Normandy

Normandy Frame 2 - Operation Overlord

6 June 1944

It's D-Day: Headquarters First U.S. Army Group

The object of Operation OVERLORD (Outline Plan, C.O.S. (43) 416 (O)) is to secure a lodgement area on the Continent from which further offensive operations can be developed. The operation will be executed in two phases...Phase I and some parts of Phase II will be executed by U.S., British and Canadian forces assigned or attached to the 21 Army Group.

The Ninth Air Force will be associated with the First Army Group. The Ninth Air Force will be employed as a Tactical Air Force in support of the ground forces as directed by Joint Ninth Air Force and 2nd TAF (RAF) Commanders in coordination with AEAF. Request from the ground forces for air support will normally be made thru an Air Support Commander or his representative.

Just before dawn, the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword became a living hell for the German defenders. The air and naval pre-invasion bombardment had opened fire. Shell after shell was fired from the thousands of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers lying off the coast and bomb after bomb was dropped on pre-selected targets by the 13,000 Allied bombers. Many of the bombs fell inland, leaving the beaches non-cratered, but eventually making the fight inland easier.

The weather was clearing over the continent, proceed imediatly to knock out the airfield at Caen to prevent LW attacks on the Allied Landing.

Target A40