On D-Day-June 6, 1944-Allied armies landed in Normandy on the northwestern coast of France, possibly the most critical event of World War II unfolded; for upon the outcome of the invasion hung the fate of Europe. If the invasion failed, the United States might turn its full attention to the enemy in the Pacific-Japan, leaving
             Britain to fend for itself. That would enable Nazi Germany to muster all its strength against the Soviet Union. By the time American forces returned to Europe-if indeed, they ever returned-Germany might be master of the entire continent, and possibly the Eastern Hemisphere.
             American General Dwight D. Eisenhower was named supreme commander for the allies in Europe. British General, Sir Frederick Morgan, established a combined American-British headquarters known as COSSAC, for Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander. COSSAC developed a number of plans for the Allies most notable was that of
             Operation Overlord, a full scale invasion of France across the English Channel. Eisenhower felt that COSSAC's plan was a sound operation. After reviewing the disastrous hit-and-run raid in 1942 in Dieppe, planners decided that the strength of German defenses required not a number of separate assaults by relatively small units, but an immense
             concentration of power focused a single main landing. The invasion site would have to be close to at least one major port and airbase to allow for efficient supply lines. Possible sites included among others, the Pas de Calais across the Strait of Dover, and the beaches of Cotentin.
             It was decided by the Allies that the beaches of Cotentin would be the landing site for Operation Overlord. Minesweepers would need to clear lanes through the English Channel, through which would sail the largest armada of warships ever seen in human history. Nearly six thousand ships of all kinds would be used for the invasion. Although they outnumbered the Germans, it would still be a t...