D-Day +75

Learn more about the D-Day exhibit "D-Day +75" at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.  

Allied forces began planning for Operation Overlord more than a year before D-Day, June 6, 1944. Allied leaders selected the beaches at Normandy for their assault. The beaches were accessible, could be covered from the air, and were adjacent to the deep-water port of Cherbourg, which would be necessary for the logistics of fighting a prolonged war in Europe.

The D-Day plan was for Allied soldiers to land on five beaches – codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword – and overwhelm the German defenders, breaking through the Atlantic wall.

Reinforcements continued to arrive and support the advancing Allied soldiers for weeks following D-Day, supporting the mission to capture of the Cotentin Peninsula by the end of the month.

Designed to accompany the fictitious First US Army Group led by General George Patton, the decoy landing craft were stationed along the English coast opposite Pas-de-Calais to convince the Germans an invasion was being mounted there. 

For months, Allied commanders poured over aerial reconnaissance of the French coast, seeking the best place to land the amphibious assault.  Allied commanders utilized annotated reconnaissance photos to determine the positions of German artillery at Pointe du Hoc.

For months, Allied commanders poured over aerial reconnaissance of the French coast, seeking the best place to land the amphibious assault. Annotated reconnaissance photos were used to determine the positions of German artillery at Pointe du Hoc, allowing for later bombing runs illustrated here by Douglas A-20 Havocs dropping their 1,000-pound payloads on the German gun emplacements.

An American quartermaster battalion line an English pier waiting to board a transport for shipment to a new station.

Allied assault troops wave jubilantly from aboard a transport which is pulling out from a British embarkation point enroute to France and the long-awaited invasion.

American troops at a British port descend into barges which will take them to troop to Hitler’s Fortress Europe.

One of the many types of vessels used to transport American soldiers was a Landing Craft, Tank (LCT), shown here with soldiers packed in among vehicles and supplies.

Before the invasion began, General Eisenhower had this order of the day distributed among the invasion force to highlight what was at stake and to inspire his men.

The success of Operation Overlord was due in large part to the actions of the nearly 20,000 Allied paratroopers and glider infantrymen who dropped behind the German lines early on June 6.

This map highlights how chaotic the airborne assault was for the American paratroopers once anti-aircraft fire began.

Practice jumping for American paratroopers in preparation of the Allied invasion.

Practice jumping for American paratroopers in preparation of the Allied invasion.

The paratroopers’ mission on D-Day was to capture vital causeways and villages that would allow them to hold off German reinforcements and protect the flanks of the amphibious landings.

Resolute faces of paratroopers just before they took off for the initial assault of D-Day. Note Eisenhower's D-Day order in hands of paratrooper in foreground.

Thousands of infantry would land in Normandy in gliders, bringing with them jeeps and bulldozers to help clear the area for advancing troops. 

View looking up to C-47 pulling glider across sky.

Predictions prior to the assault estimated that 70 percent of the gliders, and nearly 50 percent of the airborne troops, would become casualties on D-Day. 

The cable from General Eisenhower highlights that losses among the more than 1,000 aircraft that took part in D-Day were not as severe as expected.

The amphibious assault on Normandy — codenamed Operation Neptune — saw the deployment of more than 175,000 men landing across five beaches, covering more than 50 miles of the French coastline.

The naval bombardment focused on knocking out as many of the German guns and defensive positions on the beaches as possible. On Utah Beach alone, the Wehrmacht had 110 guns, ranging in size from 75mm to 210mm. 

Aboard USS Nevada, a naval officer reads a letter from the Western Naval Task Force commander, Admiral Alan Kirk, describing when and where the naval bombardment will occur.

U.S.S. Nevada pours an obliterating hail of death on Nazi positions blocking the forward surge of Allied troops in France.

Landing craft of all types head through a choppy sea for the invasion beachhead along the coast of Normandy, during the early hours of the Allied landings.

A convoy of Landing Craft Infantry (Large) sails across the English Channel toward the Normandy Invasion beaches on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

Overview of the Allied advancement at Omaha Beach during D-Day.

More than 1,000 Higgins boats made their way to shore on D-Day.

A LCVP landing craft from USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) approaches Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

American soldiers on sinking landing barge saved by Coast Guard. 

The Allied plan for D-Day was for Duplex Drive (DD) tanks to land just ahead of the infantry.

Understanding that the Allies would have to make a beach assault, and believing the Normandy coast to be a possible landing site, Rommel had his troops erect obstacles along the beaches in the months leading up to D-Day.

Understanding that the Allies would have to make a beach assault, and believing the Normandy coast to be a possible landing site, Rommel had his troops erect obstacles along the beaches in the months leading up to D-Day.

Understanding that the Allies would have to make a beach assault, and believing the Normandy coast to be a possible landing site, Rommel had his troops erect obstacles along the beaches in the months leading up to D-Day.

The first American troops came ashore simultaneously at Omaha and Utah beaches at approximately 6:30 in the morning: H-Hour.  Allied troops fought through the sea only to encounter heavy fire, obstacles, and heavily mined beaches.

This reconnaissance map was created by the 1st Infantry Division’s intelligence section for use by the landing force. It illustrates possible mined areas, machine-gun positions, and obstacles for this section of coastline.

The overview plan of the attack on Omaha Beach.

This doughboy shows how to go through breast high water under heavy artillery and machine gun fire on the French coast.

GI's landing in France from Coast Guard landing barge on June 6, 1944.

U.S. and British troops huddle against one of the "traps" as protection against enemy machine gun fire.

Moving 'on the double' these members of a U.S. Navy beach battaluon [sic] dive for the protection offered by a ditch as a Nazi plane swoops down to strafe the shore somewhere in Normandy.

U. S. Army Rangers show how they accomplished their feat by climbing a makeshift ladder to take German gun crews by surprise.

U.S. Army Rangers rest atop the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, which they stormed in support of Omaha Beach landings on D-Day, 6 June 1944. 

American Medics render first aid to troops in the initial landing on Utah Beach. 

American medical corpsmen convert a German anti-tank ditch into a temporary first aid station. 

Row and row of stretchers cover the decks of a Coast Guard LCT (Landing Craft Tank) bringing out wounded invaders from the flaming soil of France.

As the initial waves of Allied forces broke through the German defenses and pushed inland, thousands more waited to come ashore.

Reinforcements for Normandy Beachhead U. S. soldiers crowd into every inch of space aboard this LCT (Landing Craft, Tank), which is making continuous runs from transports to the Allied beachhead on the Normandy coast.

Headed inland are long parades of trucks, loaded with troops and supplies.

Soldiers exiting an amphibious landing craft into shallow water near a beach.

American troops climb the bluff overlooking Omaha Beach as units move inland to form the vanguard for the massive invasion of Nazi-dominated Europe.

Soldiers of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion prepare to deploy a balloon on Omaha Beach.

Through the battered roof of a building on the French invasion coast can be seen ships of the Allies amphibious fleet.

By the end of June 1944, Allied forces had secured the Cotentin Peninsula and reached the port at Cherbourg.

American soldiers dig themselves in against counterattack in the fields inland.

Taking cover in the bushes this allied sniper patrol searches nearby trees and shrubs for any enemy soldiers waiting to ambush them.

Moving warily through a field, American paratroopers pass members of their own outfit who were victims of snipers at Carentan.

This leaflet was a part of the 1st Infantry Division’s propaganda campaign to encourage the outnumbered Wehrmacht soldiers to surrender.

A group of American soldiers dash through the haze of battle smoke to attack hidden Nazis in a small French village."

Yank soldiers at St. Lo work hard to put out the fire which destroyed this ammunition truck.

Over the next several weeks, airborne units were able to take and hold Carentan through hard fighting, allowing the infantry to begin the push to expel the Germans from France after four long years. 

Over the next several weeks, airborne units were able to take and hold Carentan through hard fighting, allowing the infantry to begin the push to expel the Germans from France after four long years. 

American tanks and jeeps roll through a liberated French town, on their way to engage the Germans.

A Frenchmen and his wife, loaded milk cans on the handlebars of their bicycles, make their way through the wreckage of this important city in Normandy.

Hear from veterans who were there on the beaches of Normandy