(June 6, 1944) the day the Allied Forces staged the largest amphibious attack in history, landing on the beaches of Normandy. Nearly 175, 000 American, Canadian, and British troops landed, supported by 6, 000 aircraft and 6, 000 naval vessels. The object of the attack was to win a beachhead in France in order to open a second front against Adolf Hitler's armies and to use the beachhead as a springboard for the liberation of France and Belgium, and the eventual conquest of Nazi Germany. There were nearly 5, 000 Allied casualties, nearly half of them at Omaha Beach.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
