On the recordJune 4, 2024
this week marks the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944, was one of the most significant events in human history. In those early morning hours, more than 24,000 soldiers and 1,200 aircraft conducted a massive and daring airborne assault behind enemy lines. This was done to isolate the coast and prevent the enemy from reinforcing its defenses. Then, at dawn, the largest amphibious assault ever conducted--160,000 U.S., British, and Canadian troops poured out of 6,900 ships and vessels to storm the beaches against a crushing enemy fire. Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, Sword--the beaches' names are still famous today. The first days were not promising for the Allies, but slowly over the next several weeks, the Allies extended their tenuous foothold and amassed more and more forces, eventually numbering 2 million on the beaches of Normandy. After a German counterattack in early August failed, the breakout would begin. Paris would be liberated just weeks later, on August 25. Then, 5 days later, the enemy would withdraw back across the Seine into Germany--the end of Operation Overlord. Losses were severe. On June 6--D-Day--alone, the Allies suffered more than 10,000 casualties. At operation's end, that number would swell to nearly a quarter of a million, including more than 153,000 wounded and 72,000 killed or missing--more than were killed in the entire war in Vietnam.…
