What went wrong on D-Day? What factors caused the invasion to ultimately succeed?
Serious planning for an Allied invasion of France had begun as early as 1941. After the Americans had entered the war, the Soviets began to call for a second front in France to relieve the pressure on the eastern front. Although the Americans had pressed for an invasion in 1943, Churchill had urged caution, perhaps remembering the slaughter at Gallipoli that had nearly ruined his career during the First World War. It was Churchill who had urged the landings in Italy as an alternative to a cross-channel invasion, and he even proposed invading the Balkans rather than France. In late November 1943 the three leaders of the Allied alliance met for the first time at the Tehran Conference in Iran. Although Churchill continued to argue that Italy should be the western allies top priority, Stalin continued to press for an invasion of France as soon as possible. Roosevelt agreed and the cross-channel invasion date was set for May of 1944. In return, Stalin agreed to open a massive attack on the
