Editing Juno Beach (section)

===Invasion of Normandy===
{{Further|Normandy landings|Operation Overlord}}
[[Image:Allied Invasion Force.jpg|thumb|D-Day assault map of the [[Normandy]] region and the north-western coast of France. [[Utah Beach|Utah]] and Omaha are separated by the [[Douve River]], whose mouth is clear in the coastline notch (or "corner") of the map.]]

In 1942, the Western Allies agreed to open a second front (the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]]) in Western Europe to take pressure off the beleaguered [[Red Army]] in the [[Soviet Union]].{{sfn|Wieviorka|2008|p=15}} While Britain and the United States did not yet possess the resources to mount a full invasion, invasion plans that came to be known as [[Operation Sledgehammer]] were drawn up, in case the German position in [[Western Europe]] weakened or the [[USSR]]'s situation became dire. In August 1942 Anglo-Canadian forces attempted an abortive landing—[[Operation Jubilee]]—at the [[France|French]] port of [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]]; the landing was designed to test the feasibility of a cross-channel invasion. The attack was poorly planned and ended in disaster; 4,963 soldiers were killed, wounded or captured.{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|1994|p=11}} Following the Anglo-American victory against [[Field Marshal (Germany)|Field Marshal]] [[Erwin Rommel]] in [[North Africa]] in May 1943, British, American and Canadian troops [[Operation Husky|invaded Sicily in July 1943]], followed by [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italy in September]].{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|1994|pp=13–14}} By December the Allies' progress had slowed facing tenacious German resistance and the difficult geography of the [[Italian Peninsula]].{{sfn|Cawthorne|2005|pp=90–91}}

After gaining valuable experience in amphibious assaults and inland fighting, Allied planners returned to the plans to invade Northern France, now postponed to 1944.{{sfn|Zuehlke|2004|p=25}} Under the direction of General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] (Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force) and [[Frederick E. Morgan|Frederick Morgan]], plans for the invasion of France coalesced as [[Operation Overlord]]. With an initial target date of 1 May 1944, the infantry attack was conceived as a joint assault by five divisions transported by landing craft,{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|1994|p=17}} constituting the largest amphibious operation in military history.{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|1994|p=18}} The attack was later scheduled for Monday, 6 June 1944,{{sfn|Ellis|2004|p=140}} and [[Normandy]] was selected for the landing sites, with a zone of operations extending from the [[Cotentin Peninsula]] to [[Caen]].{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|1994|p=18}} There were originally seventeen sectors along the Normandy coastline with codenames taken from one of the [[spelling alphabets]] of the time, from Able, west of [[Omaha Beach|Omaha]], to Rodger on the east flank of the invasion area. Eight further sectors were added when the planned invasion was extended to include [[Utah Beach|Utah]] on the Cotentin Peninsula. Sectors were further subdivided into beaches identified by the colours Green, Red and White.{{sfn|Buckingham|2004|p=88}} Operation Overlord called for the British [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]] to assault between the [[River Orne]] and [[Port en Bessin]], capture Caen, and form a front line from [[Caumont-l'Éventé]] to the south-east of Caen, to acquire airfields and protect the left flank of the [[United States First Army]] while it captured [[Cherbourg]].{{sfn|Ellis|2004|p=78}} Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give Second Army a suitable staging area for a push south to capture the city of [[Falaise, Calvados|Falaise]], which could then be used as a pivot for a swing left to advance on [[Argentan]], the [[Touques River]] and then towards the [[River Seine]].{{sfn|Ellis|2004|p=81}}

After delays due to both logistical difficulties and poor weather, the D-Day of Overlord, the largest amphibious operation ever, was postponed 24 hours to 6 June 1944. Eisenhower and [[Bernard Montgomery|Montgomery]], commander of [[21st Army Group]], aimed to capture Caen within the first day, and [[Liberation of Paris|liberate Paris]] within 90 days.{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|1994|p=18}}