The assault had been timed for low tide to expose as many underwater obstacles as possible. At 6:31 am, the first landing craft dropped its ramp and the soldiers began fighting. In the invasion's early hours, more than 1,000 transports dropped paratroopers to secure the flanks and beach exits of the assault area. Amphibious craft landed some 130,000 troops on five beaches along fifty miles of Normandy coast. In the eastern zone, British and Canadians landed on Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. The Americans landed on two beaches in the west-Utah and Omaha.
To guard against an Allied invasion of Europe, Adolf Hitler ordered the laying of millions of mines and miles of barbed wire and poured tons of concrete to create a defensive barrier along the western coast of Europe. This was soon to be known as the "Atlantic Wall". Although the plan was a sham because the Germans didn't know where an invasion would occur, it still cost many soldiers their lives.
The airborne units led the invasion. Dropping paratroopers behind German forces and supporting the soldiers on the beach, air support was crucial for the success of the operation. Allied bombers, which were unable to see through heavy clouds, missed their beach targets. Three airborne divisions of U.S. and British forces dropped inland. Some soldiers were shot with machine-guns before they even landed ;others landed up to thirty-five miles away from their targets. Much of the air assault was a disaster due to stormy weather. The British glider troops seized key bridges, and U.S. airborne troops seized key towns. .
The drops took place on both sides of the invasion area in the late hours of June 5th and early morning of the 6th. Most of the drops took place in clear weather, but were scattered over a large expanse of the countryside. In spite of this, British and American paratroopers met most of their D-Day objectives. The drops also confused the German defenders, thus buying time for the invasion troops to get situated.
Under Adolf Hitler the German empire extended from Russia to the west, to France on the east. Germany controlled much of Europe except for Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Sweden (Keegan 1). Hitler's army's gained control of much of Europe during the years of 1939 through 1941. It was not until December 11th 1941 that Hitler declared war on the United States. Soon afterward, Dwight D. ...
