D-Day and the Battle of Normandy

On 6 June 1944 at dawn, the largest amphibious operation ever conducted in the history of time was set in motion. Operation Overlord, commanded by General Dwight David Eisenhower, required nearly seven thousand ships of all types with more than 300,000 men onboard. Five beach sectors on the coasts of Calvados and the English Channel were delimited : Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. A few hours before the landing craft arrived, paratroopers jumped on Sainte-Mère-Eglise and Pegasus Bridge. Shortly after midnight, D-Day began.

From 6 to 20 August 1944, Normandy was in a state of war : first on its beaches, then in the hedgerows of its bocages and in the Caen plain. Lower Normandy paid an extremely high price for its liberation, but this was critical to definitively free Europe from Nazi rule and bring World War II to an end.