Dwight D. Eisenhower
Supreme Allied commander

Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you!

On June 5, 1944, after postponing the Allied invasion of northwestern Europe for twenty-four hours on account of bad weather, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the massive Allied Expeditionary Force into action. It was to be the largest combined sea, air, and land military operation in history, made up of three million men, 13,000 aircraft, 1,200 warships, 2,700 merchant ships, and 2,500 landing craft. Fifteen minutes after midnight on June 6, the first of 23,000 U.S., British, and Canadian paratroopers and glider troops plunged into the darkness over Normandy, and the Allied liberation of France was underway. Just before dawn, Allied aircraft and ships bombed the French coast along the Baie de la Seine, and at daybreak, the bombardment ended as 135,000 Allied troops stormed ashore at five landing sites. Despite the formidable German coastal defenses, beachheads were achieved at all five landing locations. At one site-Omaha Beach-German resistance was especially strong, and the Allied position was only secured after hours of bloody fighting by the Americans assigned to it. By the evening, some 150,000 American, British, and Canadian troops were ashore, and the Allies held about eighty square miles. Over the next five days, Allied forces in Normandy moved steadily forward in all sectors against fierce German resistance. On June 11, the five landing groups met up, and Operation Overlord-the code name for the Allied invasion of northwestern Europe-proceeded as planned.