D-Day was the turning point of World War II.    

World War II was one of the largest war the world has ever seen.  It took place in Europe, the Pacific, and even parts of Africa.  Though the war was important to keep the peace, no day was more important than D-Day.  D-Day, also known as “Operation Overlord” (www.dday.co.uk), was the a large scale invasion of France.  Overlord was carried out on June 6 1944.  Through months of training, the invasion forces were prepared for their assault.  The most thought of part of D-Day are the beach landings.  They were not the only important parts of D-Day though.  Through all the missions carried out by the invasion forces, Operation Overlord was a success.  That is why D-Day was the turning point in World War II.
   

World War II started in 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland.  As the war progressed, the Nazi Blitzkrieg had stormed through all of France, straight to the Atlantic coastline.  The Allies hopes were thinned.  The Allies knew they needed to invade France and liberate it from the Nazis.  Operation Overlord was formed.  Originally, “Operation Roundup” (www.dday.co.uk), Overlord was thought up by “Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower”(www.britannica.com/dday).  So, training for Overlord began.
   

Most of the training for Overlord took place in Britain which was a “large scale military training facility”(Conway, John R. D-Day Pg. 40).  There were many people there to help train for the incoming invasion.  Over “three million people”(www.dday.co.uk) trained in Britain  Not just people, but tons and tons of equipment were needed to make this a successful invasion.  “Almost 6000 different types of ships, and 16000 gliders”(www.dday.co.uk) were needed.  To get all of this equipment overseas, the Americans created “Operation Bolero”(www.dday.co.uk).  With all this equipment, firepower, and troop support, there was no doubt this was going to be the biggest naval invasion the world has seen.
   

This invasion plan was not fully noticed by the Germans.  After a while of holding the French Atlantic Coast, the Germans knew there will probably be an invasion.  Field Commander Erwin Rommel had decided to fortify what would be known as the Atlantic Wall.  This was the Atlantic Coast of France.  Rommel decided to heavily fortify Pas de Calais due to its short distance from England.  Instead, the Allies decided to invade at Normandy.  Normandy was farther from the English Coast and it had suitable landing beaches.  Rommel decided to place traps along the Atlantic Wall to halt tank movement.  The Allies also had a plan for this.  Winston Churchill had his finest engineers create different variations of tanks.  One known as the “Churchill Tank”(Dowswell, Paul. Second World War) which shot a 110m flamethrower, was very deadly.  Other tanks ripped up mines from below the ground.  These designs helped defeat Rommel’s defenses.
   

The Allies wanted to keep the idea of invading at Normandy a secret, so they did many dirty tricks.  Every bomb they dropped on Normandy, they dropped two more elsewhere.  “The Allies also made a “fake” army based in Kent“(Dowswell, Paul. Second World War).  This army was made up of people “faking the construction of tanks”(Dowswell, Paul. Second World War).  There were was a fake airborne radio force made to scare the Germans.  The “Allies also decoded German transitions learning more about their ability to land”(www.britannica.com/dday).  The Allies had even dirtier tricks.  To fake the Germans out, “they placed rubber tanks at the coast opposite Calais to really fool the Germans“(Drez, Ronald J. Remember D-Day).  All of these tricks were also a great part to the invasion, but the invasion was itself the greatest.
   

The plan for the invasion date took many months to figure out.  The allies had to find suitable times for troop placement.  Also weather had a key factor in determining the invasion date.  The originally date June 5 1944, bad weather called for some unfavorable landing conditions so the invasion was postponed to the next day.  These were very crucial moments for the Allies, cause if they did not determine if this was a good time to do this invasion, it could have been more costly.  They still went through with the plan, and by the next morning the invasion had begun.
   

This invasion consisted of many different troops.  The Americans, and British of course made up most of the invading force.  But there was also a third party.  The Canadians, who were small in numbers still got into the fight on D-Day.  The invasion also had a bit of French Resistance to help soften up the Germans before the invasion force got to them.  Americans had their airborne units too, along with the British.  This was a large assortment for the invasion force, this was what was needed.
   

The invasion began early morning of June 6 1944.  At this time, the Airborne divisions had dropped behind enemy lines.  These troops were the ones, along with the French Resistance, to take out German fortifications from behind.  Some people could say that this point (even though there were never any pictures) was like millions of mushrooms falling from the sky.  These airborne units would take care of many towns, bridges and even the Merrville Battery.
   

The Merville Battery was a German concrete fortification that housed four heavy caliber guns.  This was a highly defended position with mines, barbed wire, tank ditches, and worst of all, hardened German troops.  This battery had its guns aimed at the Normandy beaches, so it was a necessity to take it out.  Through harsh fighting it took, the British 6th Airborne, silenced the guns
  

The British Airborne also took care of a place called Benouville (now known as Pegasus Bridge).  Benouville was an important troop supply line for the Germans and it was necessary to all the Airborne Divisions to cut off the Germans defending Normandy.  The British Airborne assaulted the bridge and that same night, took it.  For the brave fight of the British Airborne, it was named Pegasus Bridge, after the British Airborne Emblem.
   

The American Airborne also had their hands full.  The Americans had to drop into the city of Sainte-Mere-Eglise.  Since there were a lot of miss drops, the Americans had trouble getting into the city.  Many paratroopers hit the famed church tower that caused many problems during the night for the troopers.  Through the harsh fought fight, the Americans fought there way to victory in the city, but not without casualties.
   

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