Operation Neptune refers to the landing phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. Neptune took place on Gold Beach, Juno Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sword Beach and Utah Beach. The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... Combatants Allied Powers Nazi Germany Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B) Strength 326,000 (by June 11)  ? Casualties 53,700 dead, 18,000 missing, 155,000 wounded about 200,000... Gold Beach was the Allied codename for the centre invasion beach during the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944. ... Juno Beach was one of the landing sites for Allied invaders on the coast of Normandy during D-Day, the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, a turning point of World War II. It was situated between Sword Beach and Gold Beach. ... Troops from the First Division landing on Omaha beach. ... Pointe du Hocs location Preinvasion bombing of Pointe du Hoc by 9th Air Force bombers. ... British infantry waiting to move off Queen White Beach, SWORD Area, while under enemy fire, on the morning of 6 June. ... American assault troops move onto Utah Beach, carrying full equipment. ...

Participants

The Invasion Fleet was drawn from 8 different navies, comprising 6,939 vessels (1,213 warships, 4,126 transport vessels and 1,600 support vessels).

Among the US ships active in the landing, were the USS Augusta (CA-31), Charles Carroll, Plunkett, Amesbury, Murphy, Bayfield, Hobson and more, as well as ships of other Allied fleets. Also in this operation was Task Force "O" of the US Navy. The fourth USS Augusta (CA-31) (originally CL-31) was a Northampton-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, notable for service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II, and for her occasional use as a presidential flagship carrying both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

Operation Gambit

A small part of this operation was Operation Gambit, when British midget submarines (X-Craft) supplied navigation beacons to guide landing craft. During World War II Operation Gambit was a part of Operation Neptune, the landing phase of the invasion of northern France (Overlord). ... The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. ...

Naval screen

An important part of Neptune was the isolation of the invasion routes and beaches from any intervention by the German Navy - the Kriegsmarine. The responsibility for this was assigned to the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. There were two principle perceived German naval threats. The first was surface attack by German capital ships from anchorages in Scandinavia and the Baltic. This didn't materialise since, by mid-1944, the battleships were damaged and the cruisers were used for training and, in any case, there were fuel shortages. The inactivity may also have resulted from Hitler's disillusion with the Kriegsmarine. Nonetheless, the Royal Navy had strong forces available to repel any attempts. The Kriegsmarine (or War Navy) was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine. ... The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdoms territorial waters. ...

The second perceived major threat was that of U-boats transferred from the Atlantic. Air surveillance from three escort carriers and RAF Coastal Command maintained a cordon well west of Land's End. Few U-boats were spotted and most of the escort groups were moved nearer to the landings. U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, was a small aircraft carrier developed by the U.S. Navy in the early part of World War II to deal with the U-boat crisis of the Battle of the Atlantic. ... Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ... Lands End (Cornish name: Pedn a Wollaz) is a headland on the Penwith peninsula, located near Penzance, Cornwall, at the extreme south-western tip of the British mainland. ...

Further efforts were made to seal the Western Approaches against German naval forces from Brittany and the Bay of Biscay. Minefields were laid to force enemy ships away from air protection where they could be attacked by Allied destroyer flotillas. Again, enemy activity was minor, but on 4th July four German destroyers were either sunk or forced back to Brest. The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of the United Kingdom. ... Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. ... Map of the Bay of Biscay. ... Location within France Brest, at the tip of Brittany Brest is a city in the Bretagne région, north-west France, sous-préfecture of the Finistère département. ...

The Straits of Dover were closed by minefields, naval and air patrols, radar, and effective bombing raids on enemy ports. Local German naval forces were small, but could be reinforced from the Baltic. Their efforts, however, were concentrated on protecting the Pas de Calais against expected landings and no attempt was made to force the blockade. The Strait of Dover (Fr. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... Baltic can refer to: The Baltic Sea Council of the Baltic Sea States - an intergovernmental organization Baltic sea countries - countries with access to the Baltic Sea The Baltic region (Balticum) Baltic States - the independent countries of Estonia Latvia Lithuania Baltic Republics - term refers to the three Baltic states under the... Pas-de-Calais is a département in northern France named after the strait which it borders. ...

The screening operation destroyed few German ships, but the objective was achieved. There were no U-boat attacks against Allied shipping and few attempts by surface ships.

Definition

Although many references state that Operation Neptune refers to the naval operations in support of Operation Overlord, the most reliable references make it clear that Overlord refers to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement in Normandy, and that Neptune refers to the landing phase; i.e. Neptune was the first part of Overlord. According to the D-day museum:

"The armed forces use codenames to refer to the planning and execution of specific military operations. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of north-west Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune. (...) Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on 30 June 1944. By this time, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on 19 August 1944."

See also this Encyclopædia Britannica article for further support of this usage. June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

See also

External links

• US report on Neptune
• D-Day : Etat des Lieux - 6 June 1944 and Battle of Normandy