June 6: "D-Day" Anniversary

Thoughts on the 62nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of the Normandy beaches in the prelude to the liberation of Europe from Axis control.

June 6, 1944--62 years ago--Allied forces led by American General Dwight Eisenhower established a beach-head along the Normandy coast of France. A prelude to the liberation of Europe from Axis occupation, the D-Day land and sea forces were the largest the world had seen at the time.

American forces--called "the pride of our nation" by President Roosevelt--were joined by British, French and Canadian forces. Allied troops landed along a 60 mile span of beaches nicknamed Utah, Omaha, Juno, Sword and Gold. Meticulously planned, the invasion was code named "Operation Overlord" and featured a phantom army stationed in England to convince the enemy that the invasion would take place at Calais rather than Normandy.

Though the Allies were successful at establishing a beach-head, it came at a cost of over 2,700 casualties--about the same number lost at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and on September 11, 2001.

The war in Europe would continue until May 1945. Of the Allied and Axis nations,the greatest total military casualties were: the USSR: over 15 million troops, Germany: over 3 million, Japan: over 1 million, the USA: over 292,000, Britain: over 272,000 and France 200,000.