Eighty-two years ago, the world witnessed what was arguably the greatest military operation in human history.

On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of Nazi-occupied France that would become known simply as D-Day. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel in a single day. Thousands of ships, landing craft, aircraft, and vehicles moved in coordinated fashion across sea, land, and air. It was a feat of planning and logistics so vast that even today, military academies around the world continue to study it.

The invasion was not simply a military operation. It was the culmination of years of preparation. The Allies constructed artificial harbors to supply troops after landing. They built an elaborate deception campaign that convinced the Germans that the invasion would occur elsewhere. Intelligence officers, planners, engineers, sailors, pilots, and infantrymen all played a role in a plan of staggering complexity.

Yet despite all the planning, success ultimately depended on ordinary soldiers.

Young men jumped from aircraft into occupied France in the darkness before dawn. Others climbed down landing craft ramps directly into machine gun fire. Thousands would never leave the beaches of Normandy.........

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