Historical Note: June 6th, 1944 -D-Day

Over 150,000 Allied troops sailed in a 5,000 ship invasion force across the English Channel. Their objective was to establish five beachheads on the northern shore of France and then open up a second front against the Germans. This was the largest amphibious invasion force in history. Over 15,000 Canadians were involved in the invasion. The Germans had spent three years fortifying the northern coast of France. They called it the "Atlantic Wall". There were hundreds of kilometres of mine fields, steel barriers along the beaches, and concrete gun turrets. After the Dieppe disaster the Allies decided not to attack existing fortified ports, but rather to attack less-well defended beaches and then assemble huge pre-fabricated docks and piers called "Mulberry Harbours"