D-Day Pictures

 
D-Day landing craft

 
Normandy invasion map

 
June 6, 1944

 
US bombers fly over
the invasion fleet

 
Rangers scale
Pointe-du-Hoc

Normandy Invasion

Utah Beach

Operation Overlord D-Day

General Dwight D. Eisenhower's complete address to the Allied troops on D-Day:

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Omaha beach

Utah Beach explosion

Howitzers shelling
near Carentan

P-51 Mustang in
invasion stripes

Juno Beach

Free French fighters
greet American soldiers

Destroyed 88mm gun

Mulberry Harbor preparations

German armor on D-Day

D-Day: June 6, 1944

The invasion of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944 (codenamed Operation Overlord by the Allies) was a triumph of intelligence, coordination, secrecy, and planning. The bold attack was also a tremendous risk. Ultimately it succeeded because of individual soldiers' bravery in combat. An invading army had not crossed the unpredictable, dangerous English Channel since 1688 -- and once the massive force set out, there was no turning back. The 5000-vessel armada stretched as far as the eye could see, transporting over 150,000 men and nearly 30,000 vehicles across the channel to the French beaches. Six parachute regiments -- over 13,000 men -- were flown from nine British airfields in over 800 planes. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion.

1) World War II & D-Day Maps: Your resource for maps of D-Day and the rest of World War II.

2) The Pegasus Archive: The British Airborne Forces from 1940 - 1945. Includes detailed information about the 6th Airborne Division's operations in Normandy including an Order of Battle, War Diaries and a Photo Gallery.

3) D-Day : Etat des Lieux: A detailed site in both English and French which includes an hour by hour timeline of D-Day as well as a large collection of veteran's accounts of the battle.

4) National D-Day Memorial Foundation: National memorial to the Allied forces who participated in the WWII invasion of France, June 6, 1944.

5) D-Day: American Experience: D-Day participants describe the planning and execution of the Normandy invasion during World War II, and the battle for the French beaches.

Sources:

1) PBS.org - www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dday/

2) 100th Bomb Group Foundation - www.100thbg.com

3) Wikipedia.com - www.wikipedia.com

4) Universite de Caen. L'Annee 43: Guerre Totale. France

5) Olmsted, Merle. "A Crew Chief Remembers: To War with the Mustang"
       FlightJournal.com.