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Defeat of Germany

Royal Marine commando troops wade ashore in the D-Day Normandy landings in June 1944.

Royal Marine commando troops wade ashore in the D-Day Normandy landings in June 1944.
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Plans for the liberation of Europe date back to 1942 and form one of the key points of Allied strategy. In 1943 Operation Overlord was finalized, and eventually took place on 6 June 1944.

Related documents

D-Day preparation

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Future Operations. 21 May 1943 (PDF, 1.015MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Future Operations. 27 October 1943 (PDF, 4.305MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Future Operations. 4 November 1943 (PDF, 1.688MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. United Kingdom Import Programme. 18 May 1944 (PDF, 1.919MB)

Invasion, success and heavy loss

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 12 June 1944 (PDF, 1.559MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 12 June 1944 (PDF, 1.559MB)

German resistance and the liberation of Brussels

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 9 August 1944 (PDF, 2.055MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 21 August 1944 (PDF, 1.558MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 4 September 1944 (PDF, 1.437MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 18 September 1944 (PDF, 1.928MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 5 February 1945 (PDF, 1.992MB)

Attack on the Rhine

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 18 September 1944 (PDF, 1.928MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 25 September 1944 (PDF, 2.036MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 2 October 1944 (PDF, 1.353MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 18 December 1944 (PDF, 1.729MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 20 December 1944 (PDF, 1.659MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 21 December 1944 (PDF, 2.030MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 27 December 1944 (PDF, 1.574MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 22 January 1945 (PDF, 2.239MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 18 September 1944 (PDF, 1.928MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 23 October 1944 (PDF, 1.707MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 6 November 1944 (PDF, 1.446MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 21 November 1944 (PDF, 1.608MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 12 March 1945 (PDF, 1.311MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 26 March 1945 (PDF, 1.473MB)

Collapse and surrender of Germany

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 3 April 1945 (PDF, 1.560MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 16 April 1945 (PDF, 1.564MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 30 April 1945 (PDF, 1.526MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Arrangements in Connection with the End of Hostilities in Europe. 7 May 1945 (PDF, 1.058MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Naval, Military and Air Operations. 14 May 1945 (PDF, 2.180MB)

Search using D-Day Defeat of Germany German resistance

Further reading

Buckley, J., The Normandy campaign 1944: sixty years on (London: Routledge, 2006)
D'Este, C., Decision in Normandy: D-Day and after (London: Penguin, 2001)
Kershaw, R.J., It Never Snows in September: The German view of Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem (London: Ian Allen, 1994)
Middlebrook, M., Arnhem 1944: the airborne battle, 17-26 September (London: Viking, 1994)
Neillands, R., The Battle of Normandy, 1944 (London: Cassell, 2002)
Neillands, R., The Battle for the Rhine 1944 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2005)

Content

The Second World War: defeat of Germany
D-Day preparation and the invasion of Normandy
Attack on the Rhine and the defeat of Germany

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