Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord commenced 68 years ago today. It was and is the largest military operation in the world with 12,000 planes, a staggering 7,000 vessels and three million troops – 160,000 whom landed on the first day.

There were 226,000 Allied casualties in Operation Overlord – around 73,000 killed or missing and 153,000 wounded. Around 4,100 aircraft were destroyed – a third of their total number.

While there were a few setbacks, it was overall one of the more successful military operations and marked the beginning of the end of WWII. A key factor was the weather and June the 6th was the last suitable day for two weeks, and as it happened there was a terrible storm a fortnight later.