The plan devised for the invasion of Europe, under the command of American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, was code-named "Operation Overlord." The land invasion would be preceded by a bombardment phase code-named "Operation Neptune."
Under the plan, a huge army would land at various points along the Normandy coast in northwest France.
Even though the Cotentin Caen area of the Normandy coast meant a longer, more hazardous journey for the invading fleet, planners decided it would be better than launching an assault on the Pas de Calais.
Directly across the English Channel from Dover, the Allies were counting on the Germans anticipating such an attack.
In fact, the Allies were so keen to maintain the element of surprise that they went so far as to construct and deploy a decoy army to places the Germans believed a Pas de Calais invasion force would be mobilizing.
At the same time, the Allies bolstered their communication as well as amphibious and air assault capabilities to the point where they could support the simultaneous invasion of five infantry divisions along the 80-kilometre stretch of French coast.
While preparations proceeded overseas, the local French Resistance forces also did their part. Let in on the secret invasion plans, they engaged the occupying Germans in open fighting, as well as behind-the-lines sabotage.
And Russian forces also played a key role, engaging a large portion of the German army along its eastern front.
The Allied air forces also deployed their fleet of 12,000 planes to sweep the skies for Luftwaffe, surveil the enemy defenses, drop supplies to the French Resistance and bombard Germany's industrial capacity.
At the same time, the Allied navies were also active escorting convoys and patrolling the English Channel.
With the preparations set, the invasion was scheduled for dawn on June 5, 1944. Although planners chose that time because tides should have been most favourable, when it finally arrived conditions were anything but.
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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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