How do you get tens of thousands of troops across the English Channel and into France when your enemy is well armed, well trained and expecting you? That’s the task that faced the Allied Forces, who needed to breach Hitler’s ‘Atlantic Wall’ of defenses to liberate Western Europe and ultimately defeat Nazi Germany. D-Day, on June 6th 1944, was their solution. Three countries sent the bulk of the troops to land in Normandy: the United States, Britain and Canada. In this report, Claire Paccalin and Florence Gaillard look at how the British Forces, who had already endured five years of war before D-Day, showed bravery and flair that were crucial to the success of the operation.
