#D day beach name how to
The German defenders were uncertain how to respond.ĭ-Day was mostly an Anglo-American effort: British, American and Canadian troops made up most of the numbers, but no less than 17 Allied countries participated on the ground, the sea and in the air. On the evening of 6 June 1944, the Allies had gained a foothold on all five beaches. On the morning of June 6, 1944, Allied forces staged an enormous assault on German positions on the beaches of Normandy.
#D day beach name code
About 24.000 airborne troops were also deployed in order to take control of strategic points and to prevent German attacks on the flanks of the assault forces ashore.ĭespite poor weather conditions and fierce resistance from German units the operations were successful. Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in. The meaning behind the 'D' in D-Day has to do with military terminology. A fleet of over 6.900 vessels was required to land the assault forces of more than 156.000 men on five beaches, that received code names (from west to east) Utah and Omaha (U.S.), Gold (British), Juno (Canadian) and Sword (British). The German Command expected the Allies to land where the Channel was at its narrowest. From left to right, the British 3rd Division would attack Sword Beach, troops of the 3rd Canadian Division would assault Juno Beach, and the British 50th. To the east, British and Canadian troops would strike three landing sites. Normandy was chosen because of its close proximity to the British coast, thus allowing Allied aircraft to effectively support troops landing during the initial phase of the assault (Operation Neptune).Ībove all, the German defences along this stretch of the coastline were less formidable than in the north. All told, the Allies would land simultaneously on five beaches, forever immortalized by their iconic code names. The aim was to gain a foothold in Western Europe in order to defeat Nazi Germany, along with the Soviet Army on the Eastern front. Recommended reading: The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment war diary for June 1944. Private Baker is also featured on our very own Juno Beach logo, first used to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day or Juno75. Four years after the crushing defeat of France, Belgium and the Netherlands in the spring of 1940, the Anglo-American Allies launched Operation Overlord. The Juno Beach Centre Associated played a role in designing this coin.