On June 6, 1944, in the midst of the Second World War, the Allied forces brought in an assault on the Central Powers that would be a huge turning factor towards the allies victory and the end of WWII. D-Day also known as Operation Overlord was a carefully planned attack that would cripple the German forces. During the process of the plan, the attack was delayed several times and part of this attack was tricking Germany into thinking the allies would attack elsewhere.
D-Day, was on June 6, 1944, during World War II. It was the allied invasion of Normandy, a beach located on the French channel coast, in hope to penetrate the German army. General Eisenhower had organized the largest sea-to-land invasion in history. May 1944 was the original date for the invasion, but several difficulties forced a postponement until June. Eventually, on the morning of June 6, Eisenhower agreed to proceed with the invasion. Within hours a fleet of 3,000 landing crafts, 2,500 ships, and 500 naval vessels began to leave for the invasion. That night, hundreds of aircraft carrying men flew over the Normandy beaches. When the infantry from sea made it to land it was about 6:30 AM on June 6. By the end of June, Eisenhower had 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy.
The planners of Operation Overlord (the code name for the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe by the Allies) knew the key to its success was to trick Hitler into believing the invasion would be mounted far from where the landing would actually come. The place they chose for the fake invasion was Pas de Calais. It was convincing because the Channel was narrowest at that point, and that area of France offered the most direct route to Germany. To further confuse the Germans about their intentions, the Allies created a phantom invasion force, the First U.S. Army Group and put General Patton in command. The Allies also strung the Germans along by sending fake messages about FUSAG and mentioning it in genuine communication methods as well.
The attack began with more than 1,000 air bombers attacking coastal targets. This attack was followed by 18,000 paratroopers being dropped inland to capture key bridges and roads and cut German communications. The British Sixth Airborne Division suffered few casualties and succeeded in capturing bridges at the Orne River and the Caen Canal.
The Americans had a harder time. Their Airborne Divisions missed their drop zone and were scattered all over the coast. Many men drowned when they landed in the water. The dispersion of the Americans helped confuse the Germans, but it also meant that troops who survived the jump were isolated and easier to kill or capture. But in the end, they played a major role in the securing of Normandy by opening the way inland for the infantry, destroying much of the German artillery aimed at the beaches, and blocking avenues for potential counterattacks. Dying was not a danger for the dummy paratroopers literally dolls dressed up like soldi...
