Normandy 44 - D-Day and The Battle of Normandy

We Will Remember Them
On June 61h 1944 the largest amphibious operation in the history of warfare was carried out between Le Havre and the Cotentin Peninsula. Its men were well-trained and well-equipped, and backed by exceptional means. In addition, the regular armies were assisted by a new military force that sprang up spontaneously in all the occupied countries of Europe.

The landings were a success and by the evening of D-Day a firm bridgehead was established which would be reinforced every day by fresh troops and equipment, and backed at every opportunity by the French Resistance. Thus began the Battle of Normandy, the decisive battle of the Second World War in Europe. In a matter of days gigantic 'artificial' harbours were beginning to take shape offshore to supply this vast battle. By the beginning of August 1944 three million fighting men were opposing each other in Lower Normandy. By the end of the month 3 million men, half a million vehicles and 3 million tons of supplies had crossed the beaches or come through the harbours. With the end of the Battle of Falaise on 21st August 1944, 29 German infantry Divisions and 11 armoured divisions had been shattered. During that summer of 1944 over 14,000 French civilians had also been also killed.
Let us pay homage to all those who fought for Freedom, to those resistance fighters who prepared themselves to fight alongside their Allies, and to those who were arrested, tortured, executed or deported in the struggle. In the morning of June 611 among the first to die were 80 French men and women who were shot in cold blood in the Maladrerie Prison in Caen - their bodies were never found.

General Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, declared that the Foundation of the Resistance in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Poland, Yugoslavia etc... had, through the efficiency of their actions and their support of the military, shortened the war by 6 months, thereby saving millions of lives. It is fitting and satisfying to reflect that such a work as this, NORMANDY 44, published in this new and updated edition, with its excellent choice of photographs, will make its contribution to informing, retracing and fixing in the minds of future generations the price of Freedom, and the need to prevent any return of such absolute evil.