![]() ![]() He survived, and was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in World War II. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., was among the first wave of troops landing on the beaches. President Theodore Roosevelt's son, Gen.Eisenhower returned to the site of the invasion only once in his life, about five years before his death.While Eisenhower offered words of inspiration to the troops prior to the attack, he also had a second speech ready - one in which he took the blame if the offensive failed.The actor who played Scotty in "Star Trek," James Doohan, was part of the invasion force.Aides were too afraid to wake him up with the news. While the Americans gained a foothold on the European continent, German leader Adolph Hitler slept in his home in the Swiss Alps.How and why they were there was never determined. A month before the invasion, codewords for the operation were showing up in the crossword puzzle of the Daily Telegraph.Those planning the invasion estimated that 10,000 men would be killed and 30,000 wounded. Thirty thousand stretchers were issued to the area.More than 7 million tons of supplies were shipped to the invasion sites – 448,000 tons of it was ammunition.Around 50,000 German troops were spread out along the landing area to face the Allies.It was estimated that in first hour of fighting, the chance of becoming a casualty was one in two.British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, according to the BBC, told his wife Clementine on the night before the invasion, "Do you realize that by the time you wake up in the morning twenty thousand men may have been killed?". ![]() The decision was made to go ahead with the operation anyway. The weather for June 6 was forecast to be significantly better. The invasion had been set for June 5, 1944, but it was postponed when the weather turned bad.Andrew Jackson Higgins was the boat's designer. The type of boat used to deliver troops to the beaches was originally built to be used in the oil industry in Louisiana.The largest naval invasion in history saw 6,939 vessels: 1,213 naval combat ships, 4,126 landing ships and landing craft, 736 ancillary craft and 864 merchant vessels.Out of the more than 11,000 planes, 127 were lost. Allied aircraft flew 14,674 sorties on that day alone. Around 11,600 aircraft flew cover for the men landing on the beaches. Air support was key to the success of the operation.On D-Day, around 160,000 allied troops came ashore or parachuted behind enemy lines.In preparation for the invasion, around 3,200 reconnaissance missions were launched, taking photos of the area from every possible angle.Operation Neptune began on Jand ended on June 30, 1944.The assault that took place on D-Day was codenamed Operation Neptune. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of northwest Europe. ![]()
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