Often referred to as the “Friendly Invasion,” the mixing of Yanks with British subjects often made for a clash of cultures.

The British landing area lay between Port-en-Bessin and Ouistreham where they would link up with 6th British Airborne Division along the Orne River, after their landing to protect the eastern flank of the Allied lodgment.  

This column is the second of three D-Day columns written by war correspondent Ernie Pyle describing the Allied invasion of Normandy. 

Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower knew that success on the beaches would require support beyond the beaches to prevent the arrival of German reinforcements.

If the US and its western Allies wanted to win this war as rapidly as possible, they couldn’t sit around and wait: not for a naval blockade, or for strategic bombing to work, or for the Soviets.

On June 5, 13,400 American paratroopers boarded C-47 aircraft for the largest airborne operation in history. Problems began as they crossed into France. 

While the Overlord operation was a combined effort of land, sea, and air forces, the amphibious assault plan was given the code name Neptune.

This column is the first of three D-Day columns written by war correspondent Ernie Pyle describing the Allied invasion of Normandy. 

It’s no secret that many WWII veterans returned home reticent to discuss their wartime experiences, but for members of the Ghost Army, silence was not a choice—it was a mandate. 

When World War II began, both the US Army Air Forces and the Royal Air Force Bomber Command developed strategic bombing fleets aimed at destroying Axis morale and its ability to prosecute war.