The United States President, Franklin D Roosevelt, had been waiting to form an operation in order to gain back France from the German's in WWII. Since 1942 the US had been pressing the British for an attack and the need for one became imminent as the Battle of Stalingrad ensued in late 1942. Joseph Stalin, the leader of Soviet Russia, needed the rest of the Allies to create another front in the west of Europe to relieve his own army because the battle was costly for Russia. The same type two-front war had happened in WWI and caused the defeat of Germany. The theory for a two-front war was that Germany would not be able to keep its army intact on two fronts. In June 1943 it became clear that German U-Bats were no longer a big threat to the Allies. This meant the ocean was now safe for the flow of supplies and equipment from the US to Britain. And finally this gave Britain the confidence in November 1943 to agree with the plan of an immense operation to cross the English Channel and liberate France.
The United States chose US Army general Dwight D Eisenhower to lead the invasion. The Allied ground forces commander was British General Bernard Montgomery. Together the two planned an attack by the code name Operation Overlord.
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