6 June, 1944 — American troops preparing to land on Omaha Beach

On 6 June 1944 — 70 years ago today — 160,000+ Allied troops ferried by 5,000+ ships and supported by 13,000+ aircraft invaded French at five different points along the 50-mile Normandy coast in the largest seaborne invasion in history. Codenamed "Operation Neptune," the Allied troops faced over 50,000 Nazi defenders; 4,414 lost their lives in one day and estimates of total Allied casualties range from 9,000 – 12,000.

By the end of June, 875,000 Allied troops had landed along the coast and began the hard push to Berlin — the German "Atlantic Wall" had been breached. The Nazis would not surrender for another eleven months, but the liberation of Europe and the destruction of Hitler's regime — one of the most evil dictatorships in human history — was finally within reach.

Click here to listen to the full-day CBS radio broadcast from June 1944.

Click here to visit the US Army's official website documenting the D-Day invasion.