1. To introduce students to the nature of fighting during World War II.
2. To provide students with an understanding of the hardships encountered by American forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
3. To have students consider the sacrifices made by American servicemen during World War II.

D-Day, June 6, 1944, opened the long-awaited Second Front in the war, an issue that ignited controversy and mistrust between Roosevelt and Churchill on one side and Stalin on the other.

The Germans knew the Allies planned to invade, but they did not know exactly where or when. To prepare for the invasion, Hitler ordered the building of the Atlantic Wall that consisted of mines, barbed wire, and other obstacles placed on the beaches with concrete positions overlooking the landing areas. Also, the Germans laid mines on the beaches.

D-Day was the largest amphibious assault in history.

The first forces numbering about 23,000 men arrived in Normandy about 6:30 a.m.

Over 175,000 troops landed along the 60-mile coastline of Normandy on D-Day. Within a month, one million soldiers had arrived in France ready to drive out the Germans.

A large American force landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day where they encountered an elite German infantry division. Many American soldiers drowned in deep water before their vessels were close enough to the beach.

Approximately 2,500 soldiers had been killed on D-Day; 2,400 of these died at Omaha beach.

1. Have students research the efforts of Allied forces in Operation OVERLORD. What preparation did the Allies undergo? How did the invasion relate to diplomacy among the Allied nations during the war? What effect did D-Day have on the outcome of the war?
2. Research what happened to American forces on the beaches of Normandy. What casualties were incurred?
3. Operation OVERLORD was only one campaign for U.S. soldiers. Have students research other important campaigns such as the Battle of the Bulge. What hardships did U.S. forces face on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines?
4. Have students interview a person who served during World War II. See attached sheet for this oral history project.
5. Students can research the participation of women in the military during the war. How many women served in uniform? How were they organized in the military? What contributions did they make to the war effort? How were they treated? What effect did they have on the status of women in the United States after the war?

• Ambrose, Stephen. D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of World War II (1994).
• Fussell, Paul. Wartime: Understanding Behavior in the Second World War (1989).
• Stoler, Mark A. The Politics of the Second Front (1977).