66th Anniversary of Operation Overlord: Normandy Landings

Operation Overlord was the code name for the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. Operation Overlord was the single largest military operation of all time. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy Landings, commonly known as D-Day. The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. A 12,000-plane airborne assault preceded the assault involving almost 7,000 vessels carrying nearly 160,000 troops. More than 3 million troops were in France by the end of August. Click to enlarge