D-Day, or the Invasion of Normandy, occurred on June 6, 1944, Allied troops (including America, Britain, and Canada) invaded Nazi-controlled France by sea. The giant invasion, code named Operation Overlord, included a fleet of about 54,000 warships and about 300,000 soldiers. Once ashore, the troops fought their way through Normandy, village by village, crushing or driving back the German forces in their path under heavy bombing from the air. It was a brutal three-month battle.
In all, about 100,000 soldiers on both sides, and about 20,000 Normandy citizens, were killed. The invasion broke the German occupation of Europe. It also liberated the horrifying Nazi concentration camps, and ended the conflict that left much of Western Europe in physical and economic ruin.
When nice weather conditions arrived, over 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel in the largest amphibious (from the sea to the land) attack in military history. It was code-named Operation Neptune.
Watch this video on D-Day.
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Destination D-Day is an interactive animation where you choose the next step.
Click "next" to start this animation.
Destination D-Day is an interactive animation where you choose the next step.
Listen to Dwight D Eisenhower's invasion order.
Comment on the blog:
Read "40 Amazing D-Day Facts" and tell us the one you thought was interesting.
Also, what did the first video say earned the victory at the Invasion of Normandy?
Also, what did the first video say earned the victory at the Invasion of Normandy?
My favorite fact was that D-Day was originally set for June 5 but had to be postponed for 24 hours because of bad weather. I think that is hilarious that that they had to change the day because.
ReplyDeleteWhen all was said and done, it was the American technology that tipped the balance (2:33), but in the beginning, it was the waves of soldiers that made it all possible (2:38). My favorite fact was that the “D” in D-Day actually only stood for Day and was simply used to preserve secrecy. That's interesting because I always thought the 'D' stood for death or something.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was the bravery of the soldiers on the beach that won the war of Normandy
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fact was fact number 6. D-Day was originally set for June 5 but had to be postponed for 24 hours because of bad weather. I know this was Evans favorite as well, but it really struck my interest too! This was such a HUGE day and a huge event in history. And the fact that weather got in the way of it was comical to me.
ReplyDeleteFunny how an overlooked element can ruin your whole giant plan.
DeleteSome of the reasons that won the war of Normady were the fact that previous to the war so many Germans had "bled out". As the video said. Also, our technology advantages overpowered. Also, the mass waves of troops conquered.
ReplyDeleteThe video said it is the solders that gained the victory. My favorite fact is that the early plans flew out the window and a man with bad vision gave them back without reading it. That man must have been far sighted.
ReplyDeletei would say fact #2 was most interesting, i think it was the soldiers that won the fight they were very very brave
ReplyDeleteI thought fact number 33 was interesting.. The technology and the "first wave" of soldiers was what won victory at Normandy.
ReplyDeleteI think what earned us a victory on D-day was that we were an industrial, capitalist counter.
ReplyDeleteA fact I thought was interesting is that a paratrooper by the name of Private John Steele was dropped in the wrong place and his parachute famously became snagged on the church steeple at Sainte-Mère- Eglise. He was trapped for two hours before being taken prisoner. In the video it said that the soldiers were the ones who had gained victory.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fact was number 7. The “D” in D-Day actually only stood for Day and was simply used to preserve secrecy. I love that! So that means it was really just Day-Day! The video said that the battle of Normandy was won overall because of the technology. Also that we were so strong in our ability to work together and that allowed us to make tons of helpful stuff for the war.
ReplyDeleteI thought every fact was interesting but one that stayed in my mind was that Winston Churchill said to his wife "when you wake up tomorrow 20,000 men will have been killed" that's really sad to think about. I also thought it was cool how we had so many codes. I think we owe our victory of this battle to the soldiers who were amazingly brave, and how well prepared we were.
ReplyDelete"A phantom army of dummy camps, planes and tanks was constructed in Kent and Essex in order to deceive Germans into thinking the invasion would be at Calais" This is the fact (out of the forty) That I thought was rather interesting. I never knew about this before! It was a smart move that the Allies constructed. In the first video, they said (and were right) that it was the men who went first that made the attack possible. It's rather hard to wrap your mind around the fact that these men basically sacrificed their lives for their country, not just to keep it from falling into Nazi hands, but to keep it's freedoms and beliefs safe from the tyrannical beliefs of the Nazi's (and other parties). It's really something that should never be forgotten, or warped in any way. I think this event just decided the turn of the war, or at least was one of them. Just think how brave those men were, to willingly risk their lives (at a high risk) for their nation. It's an amazing event in history that should never be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI thought fact #36, "Casualties on D-Day were much lighter than feared...." I thought that was a nice change from the videos that said so many people towards the beginning had died. It really showed how strong the US was and is.
ReplyDeletein the first video what earned the victory was Americas ability to produce many weapons and other stuff. and the fact I chose was fact 26 "The flat-bottomed landing craft were originally designed to rescue flood victims on the Mississippi river in the US"
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how condoms were given to the soldiers to keep the ends of their rifles dry.
ReplyDeleteThe first video said that the victory at the Invasion of Normandy was won because of our technology and weapons, but at the very beginning it was the soldiers who went in first.
ReplyDeleteThe fact I thought was interesting was #3: "In the summer of 1943 an early copy of the plans blew out of a window in Norfolk House, London. A man who was passing by handed them in, saying his sight was too bad to read them."