D DAY.

WORLD War II; SPECIAL operations (Military science); AERIAL bombing

FRANCEReport Available; UNITED StatesReport Available; SOVIET Union

The article reports on the Normandy invasion during the First World War, which is regarded as the greatest military operation in history. The idea of an invasion of Europe from England could be said to have started at Dunkirk in 1940, when British soldiers were retreating across the beach to escape from the German Army. In January 1943, the U.S. and the Soviet Union joined the war. Many considerations were weighed to counter German attack. Military logic narrowed the choice to two places, the district of Calais or the coast of Normandy between Cherbourg and Le Havre in France. The Americans favored Calais but the British favored Normandy, because its defenses were weaker and because it could be cut off from the rest of Europe by bombing the bridges over the Seine and Loire.