77th D-Day anniversary: When the Allies landed in Normandy

The Normandy landings remain the largest ever amphibious invasion and paved the way for western Europe's liberation.

BRITISH FORCES during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944: Troops of the 3rd Infantry Division on Queen Red Beach. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
BRITISH FORCES during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944: Troops of the 3rd Infantry Division on Queen Red Beach.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
On this day, on June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed on the Normandy beaches of France as part of “Operation Overlord” which helped bring World War II to an end.
Commonly known as "D-Day," the day marks the Allies' invasion of Normandy, a military campaign that marked more than anything else in public memory the expected defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Normandy landings were months in the Allied planning and were kept secret from Hitler and his forces despite a huge trans-Atlantic mobilization of industry and manpower.
Under the cover of darkness, thousands of Allied paratroopers jumped behind Germany's coastal defenses. Then, as day broke, warships pounded German positions before hundreds of landing craft disgorged the infantry troops under a barrage of machine-gun fire and artillery.
The Germans suffered losses – dead and wounded – ranging from 4,000 to 9,000, while the Allies suffered about 4,500 dead and 6,000 wounded.
The Normandy landings remain the largest ever amphibious invasion and paved the way for western Europe's liberation.
Reuters contributed to this report.