Why is D-Day so important?
June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the Allies’ invasion of Western Europe. It was the crucial turning point in the war against Hitler’s Germany. The Russian Red Army was pushing the Nazis back towards Berlin in the east, and the Allies agreed that a second front was needed to push them out of France and the Low Countries. Fighting on two fronts, Hitler’s resources were overstretched and the German army began to crumble. Who took part in D-Day? Thousands of Americans and Canadians joined British troops in the south of England in the months running up to D-Day to prepare for the biggest ever seaborne invasion in history. A total of 156,000 men took part in the landings, codenamed Operation Overlord, but many times that number were to be involved in the ensuing campaign over the next 12 months. Airborne troops used parachutes and gliders to drop behind enemy lines the day before the main invasion in a bid to secure vital roads and bridges. Why was it held on June 6? Allied commanders s
