Why d day happened

Instead, a joint invasion of north-west Africa, held by pro-Germany Vichy France, was launched first in November With increasingly large Allied forces now in the Mediterranean and with Italy teetering, it made sense to follow up with an assault on Sicily in July — and after victory there, a further invasion of southern Italy that September. Vital airfields were captured in southern Italy, from which Allied strategic air forces those independent of ground operations could work in tandem with bomber forces operating from Britain — and so tighten the noose around the Third Reich.

Gaining air superiority over all of Western Europe was a non-negotiable prerequisite for any invasion and not until the spring of had that condition been met. Finally, in early June , the Allies had the weight of men and materiel as well as control of the skies with which to invade.

The date was set as 5 June , which was then pushed back a day due to poor weather, to Tuesday 6 June. The immediate goal was to make sure the invasion was successful. The Allies had amassed vast forces, but despite the thousands of warships and landing craft, only a fraction of Allied strength could be initially transported across the Channel.

Allied intelligence was superb and so long as the exact location and timing of the invasion remained secret to the Germans, the attackers would achieve tactical surprise when they began landing in Normandy.

This proved the case but thereafter the race was on as to which side could build up a decisive weight of forces in Normandy first. This was where Allied air power came in, because it was the bombers and fighter-bombers that were responsible for slowing German reinforcements to the front, both of infantry units, but particularly their panzer divisions — formations of motorised infantry, artillery and tanks — which were the best Nazi Germany had.

By blowing up bridges, railways and roads and harrying anything that tried to move in daylight, they were able to greatly slow up German movement to Normandy and allow increasing numbers of Allied troops and materiel to cross the Channel. Listen: Giles Milton on lesser-known stories of soldiers and civilians who were involved in the Normandy landings.

Once a decisive materiel advantage had been achieved, then the outcome of the battle in Normandy — and ultimately all of France and Western Europe — would not be in doubt. By brilliantly coordinating their forces in the air, at sea, and on land, and by using the full weight of their industrial and technological superiority, the Allies not only secured a foothold on D-Day, they won the race to build up forces at the front.

In order to organise things like when the troop ships should leave England, they referred to it as D-Day. The name D-Day has been used for many military operations, but it is now firmly associated with the Allied invasion of Normandy.

D-Day 70th anniversary: Special Newsround programme. Veterans remember D-Day landings. What is Remembrance Day? How much is a lightsaber worth? Gerrard announced as new Villa manager - is it a good move? Home Menu. D-Day: What is it and why is it important? Getty Images. These veterans all served on D-Day. What was D-Day? US army troops landing on the beach in Normandy for D-Day.

What happened on D-Day? Where did D-Day landings happen? The D-Day planning map shows where each team landed on the beaches in Normandy. Who took part in D-Day landings? Then, at in the morning, the Normandy landings began.

By some estimates, over 4, of the Allied forces lost their lives from the D-Day invasion. Thousands more were recorded as wounded or missing. D-Day was a day that cost many lives on all sides of the conflict, changing not only the future of countries, but of families as well.

Because of that, there is much to be learned from those who experienced its victories and its horrors firsthand. Do you have D-Day veterans in your family? Record a memory or upload a photo to help preserve their legacy. FamilySearch Blog.