On June 5, 1944, Allied forces put to sea, headed for five points along the Normandy coast codenamed: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Though stormy weather made landing impossible that day, with so many units already at sea and the confluence of moon and tides not expected to be so favourable for quite some time, General Eisenhower decided to shoot for a small window of opportunity meteorlogists predicted would open the following day.
So, on the morning of June 6, an armada of more than 5,000 Allied vessels started depositing scores of wet, cold and tired soldiers on land.
In the early hours of the invasion, some 130,000 troops headed ashore as more than 1,000 transports dropped paratroopers aiming to secure the flanks and exits of the assault.
To the east, Canadian and British soldiers pressed onto the Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. While to the west, American forces landed on Utah beach and in the Omaha zone of the Norman countryside.
Despite support of aerial and naval bombardment, the landings were treacherous. Fortified German defensive positions laid down deadly covering fire, mowing down countless soldiers before they even reached shore.
Others were killed when landing craft struck land mines hidden by the high tide.
But, after pitched battles, the Allied forces were advancing inland by late afternoon. Though the battle to push Germany out of Western Europe had just begun, the Allies could celebrate a significant victory.
With the invasion, they had created a continuous front from which to push east. That meant the so-called Atlantic Wall had been destroyed, and along with it, the impression Hitler's "Fortress Europe" was impregnable.
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CTV's Tom Kennedy travels to France to dig up new information about the crash of a Canadian plane, almost 60 years ago during the D-Day Invasion. more.
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More than 15,000 Canadians participated in the D-Day landing force
1,017 Canadians died during the first six days of the Normandy campaign, and by the end, about 5,020 Canadians were dead
For the first time since 1940, three RCAF squadrons flew from French soil as they fought Luftwaffe and bombed key ground targets
The Royal Canadian Navy provided 109 vessels, and 10,000 sailors to the 7,000-strong Allied armada
By the end of D-Day, the Allies had landed as many as 155,000 troops in France by sea and air, 6,000 vehicles including 900 tanks, 600 guns and about 4,000 tons of supplies
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