In the months before D-Day, the Allied air forces conducted a vital campaign to achieve air superiority over the invasion site and to destroy the transportation system linking Normandy to the rest of France.

Before Eisenhower commanded the D-Day invasion, he gained valuable experience while commanding the Allied invasions of North Africa and Sicily.

The location and timing of the D-Day landings was the best-kept secret in the history of warfare. Prior to the invasion, the Allies devised an artful and elaborate deception to ensure the element of surprise.

Planning the D-Day invasion was a challenge unlike any other. Eisenhower and his commanders had to devise a plan to overcome the seemingly impregnable enemy defenses along the French coast. There would be no second chances.