies actually built a sheltered harbor on the coast by sinking on the relatively shallow bottom old ships and giant hollow concrete boxes code named "mulberries" to create an enclosed area. Remnants of this man-made 'harbor' can still be seen.
In addition to the troops who waded ashore, many paras and glider borne troops were dropped behind German lines to create chaos and interfere with enemy reinforcements reaching the front. These were intended to cooperate with the French resistance, and sometimes succeeded.
Airborne troops took heavy casualties as it was not possible to drop tanks to fight beside them. Those wading ashore were also badly mauled. We owe them all a great debt as their success shortened the war a lot and, indirectly, kept Western Europe from becoming Communist.
