<P> The Allies planned to launch the invasion on 1 May 1944 . The initial draft of the plan was accepted at the Quebec Conference in August 1943 . General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). General Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all of the land forces involved in the invasion . On 31 December 1943 Eisenhower and Montgomery first saw the plan, which proposed amphibious landings by three divisions with two more divisions in support . The two generals immediately insisted that the scale of the initial invasion be expanded to five divisions, with airborne descents by three additional divisions, to allow operations on a wider front and speed up the capture of Cherbourg . The need to acquire or produce extra landing craft for the expanded operation meant that the invasion had to be delayed to June . Eventually, thirty - nine Allied divisions would be committed to the Battle of Normandy: twenty - two American, twelve British, three Canadian, one Polish, and one French, totalling over a million troops all under overall British command . </P> <P> Operation Overlord was the name assigned to the establishment of a large - scale lodgement on the Continent . The first phase, the amphibious invasion and establishment of a secure foothold, was codenamed Operation Neptune . To gain the air superiority needed to ensure a successful invasion, the Allies undertook a bombing campaign (codenamed Operation Pointblank) that targeted German aircraft production, fuel supplies, and airfields . Elaborate deceptions, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, were undertaken in the months leading up to the invasion to prevent the Germans from learning the timing and location of the invasion . </P> <P> The landings were to be preceded by airborne operations near Caen on the eastern flank to secure the Orne River bridges and north of Carentan on the western flank . The Americans, assigned to land at Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, were to attempt to capture Carentan and St. Lô the first day, then cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and eventually capture the port facilities at Cherbourg . The British at Sword and Gold Beaches and Canadians at Juno Beach would protect the American flank and attempt to establish airfields near Caen . A secure lodgement would be established and an attempt made to hold all territory north of the Avranches - Falaise line within the first three weeks . Montgomery envisaged a ninety - day battle, lasting until all Allied forces reached the River Seine . </P> <P> Under the overall umbrella of Operation Bodyguard, the Allies conducted several subsidiary operations designed to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the Allied landings . Operation Fortitude included Fortitude North, a misinformation campaign using fake radio traffic to lead the Germans into expecting an attack on Norway, and Fortitude South, a major deception involving the creation of a fictitious First United States Army Group under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, supposedly located in Kent and Sussex . Fortitude South was intended to deceive the Germans into believing that the main attack would take place at Calais . Genuine radio messages from 21st Army Group were first routed to Kent via landline and then broadcast, to give the Germans the impression that most of the Allied troops were stationed there . Patton was stationed in England until 6 July, thus continuing to deceive the Germans into believing a second attack would take place at Calais . </P>

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