12 Sep 1937

Photo(s) dated 12 Sep 1937
Troops of French 39th Infantry Regiment with Renault UE vehicle during an exercise, south of Troarn, France, 12 Sep 1937
28 Sep 1939

Photo(s) dated 28 Sep 1939
British Matilda I tanks on a train, Caen, France, 28 Sep 1939
17 Jul 1940

France
1 Aug 1940

France
  • In the morning, a British Spitfire fighter on a photo reconnaissance mission found a build-up of German aircraft on the Cotentin Peninsula in France. At 1540 hours, 13 British bombers escorted by 10 fighters attacked, causing some damage but in turn losing 1 bomber and 2 fighters. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | Basse-Normandie | TH]
11 Oct 1940

France
  • Between 0333 and 0351 hours, in Operation Medium, British battleship Revenge and destroyers Javelin, Jaguar, Jupiter, Kashmir, Kelvin, and Kipling bombarded Cherbourg, France. German torpedo boats attempted to interfere, but the German boats were fought off. ww2dbase [Cherbourg, Basse-Normandie | CPC]
14 Apr 1942

France
15 Sep 1942

France
14 Oct 1942

France
  • A British force consisted of five destroyers and eight torpedo boats intercepted a German attempt to break auxiliary cruiser Komet into the Atlantic Ocean via the English Channel. Komet was sunk northeast of Cherbourg, France; all aboard were killed in the sinking. Of the German escorts (torpedo boats T4, T10, T14, and T19), T10 was damaged after being hit by six shells, one of which detonating a depth charge; 11 were killed and 11 were wounded. ww2dbase [T4 | T10 | T14 | T19 | Komet | Basse-Normandie | CPC]
25 Oct 1943

France
  • Typhoon fighter-bombers of No. 181 Squadron RAF used rockets for the first time during an attack on a power station at Caen, France. Although the target was hit, three of the Typhoon aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft weapons, including that of the squadron commander Squadron Leader Frank Jensen. ww2dbase [Typhoon | Caen, Basse-Normandie | AC]
6 May 1944

Photo(s) dated 6 May 1944
Normandy beach defenses, France, 6 May 1944, photo 1 of 4Normandy beach defenses, France, 6 May 1944, photo 2 of 4Normandy beach defenses, France, 6 May 1944, photo 3 of 4Normandy beach defenses, France, 6 May 1944, photo 4 of 4
7 May 1944

Photo(s) dated 7 May 1944
Normandy beach defenses, France, 7 May 1944
20 May 1944

Photo(s) dated 20 May 1944
Aerial photo of the gun battery at Merville, Normandy, France after bombardment, circa May 1944; note the bombing failed to neutralize the battery before Normandy landings
23 May 1944

France
6 Jun 1944

France
  • British Company Sergeant-Major Stanley Hollis, using a PIAT launcher, took down several German pillboxes and a field gun during the Normandy invasion in France and was credited for saving the lives of many men. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the only awarded for actions on the initial day of the invasion. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | PIAT | Basse-Normandie | AC, CPC]
  • Norwegian destroyer Stord shelled the town of Ouistreham in Normandy, France prior to the landing of British troops on Sword Beach. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Stord | Ouistreham, Basse-Normandie | DS]
  • The first general officer killed on either side of the battle in Normandie, France was Brigadier General Don F. Pratt, the assistant divisional commander of the US 101st Airborne Division who was crushed to death when the Waco glider in which he was travelling crashed into a hedgerow whilst landing in France. He was also the highest ranking Allied officer to be killed on 6 June 1944. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Basse-Normandie | AC]
  • HMS Warspite bombarded on the German Villerville Battery in Normandie, France at the range of 26,000 yards at 0500 hours, northeast of Sword Beach. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Warspite | Basse-Normandie | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 6 Jun 1944
Skytrain transports flew over Utah Beach, 6 Jun 1944American troops watched activity ashore on Omaha Beach as their LCVP landing craft approached the shore, Normandy, France, 6 Jun 1944, photo 1 of 2A LCVP from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase disembarked troops on a Normandy beach, 6 Jun 1944Map of Allied assault routes at Normandie, France, 6 Jun 1944
See all photos dated 6 Jun 1944
7 Jun 1944

France
  • British troops captured Bayeux, France. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Bayeux, Basse-Normandie | TH]
  • British Flying Officers McIntosh and Shepherd, the rear-gunner and mid-upper gunner respectively in Wing Commander John Grey's Lancaster bomber, combined to shoot down three German night-fighters during the course of a mission to Normandy, France. They would both be awarded the Distinguished Flying Crosses for this almost unique achievement. McIntosh would survive the war with eight confirmed and one probable kills to his credit. ww2dbase [Basse-Normandie | AC]
Photo(s) dated 7 Jun 1944
USS Texas, in the Bombardment Force Flagship role, firing at German targets, Omaha Beach, Normandie, France, 6-8 Jun 1944Americans land on Utah Beach from LCT-475, Normandy, 7 Jun 1944Rhino ferry F94 moving away from HMS LST-320 heading for the Normandy beachhead along the port side of HMS LST-412, France, Jun 1944USS Ancon and USS PC-565 off Normandie, France, 7 Jun 1944
See all photos dated 7 Jun 1944
8 Jun 1944

France Photo(s) dated 8 Jun 1944
DUKW amphibious trucks of the 470th Amphibious Truck Company, First Engineer Brigade, bringing supplies to Utah Beach from ships anchored off shore, Normandy, 8 Jun 1944; note German gun in foregroundParatrooper of US 101st Airborne Division holding a Nazi German flag captured in a village near Utah Beach, Saint-Marcouf, France, 8 Jun 1944
9 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 9 Jun 1944
American men and equipment being landed near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 9 Jun 1944Vehicles and British troops on board a LST off Utah Beach, Normandy, 9 Jun 1944
10 Jun 1944

France Photo(s) dated 10 Jun 1944
Traplin, Heldon, and Kennedy of the Canadian Army manning a 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun in Normandy, France, mid-Jun 1944Four US Army soldiers watching Allied bombardment, Saint-Lô, France, Jun 1944German beach defense turret at Omaha Beach, Basse-Normandie, France, mid-Jun 1944Tracer fire from Allied warships lighting up the sky off Ouistreham, France, 10 Jun 1944; photo taken from HMS Mauritius, seen in foreground
11 Jun 1944

France Photo(s) dated 11 Jun 1944
Two disabled M4 Sherman tanks and a litter Jeep near the heavily damaged Église Saint-Ouen in Rots, France (near Caen), Jun 11, 1944.British naval craft off Normandy, France, Jun 1944The
See all photos dated 11 Jun 1944
12 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 12 Jun 1944
Newly landed US troops moved along Utah Beach at Les Dunes de Madeleine, Normandy, 12 Jun 1944The first WAAF orderlies Leading Aircraftwoman Myra Roberts, Corporal Lydia Alford, and Leading Aircraftwoman Edna Birbeck selected to fly on air ambulance duties to France posing before a Dakota Mk III of No. 233 Squadron RAF at B-2 Bazenville Advanced Landing Ground, Normandie, France, mid-Jun 1944RAF air crew and WAAF nursing orderlies loading a wounded serviceman onto a Dakota Mark III aircraft of No. 233 Squadron RAF at B-2 Bazenville Advanced Landing Ground, Basse-Normandie, France, mid-Jun 1944
13 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 13 Jun 1944
Jeep bringing casualties to a LST for evacuation, Utah Beach, Normandy, France, 13 Jun 1944; note line of German POWs
14 Jun 1944

France
  • Company commander Matthew Urban found his men pinned down by Germans in Normandie, France. With a bazooka, exposing himself to enemy fire, he destroyed two German tanks, allowing his men to counterattack and eventually overtake the Germans. He was wounded twice later on the same days and was forced to evacuate. ww2dbase [Matthew Urban | Basse-Normandie | JR]
15 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 15 Jun 1944
War Correspondent Ernie Pyle speaking to Lieutenant John Mason Brown, northern France, 15 Jun 1944
16 Jun 1944

France
  • In France, the Mulberry harbour off Omaha beach, completed the night before, received its first tank landing ship (LST). Although there were still doubts that the pontoons would not be able to take the weight of a 38-ton Sherman tank without sinking or collapsing this task would, thankfully, be achieved with just a small margin of safety. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Basse-Normandie | AC]
17 Jun 1944

France
  • Omar Bradley's American troops succeeded in reaching the sea on the western shore of the Cotentin Peninsula at Barneville, slicing the peninsula completely across and cutting off France's major naval base and arsenal at Cherbourg from the German army to the south. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Barneville, Basse-Normandie | AC]
18 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 18 Jun 1944
Soldiers of US 83rd Division aboard a vessel off Omaha Beach, Normandie, France, 18 Jun 1944
20 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 20 Jun 1944
Canadian crew of a Sherman tank south of Vaucelles, Normandy, France, Jun 1944
22 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 22 Jun 1944
German Würzburg radar at the beach near Arromanches les Bain, Normandy, France, 22 Jun 1944
27 Jun 1944

France Photo(s) dated 27 Jun 1944
US Army Captain Earl Topley looking at a German soldier who had killed three of his men before his own death, Cherbourg, France, 27 Jun 1944Major General Manton Eddy and another American officer speaking to a captured German officer, Cherbourg, France, 26-27 Jun 1944
30 Jun 1944

Photo(s) dated 30 Jun 1944
A Gooseberry line of block ships off the Normandy beaches, Ouistreham, France, Jun 1944; note sunken British ship Durban, sunken Dutch ship Sumatra, and two active DUKW craft
10 Jul 1944

Photo(s) dated 10 Jul 1944
Église Saint-Pierre and surroundings in ruins, Caen, France, 10 Jul 1944
13 Jul 1944

Photo(s) dated 13 Jul 1944
Bernard Montgomery, Omar Bradley, and Brigadier Alexander Stanier at MontgomeryOmar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery at headquarters of British 21st Army Group, Normandie, France, 13 Jul 1944
15 Jul 1944

Photo(s) dated 15 Jul 1944
US Army soldiers seeking shelter, Saint-Lô, France, Jul 1944US Army soldiers and jeeps on their way to the front lines, Saint-Lô, France, Jul 1944View of the bocage country near Hill 32 and near Notre-Dame-du-Rocher, Basse-Normandie, France, circa Jul-Aug 1944
16 Jul 1944

Photo(s) dated 16 Jul 1944
American military convoy moving through Saint-Lô, France, Jul 1944
20 Jul 1944

France
  • British destroyer HMS Isis was sunk, either by a German naval mine or by a German Neger manned torpedo off Normandy, France. ww2dbase [Basse-Normandie | CPC]
23 Jul 1944

France
  • The 1st Canadian Army (General H. D. G. Crerar) became operational in Normandy, France. ww2dbase [Basse-Normandie | AC]
24 Jul 1944

France
  • Matthew Urban arrived at his former unit at the front in Normandie, France after having left the hospital, where he had been convalescing, without authorization. On the same day, finding that a US tank was temporarily halted with the crew did not know what to do after the loss of the tank commander, he took command of the tank and led it forward to attack German positions. ww2dbase [Matthew Urban | Basse-Normandie | JR]
25 Jul 1944

France
  • General Leslie J. McNair, Commander of Army Ground Forces while on an inspection tour near Saint-Lô in Normandie, France, was killed when US B-26 bombers drop their bombs short of the intended target. He was the most senior US general to be killed in the war to date. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Saint-Lô, Basse-Normandie | AC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Jul 1944
American troops departing the first troop transport to enter Cherbourg harbor, France, 25 Jul 1944A Tiger II tank of German 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion wrecked after being rammed by a Sherman tank driven by Lieutenant John Reginald Gorman of British 2nd Armoured Irish Guards on 18 Jul 1944, with most of the German crew captured, Cagny, France, circa late Jul 1944
28 Jul 1944

France
29 Jul 1944

Photo(s) dated 29 Jul 1944
US Army convoy passing through the remains of Saint-Lô, France during the Normandy invasion, 29 Jul 1944; note Jeeps, CCKW 2-1/2 ton transports, Studebaker M29 Weasel, and Dodge WC54 field ambulance
30 Jul 1944

Photo(s) dated 30 Jul 1944
Two French boys watched from a hilltop as Allied vehicles passed through the badly damaged city of Saint-Lô, France, circa Jul-Aug 1944
1 Aug 1944

France Photo(s) dated 1 Aug 1944
Damaged Railway near Coutances, Normandy, France, 1 Aug 1944British soldier with PIAT at Saint-Martin-des-Besaces, Basse-Normandie, France, 1 Aug 1944
2 Aug 1944

France
  • Leutnant Erich Sommer flew an Ar 234 V7 prototype aircraft over the Allied Normandy beachheads in France while the two Rb 50/30 cameras on board took a photograph every 11 seconds. This was the first jet aircraft reconnaissance mission in aviation history. ww2dbase [Ar 234 Blitz | Basse-Normandie | CPC]
4 Aug 1944

France
  • German aircraft attempted to bomb the vital bridges at Pontaubault, Basse-Normandie, France. The railway bridge was damaged by a conventional bomb, but the V-1 flying bombs failed to hit their intended targets. One of the bombers was brought down by a Mosquito aircraft from 604 Squadron RAF. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | Pontaubault, Basse-Normandie | HM]
5 Aug 1944

France
  • Finding an unguarded track, Captain Denny of the 13/18th Hussars of the British Army led two troops of tanks to the summit of Mont Pinçon, the most formidable feature in Normandy, France. During the night his small force was reinforced by the battle-weary 4th Wiltshires (Lieutenant Colonel Luce) which on the following day then repulsed a rather half-hearted German counter-attack to regain the feature. Elsewhere, to the south, US XV Corps reached Mayenne, France. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | Basse-Normandie | TH, AC]
7 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 7 Aug 1944
A German mechanized column destroyed by British aircraft, near Mortain, France, 7 Aug 1944; note dead German soldier near wrecked SdKfz. 251 halftrack vehicle
9 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 9 Aug 1944
British PIAT team, Normanie, France, 9 Aug 1944
14 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 14 Aug 1944
A French woman welcomed American and French troops, Alençon, Basse-Normandie, France, 14 Aug 1944
15 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 15 Aug 1944
Philippe Leclerc in Fleuré-Écouché region, France, circa Aug 1944
17 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 17 Aug 1944
Ammunition dump explosion in Cherbourg harbor, France, 17 Aug 1944Canadian soldiers at the Falaise, France town entrance, 17 Aug 1944
20 Aug 1944

France
22 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 22 Aug 1944
Destroyed German Tiger II heavy tank near Vimoutiers, France, 22 Aug 1944
31 Aug 1944

Photo(s) dated 31 Aug 1944
German coastal artillery at Normandy, France, circa Aug-Sep 1944German machine gun turret, Normandy, France, circa Aug-Sep 1944
10 Sep 1944

Photo(s) dated 10 Sep 1944
A German gun emplacement located near the town of Ste. Marie du Mont near Utah Beach, showing damage inflicted by Allied gunfire during the Normandy invasion; photo taken 10 Sep 1944
15 Sep 1944

Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1944
Shell damage to a German concrete 37mm gun emplacement on Utah Beach, Normandy; photo taken 15 Sep 1944Damaged muzzle brake of a German 88mm gun, located in one of Utah Beach
8 Mar 1945

France
  • A German commando raid from Guernsey sabotaged three of the four ships in the Normandy harbour at Granville, damaged port facilities and installations including cranes, a railway engine and rolling stock in the docks. A fourth ship, the SS Eskwood, was captured and its crew persuaded to sail it to Jersey. For the loss of one officer missing in action and five soldiers wounded the German raiders retired with 30 captured Americans and 55 freed German prisoners of war found at the docks. ww2dbase [Granville, Basse-Normandie | AC]
20 Jul 1945

France
13 Oct 2005

Photo(s) dated 13 Oct 2005
La Cambe German war cemetery, France, 13 Oct 2005, photo 1 of 2La Cambe German war cemetery, France, 13 Oct 2005, photo 2 of 2Pointe du Hoc promontory, Normandie, France, 13 Oct 2005
20 Jul 2010

Photo(s) dated 20 Jul 2010
Grave of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. at the Cimetière américain de Normandie, Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 20 Jul 2010Grave of Colin Campbell at the Cimetière américain de Normandie, Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 20 Jul 2010Grave of David Atcuson at the Cimetière américain de Normandie, Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 20 Jul 2010Graves of Preston and Robert Niland at the Cimetière américain de Normandie, Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 20 Jul 2010
See all photos dated 20 Jul 2010

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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German paratrooper observing lower ground from Monte Cassino, Italy, Feb 1944

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