Battle+of+Normandy

__** Battle of Normandy**__

"On June 6, 1944- a day I will never forget- my fellow troops wait attentatively for the upcoming battle. The sea is harsh and most of my mens' physiognamies show fear and distress; I don't know how much time has passed but word has come in that we will be landing in three hours. I feel like this is my last entry into this journal and I feel fear swelling up slowly inside me, I've never experienced war before and judging by the looks of everyone's faces, they haven't either. I leave this journal in the hopes that someone will find it, for I will most likely be dead in three hours."

-Journal entry from unknown soldier

This journal was supposedly found on a warship after the Battle of Normandy ended; the soldier in question had no idea of the horrors that awaited him on this historic day known in today as "D-Day". The Battle of Normandy was a great risk during WWII because an invasion of such calibur has never been attempted, and across the English Channel no less! Despite the risk, however, the Allied Nations knew it was necessary for their victory. The invasion consisted of nearly three million men, for about 85% of these men this would be their first experience of combat. These men would be doing an impossible task by crossing the English Channel in an armada of ships and lesser crafts known as **amphtracs**. Prior to the attack, the Allied forces used stealthy tactics to decieve the Germans. They set up a fake army due west of the German defensive borders composed of inflatable tanks, stamps to create false tire tracks, fake camp sites, etc. The "army" moved during nighttime and made it seem like the Allied forces would attack the west beaches of France; however, this was simply a decoy meant to defer them from the Allies real objective: to take Normandy. Another advantage for the Allies was that they had deciphered German forces so called "unbreakable" codes thanks to a mathematician from Norway. This allowed them to sucessfully intercept German commands without Germany realizing it. The invasion itself contained two phases; to see details of the two phases click on one of the links below:

**Phase One: Paratroopers**

**Phase Two: Storming the Beach**

This video shows real footage from the Battle of Normandy: []