Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.
-Eisenhower's Order of the Day, June 6, 1944
Operation Overlord, the invasion of Occupied Europe through Allied landings across five beaches on the Normandy coastline and glider and paratrooper landings at key sites inland, have become famous as 'D-Day'. Originally planned for June 5, but delayed due to bad weather, they were the culmination of months of planning. The landings were preceded by bombing campaigns and the operation involved land forces, airborne forces and naval forces, while coordinated sabotage and delaying operations were undertaken by the French Resistance. This short history details the planning for the operation, and how the first stages of the campaign played out for the troops on the ground in Normandy.
