Friday, June 6, marks 81 years since the allied forces ofWorld War IIstormed the beaches of Normandy, France onD-Day. The amphibious assault – codenamed Operation Overlord – involved landing more than 155,000 Allied soldiers on the French beaches,resulting in 4,427 casualties– according tothe National D-Day Memorial Foundation. The plan for the attack across the English Channel was put in motion at the Tehran Conference in 1943, where Allied leaders chose American general Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander for the operation. Omaha Beach, the second to the west of the five landing beaches, saw the bloodiest fighting of the battle, with American forces seeing 2,400 casualties –according to Encyclopedia Brittanica. The invasion marked the turning point in the European theater, as Paris would be liberated by the end of August, 1944 and Nazi Germany wouldsurrender less than a year later,according to History.com. Here are historic photos from D-Day. From the USA TODAY Network:'Welcome home': Iowan killed on D-Day to be buried on 81st anniversary of his death This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Historic photos show D-Day landings, turning point of WWII
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