D-day.
"OK, we'll go!" With these words, General Eisenhower, commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, announced the beginning of the long-awaited invasion of Europe. Since the disaster at Dieppe, the Allies had been carefully planning. This time they would be ready. The Normandy beaches of northern France were selected as the site of the invasion. Normandy was close to Britain and the invading army, supply ships, and reinforcements would not have far to travel.
A huge army gathered in the south of England. American troops numbering 1.25 million joined a similar number of British and Commonwealth troops, including 30 000 Canadians. Four thousand landing craft, 700 war ships, and 11 000 planes were ready.
The Germans had 60 divisions in northern France and the Netherlands under the command of Field Marshall Rommel. In the spring of 1944, Allied bombers started attacking and destroying Nazi military sites in northern France. The idea was to soften the enemy defences.
D-Day, Day of Deliverance, was fixed for 5 June 1944. But the invasion had to be postponed because of bad weather. At 2:00 a.m. on 6 June, paratroopers were dropped to protect the landing forces. Seventy-five minutes later, 2000 bombers began to pound the German defences on the beaches. At 5:30 a.m., the air raids were joined by the guns of the Allied warships. Then at precisely 6:30 a.m., the first waves of Canadian, British, and American troops poured onto the beaches of France.
This was Canada's largest military operation. Parachutists were dropped behind enemy lines. Fourteen thousand soldiers were set to hit the beaches of France. The Royal Canadian Navy had 100 ships with 10 000 sailors in the operation. Flying overhead were 36 bomber squadrons of the RCAF.
The Canadian soldiers landed at Juno Beach. They faced underwater obstacles, land mines, barbed wire, and heavy machine-gun fire from the Germans. At the end of the day, they had met their objectives, the only Allied force to do so that day. They had suffered 369 dead and 739 other wounded.
Within a week, the Allies had 300 000 troops safely on shore. Within a month, 1 million Allies had landed with 200 000 military vehicles. Though the Nazi forces fought hard, Hitler was now caught with war on two fronts, east and west.
A huge army gathered in the south of England. American troops numbering 1.25 million joined a similar number of British and Commonwealth troops, including 30 000 Canadians. Four thousand landing craft, 700 war ships, and 11 000 planes were ready.
The Germans had 60 divisions in northern France and the Netherlands under the command of Field Marshall Rommel. In the spring of 1944, Allied bombers started attacking and destroying Nazi military sites in northern France. The idea was to soften the enemy defences.
D-Day, Day of Deliverance, was fixed for 5 June 1944. But the invasion had to be postponed because of bad weather. At 2:00 a.m. on 6 June, paratroopers were dropped to protect the landing forces. Seventy-five minutes later, 2000 bombers began to pound the German defences on the beaches. At 5:30 a.m., the air raids were joined by the guns of the Allied warships. Then at precisely 6:30 a.m., the first waves of Canadian, British, and American troops poured onto the beaches of France.
This was Canada's largest military operation. Parachutists were dropped behind enemy lines. Fourteen thousand soldiers were set to hit the beaches of France. The Royal Canadian Navy had 100 ships with 10 000 sailors in the operation. Flying overhead were 36 bomber squadrons of the RCAF.
The Canadian soldiers landed at Juno Beach. They faced underwater obstacles, land mines, barbed wire, and heavy machine-gun fire from the Germans. At the end of the day, they had met their objectives, the only Allied force to do so that day. They had suffered 369 dead and 739 other wounded.
Within a week, the Allies had 300 000 troops safely on shore. Within a month, 1 million Allies had landed with 200 000 military vehicles. Though the Nazi forces fought hard, Hitler was now caught with war on two fronts, east and west.