Battle of Normandy
The Battle of Normandy, which began on 6 June 1944 with large-scale Allied ground assault on occupied France, lasted for three months, with the liberation of the last Norman commune, Honfleur in Calvados, on 25 August 1944. [1]
There is much confusion about the proper terminology for the overall operation containing the battle, as well as its phases. Operation Overlord was the overall Allied campaign plan for operations in Northwest Europe in 1944.[2] Overlord was not the first plan for attacking across the English Channel; a series of contingency and serious proposals preceded it: a preparation phase, Operation Bolero, a 1942 contingency invasion, Operation Sledgehammer, and a proposed 1943 invasion, Operation Roundup.[3]
The actual landings in Normandy, commonly called D-Day, were Operation Neptune, with sub-operations for the beaches where amphibious landings and the various airborne landings were made. "D-Day" was actually the generic term for the Day of an operation; every amphibious operation had one.
Amphibious attacks were made on:
- Sword Beach
- Juno Beach
- Gold Beach
- Omaha Beach: 1st Infantry Division (U.S.) and 29th Infantry Division (U.S.)
- Utah Beach: 4th Infantry Division (U.S.)
References
- ↑ Normandie Mémoire, The liberation of the communes
- ↑ Pogue, Forrest C. (1954), Chapter IX: Final Preparations for the Invasion, The Supreme Command, Office of the Chief of Military History
- ↑ Cline, Ray S. (1951), Chapter IX: Case History: Drafting the BOLERO Plan, Washington Command Post: The Operations Division, Office of the Chief of Military History