By early June 1944 the Allies were poised for offensives on all fronts in World War II. As the British prepared to retake Burma from the Japanese, the Americans steamed toward the Marianas, Soviet forces positioned themselves for a massive offensive into Belorussia and another into Finland, and Allied armies were about to retake Rome.
RELATED After D-Day, U.S. troops took part in another major but often overlooked operation that is commemorated this week. In Britain, of course, naval, air and ground forces stood ready to open the long-anticipated “second front” in France with an amphibious invasion of Normandy. Meteorologists forecast a brief window of clear weather on June 6. Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower seized the moment to order airdrops of paratroopers and gliders behind enemy lines, the 2nd Ranger Battalion’s risky climb to seize German gun positions on Pointe du Hoc and the landings on the code-named beaches of Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah that, despite bloody setbacks, ultimately secured a vital beachhead in Normandy. Six weeks of tough fighting lay ahead: British and German armor clashed around Caen, while American units ground their way through the hedgerows to Saint-Lô. Once freed of the confines of the Cotentin Peninsula, the Allies set their sights first on Paris and then on Berlin — but there was still a long way to go.
This story was originally published in 2019 by History Net , a sister publication of Military Times.
RELATED Seventy-five years ago, Hollywood director George Stevens stood on the deck of the HMS Belfast to film the start of the D-Day invasion. View from a ship on D-Day off the coast of France on June 6, 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Hollywood director George Stevens looks through a camera on a ship off the coast of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Stevens was assigned to to head up the combat motion-picture coverage, but he was also using 16-millimeter color film for himself of the same events, creating a kind of personal video journal of his experiences. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Ships and blimps sit off the coast of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Empty shells on the deck of a ship off the coast of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Hollywood director George Stevens stands on a ship off the coast of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Landing craft on the beach during D-Day on June 6, 1944 in France. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. troops drive through a town during World War II in France. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. troops drive through a town by a sign for the Hotel du Lion during World War II in France. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Soldiers sit on a tank holding a sign about a mine field during World War II in France on June 6, 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) French women smile at U.S. soldiers after the liberation of Paris. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) A French girl holding a weapon watches U.S. troops drive past after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) French women cheer U.S. soldiers after the liberation of Paris in 1944 during World War II. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. soldiers in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background during World War II after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. military vehicles and soldiers march down the Champs-Elysees after the liberation of Paris. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. Army Gen. George Patton, left, with a pearl-handled pistol, talks to British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, center right with the beret hat, and other British officers in France during World War II. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Charles de Gaulle, arrives for a military parade down the Champs-Elysees after the liberation of Paris. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Paris. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Gen. Phillippe Leclerc, foreground second right, stands with a captured German officer, left, after the liberation of Paris in 1944 during World War II. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Hollywood director George Stevens, center, talks after a military parade in Paris. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) U.S. Gen. Omar Bradley salutes as Charles de Gaulle, background left, speaks before for a military parade down the Champs-Elysees after the liberation of Paris. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) Charles de Gaulle, right, speaks to a French citizen, center, and another French officer after the liberation of Paris in 1944 during World War II. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP) A German officer is escorted by U.S. soldiers after the liberation of Paris in 1944. Seventy-five years later, surprising color images of the D-Day invasion and aftermath bring an immediacy to wartime memories. They were filmed by Hollywood director George Stevens and rediscovered years after his death. (War Footage From the George Stevens Collection at the Library of Congress via AP)