Operation Overlord Events

1942 Apr 13 Adolf Hitler Orders the Construction of the Atlantic Wall Following the St. Nazaire Raid
On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40 called for the official creation of the Atlantic Wall. After the St. Nazaire Raid, on April 13, 1942 Adolf Hitler ordered naval and submarine ...
1944 Apr 22 Allied Forces Begins Exercise Tiger as Rehearsal for the D-Day Invasion of Normandy
In late 1943, as part of the war effort, the British Government evacuated approximately 3000 local residents in the area of Slapton, South Hams District of Devon. Some of them had never l...
1944 Jun 5
10:56PM
 Operation Tonga Begins
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the Nor...
1944 Jun 6 American Forces Land at Utah Beach through Operation Overlord
Utah Beach was the codename for the right flank or westernmost of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944. Utah was ...
1944 Jun 6 Americans Receive Word About D-Day
In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, Americans received word that three years of concerted war efforts had finally culminated in D-day--military jargon for the undisclosed time of ...
1944 Jun 6
6:30AM
 American Forces Land at Omaha Beach through Operation Overlord
Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6 1944, during World War II. The beach...
1944 Jun 6
6:30AM
 The Allied Invasion of Normandy Begins with the D-Day Landings
"Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. You are about to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are u..." —Dwight D. Eisenhower
1944 Jun 6
7:10AM
 US Army Rangers Attack Pointe du Hoc through Operation Overlord
Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Omaha Beach, and stands on 100 ft (30 m) tall cliffs overlooking the sea...
1944 Jun 6
7:25AM
 British and Free French Forces Land at Sword Beach in Operation Overlord
Sword Beach was the codename of one of the five main landing beaches in Operation Neptune, which was the initial assault phase of Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 ...
1944 Jun 6
7:35AM
 British Forces Land at Gold Beach During Operation Overlord
Gold Beach was the code name for one of the central D-Day landing beaches that Allied forces used to invade German-occupied France on June 6, 1944, during World War II. Gold Beach lay ...
1944 Jun 6
7:55AM
 Canadian and British Forces Land at Juno Beach through Operation Overlord
Juno Beach was one of the five main landing sites of the Allied invasion of the coast of Normandy on D-Day during World War II. It was situated between Sword Beach and Gold Beach. It is...
1944 Jun 6
8:30AM
 Brécourt Manor Assault
The Brécourt Manor Assault (June 6, 1944) during the U.S. parachute assault of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small-unit tactics and leadersh...
1944 Jun 7 British Forces Initiate Operation Perch to Capture German-Occupied Caen
Operation Perch was a Second World War British offensive that took place between 7–14 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to encircle and seize the German...
1944 Jun 9 Battle of Ushant, aka Battle of Brittany (1944)
The British flotilla were moving westward down the Channel when the German ships were detected by radar just after 1 am on 9 June. Jones turned his force to meet the Germans, who were by ...
1944 Jun 10 RAF Successfully Knocks Out Panzer Group West's La Caine Headquarters
During the Battle of Normandy, the headquarters of Panzer Group West was established in the Chateau at La Caine. On 9 June 1944, three days after the Normandy landings, the headquarters' ...
1944 Jun 10 US Army Fights Across Douve River Toward Carentan
Leading the attack of the 502nd, the 3rd Battalion (3rd/502nd PIR) under Lt Col. Robert G. Cole found Bridge No. 2 (the Douve bridge) unrepaired and the engineers assigned to the task pin...
1944 Jun 11 Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry
The Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry was the last major combat operation conducted by Canadian land forces in Normandy during the month of June 1944. The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, supported ...
1944 Jun 11 Cole's Charge in the Battle of Carnetan
During the night German fire subsided. Company H crept through the opening in the obstacle, and when it did not suffer any casualties, at 04:00 Company G and the Headquarters Company foll...
1944 Jun 12 US Army Captures Carnetan
To complete the capture of Carentan, Gen. Courtney Hodges of First Army created a task force under Gen. Anthony McAuliffe to coordinate the final assault. The mission to take Hill 30 was ...
1944 Jun 13 Battle of Bloody Gulch
At dawn on June 13, the 101st Airborne was about to attack the German line when it was attacked by tanks and assault guns. Two battalions of the 37th Panzergrenadier Regiment, supported b...
1944 Jun 13 Battle of Villers-Bocage
The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Allies landed in Normandy to begin the liberation of German-occupied France. In an ...
1944 Jun 23 British Forces Launch Operation Martlet
As planned, on 23 June elements of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division's 152nd (Highland) Infantry Brigade launched a preliminary attack. Before daybreak and without an initial artiller...
1944 Jun 28 Main Attack of Operation Epsom
Poor weather hampered the start of Operation Epsom on 26 June—both over the battlefield itself, where rain had made the ground boggy and there was a heavy mist, and over the United Kingdo...
1944 Jun 30 American Forces Capture the Port of Cherbourg
On June 18, the U.S. 9th Infantry Division reached the west coast of the peninsula. Within 24 hours, the 4th, 9th and U.S. 79th Infantry Division were driving north on a broad front. Ther...
1944 Jun 30 British Forces End Operation Epsom in the Face of German Counterattacks
Having been obliged to commit his last available strategic reserves to bring the British offensive to a halt, on 29 June Rommel requested permission from Hitler to allow the Seventh Army ...
1944 Jul 4 Canadian Forces Launch Operation Windsor
Operation Windsor was a Canadian offensive launched as part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. Taking place between 4–5 July 1944, the attack was undertaken by the 3rd Canadia...
1944 Jul 8 Operation Charnwood Begins
Operation Charnwood was a Second World War Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8–9 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The operation was intended to capture the German-occ...
1944 Jul 10
to 1944 Jul 12
 Operation Jupiter (1944)
Operation Jupiter was an attack launched by the British Second Army's VIII Corps on 10 July. The objective of the attack was to capture the villages of Baron-sur-Odon, Fontaine-Étoupefour...
1944 Jul 15 Second Battle of the Odon
As preparation for Goodwood was under way, Second Army launched two preliminary operations. The purpose of these operations, Montgomery stated was to "engage the enemy in battle unceasing...
1944 Jul 18 Liberation of Caen
On 18 July 942 Allied bombers and fighters attacked five villages on the eastern end of Caen in order to facilitate Operation Goodwood. The attacks took place at dawn and were helped by g...
1944 Jul 18
to 1944 Jul 20
 Operation Atlantic
Operation Atlantic was a Canadian offensive during the Battle of Normandy; launched in conjunction with Operation Goodwood, from July 18–20, 1944. Although initially successful, with gain...
1944 Jul 18
to 1944 Jul 20
 Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on 18 July 1944, during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen. British VIII Corps led the attack with three a...
1944 Jul 19
to 1944 Jul 25
 Battle of Verrières Ridge
The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in western France, during the Second World War. The main combatants were two Canadian i...
1944 Jul 25
to 1944 Jul 31
 Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army eight weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II. American Lie...
1944 Jul 25
to 1944 Jul 27
 Operation Spring
Operation Spring was an offensive operation conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign. The plan was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the Bri...
1944 Jul 30
to 1944 Aug 7
 Operation Bluecoat
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The geographical objectives of the attack we...
1944 Aug 7 Germans Launch Counterattack Near American Positions Near Mortain, France
Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain from 7 August to 13 August, 194...
1944 Aug 8
to 1944 Aug 13
 Operation Totalize
Operation Totalize (also referred to as "Operation Totalise" in some more recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops of the First Canadian Army during the later st...
1944 Aug 14
to 1944 Aug 21
 Operation Tractable
Operation Tractable was the final Canadian–Polish offensive to take place during the Battle of Normandy. Its aim was to capture the strategically important town of Falaise and subsequentl...
1944 Aug 21 German Position in Normandy Collapses after Fierce Fighting at Hill 262
Hill 262 or Mont Ormel ridge, nicknamed The Mace (elevation 262 metres (860 ft)), was the location of a pivotal engagement fought as part of the wider battle of the Falaise pocket during ...
1944 Aug 25 Liberation of Paris
The French capital had been occupied for four years, and most Americans associated German occupation with a romantic picture of Parisians struggling against German oppression. In reality,...
1944 Sep 19 German Forces Surrender at Brest
The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles fought during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout of Normandy which began on 27 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy during World...