Remembering D-Day: Key facts and figures about the invasion that changed the course of World War II

OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France was unprecedented in scale and audacity, using the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to punch a hole in Adolf Hitler’s defenses in western Europe and change the course of World War II. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy, including 73,000 from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces. The sea landings started at 6:30 a.m., just after dawn, targeting five code-named beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword. The operation also included actions inland, including overnight parachute landings on strategic German sites and U.S. Army Rangers scaling cliffs to take out German gun positions.