D-Day
Operation overlord, more famously known as D-day, was one of the most important turning points of WWII. This invasion of Nazi occupied France occurred on June 6, 1944, and involved the collective efforts of over one hundred and fifty thousand American, British, and Canadian soldiers in what is still considered one of America’s greatest military operations. Invasion forces landed at beaches code named Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juno. The heaviest casualties were felt on Omaha Beach, which was the location of the deaths of over two thousand U.S. troops. The invasion was originally set to occur on June 5th, yet poor weather conditions forced U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower to postpone the invasion twenty four hours. The purpose of this invasion was to create a safe port of entry for allied troops entering occupied France. To prepare for this decisive battle, the allies purposefully leaked false messages to German spies regarding two fictional armies created to scare Hitler into spreading out his troops. One, the First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG) prompted Hitler to keep his 15th army from entering the battle out of fear that the FUSAG would attack the Pas de Calais. The other fictitious army, the British Fourth Army, stopped thirteen German Divisions in their tracks in Norway as soon as the Nazis heard of their position in Scotland. To back up these claims, the Allied forces constructed fake planes out of wood, and set up inflatable rubber tanks to deceive German reconnaissance pilots. The success of this operation is difficult to stress, but its importance to the rest of WWII is clear, and without it, we would not be where we are today.
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