47 Years Ago, Gen. Eisenhower Led Allied Forces Onto French Beaches
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The United States and its World War II Allies on Thursday observed the 47th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower crossed the English Channel and landed on the Normandy coast of France.
By nightfall on that date--June 6, 1944--the Allies held footholds on beaches called Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, and when the first phase of the campaign was over three weeks later, Eisenhower’s campaign had put nearly a million men, 177,000 vehicles and 500,000 tons of supplies ashore in Europe.
D-Day marked the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe. Less than a year after that fateful date, Nazi Germany had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
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