![]() ![]() The operation was code-named "Overlord." The outcome of the war rested upon its success. ![]() He and his staff then prepared the details of a plan to organize, transport, land, and supply the largest amphibious invasion force in history. Eisenhower approved of Morgan's selection of the Normandy coast in France as the invasion site, but he increased the size of the assault force. He took up his new post,Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force,in January 1944. Eisenhower had directed Allied invasion forces in North Africa and Italy. ![]() The choice was an American,General Dwight D. In December 1943 a commander for the operation was selected. In May, at an Allied conference in Washington, D.C., a target date of spring 1944 was set for the long-awaited attack. A group led by British General Frederick Morgan searched for the best point along the coast to strike and started drawing up assault plans. We're going down there, and we're throwing everything we have into it, and we're going to make it a success."įormal planning for the invasion of Northwest Europe began in 1943. This operation is planned as a victory, and that's the way it's going to be. "This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. What they did not know was precisely when and where the Allies would strike. They knew that it would determine the war's outcome. The Germans expected the invasion in early 1944. In 1943 its pace accelerated and more troops were posted in the west. Fortification of the coast of Northwest Europe was already underway. In Berlin, Hitler understood that an invasion would come. Germany would be trapped between the Soviets in the east and the Americans and British in the west.īy 1943 success on the battlefield and production in the factories made it possible to begin formal planning for this bold operation,the largest amphibious invasion in history. This would reduce German pressure on the Soviet Union by creating a true "second front" in Europe. 51, November 3, 1943įrom 1941 to 1944 America and its allies pursued the goal of defeating "Germany First." Their strategy rested on a key assumption, ultimately there would have to be a massive invasion of Northwest Europe aimed at the heart of the Axis empire. "Everything indicates that the enemy will launch an offensive against the western front of Europe, at the latest in the spring, perhaps even earlier." ![]()
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