On June 6, 1944, the Allied armies invaded the coastal region of France, opening the second front in Europe with an attack that greatly eased the pressure on the Soviet Union in the east and eventually spelled the end of the Nazi regime. Historian Stephen E. Ambrose called this the climactic battle of World War Two.

The Normandy Countryside

Though the amphibious assault from the sea is the most famous aspect of the D-Day invasion, it actually began in the dark hours of the night of June 5 - 6 when American and British paratroopers jumped into an unfamiliar landscape filled with the enemy. Scattered throughout the countryside, most having missed their drop zones, the men formed mixed units and secured several key victories in advance of the invasion.

Sainte-Mere-Eglise is the iconic town associated with the airborne phase of the invasion and can be reached by traveling west on the N13 highway from Bayeux. The town is the home of the Airborne Museum, which tells the story of the American airborne landings and has many life-size dioramas featuring mannequins in uniforms, aircraft and gliders.

When the first soldiers dropped on Ste. Mere-Eglise, there was a fire, and the villagers were fighting it under the supervision of the German garrison. Many of the paratroopers were killed in their parachutes as they got caught up on buildings and telephone poles. One soldier, John Steele, got stuck on the roof of the church in the center of town in his parachute, and survived by pretending to be dead until the town was taken around 5am. His story was made famous in the film The Longest Day, and a memorial to him and the other paratroopers killed in the battle takes the form of a mannequin hanging in a parachute from the church steeple.

As dawn broke on June 6, the German commanders had been on alert all night trying to piece together what was happening. The troops on the five invasion beaches codenamed Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword, however, had no doubt that the invasion was taking place.

Thousands of warships and transports appeared on the horizon as aircraft rumbled overhead. As soldiers clambered into landing craft, the Allied invasion fleet opened fire, turning the once-peaceful vacation resort into a war zone.

Ste. Mere-Eglise is just inland from Utah Beach. A visit to this beach is worthwhile, but Omaha Beach, down the coast to the east, is the best sight in Normandy associated with the invasion because it was the hardest-fought beach and a loss there would have spelled the end of the invasion and prolonged the war. The beach is also home to the American Cemetery, operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Just before reaching Omaha Beach, take the time to stop at Pointe du Hoc, the spit of land jutting into the sea between Omaha and Utah beaches where U.S. Army Rangers scaled 100-foot cliffs on D-Day to neutralize a gun battery. Although the battery had been moved inland and telephone poles were in the place of the guns, there was a vicious fight for the important high ground. The missing guns were discovered and destroyed shortly thereafter. The terrain at Point du Hoc has been left largely untouched to this day. Take the time to walk in the massive shell craters and look at the demolished German bunkers before taking a short trip east to Omaha Beach.