The Battle of Normandy organised by the Allies depended on a massive, fast landing which would destabilise the German High Command

by its boldness. In a few hours on 6 June 1944, 150 000 Allied soldiers had set foot on Norman soil.

 

Facing them, an equivalent number of German soldiers, but of whom only a third were operational on this front. The German High Command had been expecting the landings to take place in the Pas-de-Calais, the narrowest part of the channel. It took several days for the Germans to admit that the landings in Normandy were not a deceptive lure.

 

The first hours of the landings were to prove decisive. For the Allied coalition, what was most important was to break through the German defences quickly and broaden the front, and finally to resist enemy counter-offensives. The first weeks of June 1944 were marked by terrible confrontations without any real decisive advantage being obtained. Then powerful conquest and encircling movements were made, which ended up with the Falaise Pocket. This dénouement took place on 21 August near Chambois, a place now known as the “Corridor of death”.

 

The Battle of Normandy ended on 12 September 1944, with the liberation of Le Havre, 99 days after the 6 June 1944.