Postcard : Juin 1944 - Débarquement en Normandie

The goal of operation Overlord was to open a new front in western Europe and to relieve the Red Army engaged against Germany since 1941. From the landings on Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches on the night from 5 to 6 June 1944, until the liberation of Le Havre on 12 September, almost 100 days of fierce fighting were needed for the Allied troops to liberate Normandy and to open the route to Berlin. This was one of the most important battles of World War II and remains one of the largest logistics operations ever undertaken. Almost 7,000 ships and landing crafts, 15,000 planes and gliders, as well as 20,000 vehicles were deployed to cover the front. More than three million tons of equipment were unloaded on the beaches over the course of three months, at the artificial harbour of Arromanches and later that of Cherbourg. The Battle of Normandy saw heavy casualties. Of the two million Allied soldiers and 800,000 German troops who participated, 37,000 and 80,000, respectively, were killed or missing. 20,000 civilians perished during the entire Battle of Normandy.