The Perfect Day:
The conditions for D-Day had to be perfect. Perfect. There had to be enough light so that the troops could see. The tide had to be low enough so that the shipsmen could see the traps the Axis had set at Normandy Beach. The tide also had to be high enough so that the soldiers could get as far up the beach as possible. This resulted in the conclusion that June 5th, 1944 was the perfect. As the year of planning drew to a close, Allied meteorologists determined that the shiny skies seen on June 4th would become gloomy the following day. Sure enough at 4:15 AM, the storms rolled in and ruined the perfect day. While the Germans assumed that the conditions were too rough for an Allied attack, the Allies had skilled meteorologists constantly watching for a possible lull in the storm.
Before dawn on June 6th, 1944, thousands of paratroopers left the remote safety of their planes for the cold, wet ground that will begin The End. By dawn the brave men (and boys) had all reached the ground. The majority of them were miles off their target points, but they had, in fact, reached the ground.
Next, the bloodiest of the fights began. Unlike their brothers-in-arms at Utah, the soldiers at Omaha encountered a very bloody battle. At Omaha almost 2,500 soldiers were killed in action. The reason for such a large loss was the fact that Allied strategists had underestimated the amount of German soldiers on the beach, thus less Allied soldiers were sent to Omaha. Finally, the long awaited reinforcements appeared.
Finally the start of the Longest Day began:
Utah Beach
At around 6, the U.S. Navy received a stroke of unfortunate luck: the current caused them to drift down into the wrong sector at Utah Beach. This sector was not as heavily guarded and was easier for the United States to attack and later conquer.Omaha Beach
Gold Beach
An hour after the American invasions began, the British infantrymen began their attack at Gold Beach. The Germans had set up a strong resistance, but unlike Omaha, an earlier aerial attack had worn down the Nazi defenses. The British warships were also an extraordinary part of their success. An example of this is that the HMS Ajax scored the military version of a hole-in-one: They showed such accuracy from miles away that it seemed to have sent a shell through a small slot in a German artillery battery's concrete exterior. Other British land vehicles called "Funnies" cleared obstacles such as wooden beams and mines.Juno Beach
Once again the Allied forces struggled with rough waters at Juno Beach. The first hour of the battle was especially harsh, which a casualty rate of about 50%. Several groups of the Canadian soldiers lacked tank reinforcements, but soon German resistance let up and the Canadians at Juno Beach advanced farther inland than any of the British and United States groups.Sword Beach
At around midnight, British troops dropped down behind enemy lines to begin invading and securing the Eastern most beach, at around the same time the U.S. was doing so at Utah. Destroying bridges and getting into brief but bloody firefights, helped the British for their later amphibious attacks. The British navy finally landed on Sword Beach at 7:25 that morning; about the same time as their British and Canadian brothers at Juno and Gold Beach. Although there was a brief fight, the British secured Sword Beach rather quickly, with the help of the "Funnies" of course. A counterattack from the Germans followed that afternoon, but they turned back and left shortly after they arrived.
The Allied forces did not completely join back together until later on June 12th, 1944.
Source // Source2
