The day The Allies invaded France, and told Hitler that his days were numbered.
Omaha Beach is the target for many movies and video games etc. because
the casualty rate was higher than the other 5 beaches combined.
Omaha Beach: 2400 dead/wounded
Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Pointe du
Hoc: 1675 dead/wounded
The landings of D-Day took months of careful planning. The invasion began with the Paratroopers of Americas 101st, and 82nd, along with the British glider soldiers, they secured many towns and villages before daybreak, and also caused alot of chaos for the German ranks before the initial landings.
Free French (La' Resistance) sabotaged railway systems used by Germans for
supply lines, and sheltered American and British soldiers who were lost, or hiding from German soldiers.
Landing Assignments:
American: Omaha, Utah, and Pointe Du Hoc
British: Sword,and Gold
Canada: Juno
Commanders:
Axis:
Erwin Rommel (Germany)
Allies: General Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S.),
Bernard Montgomery (British, Canadians)
End Result:
Casualties:
Allies: 4075 Dead/Wounded/Missing
Axis: Unknown (most likely in the high thousands)
Area taken: All 6 beaches plus surounding towns and villages. I.E. Vierville Sur Mer
Date set for invasion: Originally set for June 5th, but because of the random weather of the English channel the landing force could not land until weather was clearer. Date was then set to June 6th, 1944.
Misc. Fact: Within a span of a few weeks (from August 25 to September 17 1944) The Allies liberated Paris, liberated 7 villages, the Allies crossed the Siegfried Line into Germany, and Operation
Market Garden began (largest airborne invasion in history)in Holland (the third installment in the Brothers In Arms saga will be based on the Airborne drops into Holland, beginning with the jump, to the bitter defeat of the Allied Paratroopers.). This failed operation lights the fuse that will later explode into the Battle of the Bulge in the
Ardennes.
D-Day is a topic often misunderstood because of
Hollywoods traditional way of showing the grand Allies fighting the savage Nazis, but we should all remember that not all Germans were Nazis(
Rommel for example rejected Nazism, and plotted to assassinate Hitler).
If you want to get a clearer view on D-Day I suggest watching
Saving Private Ryan, or picking up a book, or documentary.