Air Battles Before D-Day

D-Day, June 6, 1944, was one of the largest and most complicated undertakings in military history. During the first twenty-four hours of Operation Overlord, the Allies landed some 150,000 men by sea and air, secured a beachhead in France, and began the campaign that would liberate Western Europe and help defeat the Third Reich eleven months later. How did the Americans and British lay the groundwork for this massive and momentous invasion? In Air Battles Before D-Day, Joseph Molyson charts the year-long effort that made D-Day possible. By May 1943, the tide of the Battle of the Atlantic had turned toward the Allies, opening up the flow of American men and materiel (including vital landing craft) to Britain and accelerating the buildup required for the invasion. It also enabled the ramping up of the ongoing bombing of Germany—the British at night, the Americans by day—to destroy its industrial base, weaken civilian morale, and damage the Luftwaffe’s ability to take to the skies and