D-Day—June 6, 1944
On June 6, 1944, approximately 150,000 American, British, and Canadian forces attempted to take
control of five beaches along the coast of France. The beaches were in the Normandy region, and
the this operation is sometimes called the Battle of Normandy. The landings of the troops in the
Normandy region and the battles to take control of this area have been referred to as the beginning
of the end of World War II in Europe.
Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Germany at the time of World War II, knew that the Allies were going to try
something to win the war, but he did not know what it would be. Hitler put Erwin Rommel, one of
his top commanders at the time, in charge of defense along the northern coast of France. Rommel
was to finish an Atlantic Wall, which was a fortification along the coast that stretched over 2,000
miles in length. This fortification consisted of landmines, bunkers, and obstacles in the water and on
the beach.
Many deceptions were used by the Allies to convince Germany that the invasion would be coming
from another area, but by dawn on June 6, 1944, the invasion had begun, with thousands of troops
already on the ground behind enemy lines. These troops were paratroopers and glider troops, and
their objective was to prevent the Germans from using the bridges and roads to escape or to bring
in reinforcements. By 6:30 a.m., the first invasions had begun by water, with British, Canadian, and
American troops invading from boats that brought them as close to the shores as they could. Allied
air and naval support helped to protect the troops whenever possible and continued to bomb
bridges and roads to further hamper the German troops. Even with all of this support, the Allies lost
an estimated 4,000 lives in this operation, but they succeeded in turning the balance of power in
Europe. They were joined by forces from other Allied countries after the initial invasion, and by May
8, 1945, less than one year later, Germany had unconditionally surrendered.
Can you label the beaches on the map below where the Normandy invasion took place on D-Day?
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D-Day—June 6, 1944
Match the term or person with the correct description.
_____1. Operation Overlord
a. A top commander in Hitler’s German forces
_____2. English Channel
b. Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary
Forces
_____3. Adolf Hitler
c. Commanded all Allied ground forces during
assault phase of the Normandy invasion
_____4. Erwin Rommel
d. Westernmost D-Day beach; it was taken
by U.S. forces
_____5. Atlantic Wall
e. Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied
Commander
_____6. Dwight Eisenhower
f. Commander-in-Chief of the Allied
Expeditionary Air Force
_____7. Utah Beach
g. Nazi leader who controlled Germany
during World War II
_____8. Frederick Morgan
h. The middle beach of the five assaulted on
D-Day, taken by British forces
_____9. Sir Bertram Ramsay
i. One of the bodies of water that separates
England and France
_____10. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder
j. German fortifications along the shores of
France
_____11. General Sir Bernard Montgomery
k. Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief
_____12. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory l. Code name for bundles of metal foil strips
dropped over the English Channel to
confuse German radar operators
_____13. Omaha Beach
m. Code name for D-Day invasion
_____14. Window
n. Deputy Supreme Commander
_____15. Operation Neptune
o. Name given to beach Canadian forces
landed on during D-Day invasion
_____16. Mulberry Harbour
p. Name given to easternmost beach
assaulted on D-Day, taken by the British
_____17. Sword Beach
q. Code name for the naval assault portion of
the D-Day invasion
_____18. Gold Beach
r. Artificial harbor for D-Day invasion
_____19. Juno Beach
s. Name given to beach taken by U.S. forces;
it was the site of the most casualties
during the D-Day invasion
©2015 Bonnie Rose Hudson WriteBonnieRose.com
D-Day—June 6, 1944
Answer Key:
__m__1. Operation Overlord
a. A top commander in Hitler’s German forces
__i__2. English Channel
b. Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary
Forces
__g__3. Adolf Hitler
c. Commanded all Allied ground forces during
assault phase of the Normandy invasion
__a__4. Erwin Rommel
d. Westernmost D-Day beach; it was taken
by U.S. forces
__j__5. Atlantic Wall
e. Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied
Commander
__b__6. Dwight Eisenhower
f. Commander-in-Chief of the Allied
Expeditionary Air Force
__d__7. Utah Beach
g. Nazi leader who controlled Germany
during World War II
__e__8. Frederick Morgan
h. The middle beach of the five assaulted on
D-Day, taken by British forces
__k__9. Sir Bertram Ramsay
i. One of the bodies of water that separates
England and France
__n__10. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder
j. German fortifications along the shores of
France
__c__11. General Sir Bernard Montgomery
k. Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief
__f__12. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory l. Code name for bundles of metal foil strips
dropped over the English Channel to
confuse German radar operators
__s__13. Omaha Beach
m. Code name for D-Day invasion
__l__14. Window
n. Deputy Supreme Commander
__q_15. Operation Neptune
o. Name given to beach Canadian forces
landed on during D-Day invasion
__r__16. Mulberry Harbour
p. Name given to easternmost beach
assaulted on D-Day, taken by the British
__p__17. Sword Beach
q. Code name for the naval assault portion of
the D-Day invasion
__h__18. Gold Beach
r. Artificial harbor for D-Day invasion
__o__19. Juno Beach
s. Name given to beach taken by U.S. forces;
it was the site of the most casualties
during the D-Day invasion
©2015 Bonnie Rose Hudson WriteBonnieRose.com