D-Day
1944 CE · Normandy, France
D-Day was fought in 1944 CE in Normandy, France between Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Canada and others) vs Germany; Allied victory; the beachheads held and the liberation of western Europe began.
D-Day: quick facts
- Date
- 1944 CE
- Location
- Normandy, France
- Belligerents
- Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Canada and others) vs Germany
- Commanders
- Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery vs Gerd von Rundstedt and Erwin Rommel
- Result
- Allied victory; the beachheads held and the liberation of western Europe began.
- Casualties
- about 10,000 Allied casualties on 6 June, including roughly 4,400 dead
- Era
- 🪖 World Wars
- Quiz difficulty
- easy
What happened at D-Day?
On June 6, 1944, over 156,000 Allied troops landed on five beaches in Normandy in the largest amphibious invasion in history. Despite fierce German resistance, especially at Omaha Beach, the Allies established a foothold in Nazi-occupied Europe. D-Day opened the Western Front and began the liberation of France, leading to Germany's defeat less than a year later.
Did you know?
The D-Day weather forecast was so critical that Eisenhower had two letters prepared: one for success and one taking personal blame for failure. The failure letter was found in his wallet after the war.
Sources and further reading
- D-Day on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.