D-Day

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Hitler standing at the Trocadero, Paris By the end of 1941 Germany occupied large parts of Europe. Planning for D-Day began when Stalin called for Great Britain and the USA to open a second front in Western Europe. The Russians had been doing the majority of the fighting against Germany and wanted the USA and Great Britain to launch an invasion in the West to ease the pressure on them.

© IWM (HU 3266)

The Supreme Command of the Allied Expeditionary ForceThese were the men in charge of the invasion of German-occupied France. The man seated in the middle is General Dwight D Eisenhower who was in overall charge. Later on he would become President of the United States of America between 1953 and 1961.

© IWM (TR 1629)

Choosing the landing beachesThe first key decision was to choose the location of the invasion beaches. Planners collected postcards from people who had been to Normandy on holiday for photographic evidence as to what the coast looked like, but this photograph was taken from an aircraft. It was used to orientate the troops landing on this section of the coast, codenamed Sword Beach.

© IWM (MH 1997)

Diving suitTo make sure the beaches could handle the weight of the tanks, trucks and other vehicles that would take part in the invasion, men were sent ashore from submarines to collect samples of sand. This diving suit was used by Lieutenant Rollo Mangnall to reconnoitre the potential landing beaches.

© IWM (UNI 3914)

Preparations for D-Day by Richard EurichThe invasion involved thousands of men, vehicles and tonnes of equipment. The majority of these things would have to go by sea and so the ports and harbours of south and south western Britain became inundated with ships of all shapes and sizes from the Allied navies.

© IWM (Art.IWM Art LD 4587)

The Atlantic WallThe Germans had built a large network of fortifications and beach defences along the coast of France. Dealing with these obstacles was one of the biggest problems for the planners of D-Day. The defences shown in this photograph were designed to tear the bottom out of landing craft when concealed at high tide.

© IWM (A 23992)

Code-named “Window”The Allies used various tactics to try and convince the Germans that the landings would be at Pas de Calais. This photo shows a factory worker producing foil, code-named “window”. “Window” was strips of aluminium which were dropped by aircraft in order to confuse German radar.

© IWM (E(MOS) 1451)

Flight Lieutenant Les MunroFlight Lieutenant Les Munro, from New Zealand, dropped Window from his aircraft on D-Day to make it appear that there was an invasion fleet off Calais. In May 1943 he had taken part in the Dambusters raid. This photograph shows him talking to King George VI.

© IWM (TR 999)

Naval bombardment of the German defencesThis photograph shows HMS Belfast firing her 4 inch guns at night. Using her guns, HMS Belfast’s role on D-Day was to destroy enemy defences and to stop German reinforcements making for the beaches.

© IWM (A 24325)

British troops going ashore at Sword BeachTidal conditions and heavy defences on Sword Beach meant there was not much room to land. This caused the congestion of armoured vehicles that can be seen on the beach.

© IWM (B 5102)

Canadians landing at Juno BeachCanadian troops landing in the Juno Beach area shortly before midday, 6 June 1944. The men are carrying bicycles to help them move inland quickly, without having to wait for heavier transport.

© IWM (A 23938)

Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches by Stephen BoneSome equipment could be brought in across the beaches, but this would not be enough to sustain the huge numbers of men landing in France after D-Day. Until such a time as a port could be captured, the Allies needed a method with which to land large quantities of material. A prefabricated harbour named Mulberry was designed and built in Britain and then towed across to Normandy where it provided shelter and moorings for supply ships.

© IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 4607)

A Crashed Horsa Glider by Albert RichardsTroops were also landed by air, as well as sea. Those transported by air would either land by parachute or by glider. The gliders were designed to be used once and, as they were made of wood and canvas, were easily damaged on landing. Gliders carried men and equipment, including lightweight tanks.

© IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 6288)

PLUTO (Pipe Line Under the Ocean)To provide enough fuel for the thousands of vehicles in France a plan was devised to lay a pipe under the sea and pump the petrol across from Britain. This photo shows the large drum of pipe called a ‘Conundrum’ ready to be laid on the sea floor.

© IWM (T 54)

Success of D-DayIt could not be assured that D-Day would be a success and if the landings had failed General Eisenhower had written a statement accepting full responsibility. This message was never sent as the landings succeeded and the subsequent breakout was the beginning of the campaign in the west to defeat Germany. The fighting in Normandy continued until August 1944 and on the 25 th August Paris was liberated..

© IWM (BU 21)

D-Day

Learning Resources