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A German coastal cannon fires against an aircraft that flies at low altitude over the English Channel. Encouraged by Churchill,
Operation Jubilee ended in a disaster for the British Expeditionary Force that in the summer of 1942 finally landed on the
area of Dieppe in order to destroy its docks. The operation was also intended as a test for the future and much more successful
Operation Overlord.
These French peasants work within the remains of the defeat (several British Bren Carrier), to whose presence have gotten used to.
A Willys Jeep car equipped with a radio transmitter gets onboard a C 47 Dakota
transport aircraft during the preparations for the landings in Normandy. The white strips painted on the fuselage of the aircraft
served as an identification for the aircraft taking part on the operations of the D Day.
American soldiers and Jeeps have been loaded onboard a LCT (Landing Craft Tank) unit and are awaiting
for the order of departure. Despite the scrupulous preparation of the D Day, the bad weather ruined the perfect organization,
delaying several times the beginning of the operations, which finally took place on 6 June 1944.
British paratroopers flying towards their drop zone. Soon the red light will be on and the soldiers will jump into the dark. Many
of them are living the last moments of their lives.
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A MG 34 machine gun placed in anti-landing position during the maneuvers made in 1942 in expectancy
of a future Allied landing on the coasts of Normandy. When the Allied forces finally launched the massive amphibious assault
codenamed Operation Overlord in June 1944, a large part of the German troops were taken in a state of self-confidence. The Allied
intelligence made great efforts to deceive the Germans about the details of the operation, and the very German commanders crowned
these efforts by disregarding the alerts given by their own intelligence services.
British paratroopers getting on board a glider on the eve of the invasion of Europe. The largest amphibious landing on History
was about to begin and these highly trained soldiers would be launched behind the German lines to open a breach for the forces
coming from the sea.
American soldiers are waiting in the docks while trucks are being loaded onboard the LST (Landing Ship Tank) units.
American soldiers getting onboard a motor barge that would transport them to the LST units anchored nearby.
In the eve of the landings in Normandy, the English docks on the Channel were crowded by landing craft ranging from the small
LCT to the large LST which would carry those across the English Channel.
Albeit the landing was a harsh time for the soldiers the operation achieved a quick success, helped by many security gaps left
by the Germans. Their commanders, using a logical approach, were convinced until the last moment that the landing would be
effectuated in Calais, nearest continental point to England. Curiously, only Hitler thought otherwise.
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