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D-Day in pictures
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American soldiers wearing helmets and gear wade ashore from a landing craft at Omaha Beach on D-Day, with smoke and military vehicles visible in the background. D-Day in Pictures Aerial view of 13 American Liberty ships forming a breakwater off the French coast, protecting vessels unloading on the beach during World War II. Four American soldiers in uniform stand knee-deep in rough water, holding a lifeline to rescue men from a sunken landing craft near Cherbourg, France on D-Day, 1944. A German soldier lies dead on the ground outside a concrete pillbox on Utah Beach, France, after the D-Day invasion during World War II. A Coast Guard tank landing ship transfers vehicles to a floating platform under several barrage balloons, with soldiers and equipment visible, during World War II. Rows of World War II soldiers march in formation toward a troop-carrying glider, with multiple military planes lined up in the background at an airfield. A World War II American soldier in a hooded raincoat stands against the chalk cliffs at Omaha Beach, Normandy, looking determined and weary. American servicemen in helmets and gear climb from a ship onto a crowded landing barge on the English Channel, preparing to head to Normandy during World War II. A deceased American Airborne soldier lies among the wreckage of a crashed glider near Carentan, France, with a damaged jeep visible amid the debris.
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American soldiers wearing helmets and gear wade ashore from a landing craft at Omaha Beach on D-Day, with smoke and military vehicles visible in the background.
Normandy Invasion American troops landing at Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944. The presence of tracked vehicles and DUKWs (“Ducks”) on the beach and the organized columns of men heading inland indicate that this photo was taken several hours after the initial infantry assault.

D-Day in pictures

Written by
Michael Ray
Michael Ray is an assistant managing editor who has worked at Britannica since 2003. In addition to leading the Geography and History team, he oversees coverage of European history and military affairs....
Michael Ray
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

After a prolonged naval and aerial bombardment of German defenses on the Channel coast of France and the Low Countries, the Allied invasion of Normandy began in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower issued this statement as his order of the day: In the hours before dawn, thousands of paratroopers descended on the Normandy countryside behind the German defenses. At about 6:30 am some 3,000 Allied landing...

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