On June 6, 1944, Allied troops from the U.S., Britain, Canada and France, stormed the coastline of Normandy, France, taking the occupying Germans by surprise. The attack was the largest single-day invasion of all time, with over 130,000 troops arriving by air and by sea in one day.
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"Four years in the preparation, Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, marked the beginning of the end of World War II and the eventual liberation of Europe." The D-Day Museum of Portsmouth, UK, has a large D-Day archive, including articles, veterans' memoirs, and audio clips. Best reasons to visit are the first person accounts sprinkled throughout the site. In addition to features about preparing for D-Day, and crossing the channel, the site has sections covering the five Normandy beaches where American and British troops landed.
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Encyclopedia Britannica's multimedia guide is a terrific starting point for a school research project. Highlights include audio memories from D-Day veterans, interactive charts, and Learning Activities. Change the Course of History (the first of four Learning Activities) is a classroom role-playing game where students take on the role of a real German commander, Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt. What might have happened if he had somehow learned how and when the Allies were to invade France?
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Notable clicks at this PBS site include the World War II European timeline, and the Special Features. "Did You Know?" answers the popular question: What does the "D" in D-Day stand for? The short answer is that it probably stands for "Day," but you'll need to read the article to get the whole story. "Hot Off the Presses" is a look at newspaper reports of the time. For teachers, there are seven classroom activities, covering four subject areas: geography, economics, history and civics.
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Don't miss the eight-minute video (on the front page) featuring the recollections of five D-Day veterans, and D-Day film footage. If you have trouble understanding the voices, there is a transcript that pops up in a separate window. Other great clicks are Photos from the Front, and General Eisenhower's message to the troops just prior to the invasion (in audio, as well as a transcript.) "Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months."
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Using photographs and illustrations, the Center of Military History has created a annotated timeline gallery of D-Day. The exhibit starts with an illustration by Olin Dows called "On the Way to the Assault Boats" which depicts soldiers marching on a beach in England. It might be cliche at this point to say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I included this virtual exhibit because it adds a visual dimension to today's D-Day collection.
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By Barbara J. Feldman. Originally written on May 26, 2008. Last Modified on Jul 31, 2012.
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Honorable Mentions
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
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