n 1942 in Dieppe, planners saw that(Candaela, Kerry. Pg 73) German defenses were simply too strong and could easily fight off a number of small assaults. So instead it was decided that it would be better to choose a single main landing where an immense amount of firepower and soldiers could be concentrated. The invasion site needed to be close to at least one major port and airbase to allow for efficient supply lines. The decision came down to two sites, the Pas de Calais across the Strait of Dover, and the beaches of Cotentin. Of the two landings it was decided that the beaches of Cotentin would be the best landing site for Operation Overlord.Months ahead of time allies spent day and night producing war materials. When invasion day came allies had assembled an unbelievable amount of war materials. In total, 5,000 ships, the largest armada ever, 11,000 aircraft’s, and approximately 154,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers, including 23,000 that were to arrive by parachute and gliders. War materials were only half the battle. Deception was the key to the whole invasion. Much time was spent sending small campaigns over to Germany to cause a ruckus in German defenses, eventually becoming a daily routine. Germans intelligence never knew if it was the big invasion or just another little deception by the allies to throw them off. The allies had also been keeping in contact with tens of thousands of allied resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied countries in Western Europe. (Lewis, David Levering, ed. Pg 5) The resistance fighters spent many hours setting up small tasks forces that would help to cut German communication lines when the invasion was to start. There was so much deception going on that the British even code named it as an actual operation, known as Jael, whose primary objective was to keep German eyes focused anywhere but on the coast of northwestern France. The British became a key player in deceptio...
