SUTTON Travels: D-Day Allies Invade Nazi Europe An Overview and Timeline

23 May 2019

D-Day Allies Invade Nazi Europe An Overview and Timeline

D-Day was 6 June 1944.

I was in Normandy, France for the 75th anniversary events. The sacrifices were incredible! So many died in the pursuit of freedom. D-Day was the beginning of the end of World War II.

Many Flags- People working together

D-Day is the day, the Allied forces of the United States, Great Britain, and Canada amassed the largest armada in history to invade German occupied France and liberate Western Europe forcing Germany and Italy out of World War II.

The “D” refers to the designated day for the operation and the “H” in H-hour is the hour a scheduled operation began.

Troops from other allied nations were also represented: France, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Norway, and New Zealand.

Other nations were involved in the war effort at many other locations around the world. It was truly, and sadly, a world war.

Five Beaches of the D-Day Invasion

On 4 June, chief meteorologist James Stagg of Scotland told U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower the weather looked good for 6 June. On 5 June Eisenhower gave the order for Operation Overlord—telling the troops, "The eyes of the world are upon you".

The invasion forces left southern England on 5 June 1944.

5 June On Our Way

17:00 The largest armada in world history left the south coast of England with troops, supplies, and ammunition. Eventually, naval forces would include 6,939 warships and vessels: 4, 126 landing crafts and boats, 1,213 combat ships, 736 other craft, and 864 merchant ships.

22:00 Airborne troops make final checks and begin boarding Horsa Gliders.

D-Day 6 June 1944

00:16 British paratroopers land on target at two bridges later named Pegasus and Horsa, on the path to Caen (Read more about Pegasus Bridge).

00:26 British forces defeat Germans to take Pegasus bridge. A nearby house (now a museum) is among the first liberated from German occupation.

Pegasus Bridge, Normandy / Geoff Sutton 2012

01:11 German General Marcks gets word of paratroopers, but decides to wait.

01:55 American paratroopers land around Sainte-Mère-Eglise on the path to Cherbourg. After several hours of fighting, the first village is liberated (Read more about the Americans at Sainte-Mère-Eglise).

U.S. Paratrooper Survives at Sainte-Mère-Eglise

04:30 British capture the Merville Battery (Read more about the British at Merville).

05:23 Allied warships begin firing on the German defenses along the coast. Naval operations were under the command of British Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay.

06:00 American bombers join British bombers, but many bombs fall behind the German defenses. Over 2,000 British, Canadian, and American bombers attacked areas along the coast.

Landing Craft- National WWII Museum, New Orleans

6:30 H-Hour: Americans land on Omaha and Utah Beaches in specially designed landing craft (Higgin's Boats). The US zones were under the command of General Omar Bradley.

Utah Beach/ Geoff W Sutton 2012

07:00 U.S. Rangers scale the cliffs to attack the guns of Pointe-du-hoc (Read more about the Americans at Pointe-du-Hoc).

Pointe-du-Hoc, Normandy / Geoff W Sutton 2012

7:25 British forces land on Sword and Gold Beaches.

British land at Sword Beach/ WWII Museum

Gold Beach in 2019

7:55 Canadian and British forces land on Juno Beach.

9:00 African-American Soldiers of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion reach the beaches. Their task to construct a curtain of hydrogen-filled balloons with steel cables over the beaches. Read more at NBC.

9:32 BBC broadcasts that the allies have landed in France to audiences in the UK and worldwide.

10:15 German General Rommel learns of the invasion and returns to France. He had been celebrating a birthday in Germany.

11:00 Americans secure Vierville.

11:15 Canadians and British capture Saint Aubin-sur-Mer (Calvados).

12:00 Hitler at his Bavarian Alps Headquarters believes the allies will be driven back.

14:00 Soldiers continue to land with equipment.

14:30 Allies reach Caen but do not capture it. Germans execute previously captured French resistance fighters.

15:00 The first sections of ingeniously designed prefabricated harbours arrive (Mulberry Harbours) from England.

18:00 German Panzer division attacks British forces.

20:00 British and Canadians join forces and approach Bayeux.

20:10 Canadians capture Taillerville.

21:00 More than 140,000 Allies have landed along 55 miles.

At the end of D-Day, 4,413 allies died. Many are buried in the cemeteries at Normandy. When we consider the entire battle of Normandy, more than 425,000 men were killed, injured, or missing. Among the allied airmen, 16,714 died and 37,00 died amongst the ground forces.

Remembering