The Longest Day Begins

At 6:30 AM on June 6, 1944, the first landing craft dropped their ramps on the beaches of Normandy. What followed was the largest amphibious invasion in history: 156,000 troops, 5,000 ships, and 11,000 aircraft converging on a 50-mile stretch of French coastline.

The Normandy invasion was preceded by Operation Fortitude — the most elaborate deception in military history. Dummy tanks, fake radio traffic, and imaginary army groups convinced the German high command that the real invasion would hit Calais, not Normandy. The deception held for weeks after D-Day, keeping critical Panzer reserves out of the fight.