19446 June 1944 · Normandy coast

D-Day landings

American troops wade from a landing craft towards Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944 — Archival image: Chief Photographer's Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Allied armies landed about 156,000 troops on five beaches in Normandy, supported by airborne drops behind the coast and an invasion fleet of nearly 7,000 vessels. Losses were heaviest at Omaha Beach. The landings opened a western front against Germany that, together with the Soviet advance in the east, led to the liberation of Western Europe within a year.

Sites

Site 1: Omaha Beach and Normandy American CemeteryBluffs above the beach and more than 9,300 American graves.Map ↗
Site 2: Pointe du HocCratered clifftop stormed by US Rangers.Map ↗
Site 3: Juno Beach CentreCanadian museum and bunkers at Courseulles-sur-Mer.Map ↗
Site 4: Pegasus BridgeThe canal crossing seized by glider troops just after midnight.Map ↗

Guides who take you there

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More from the Second World War

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.