after centuries of planning and build - up , supreme commander dwight eisenhower set operation normandy for june 6 , 1944 : some 7000 ships in the allied isles set to sea and sailed to the english channel , and , under the lead of air marshall general montgomery , 135 , 000 personnel landed and seized feldmarschal erwin rommel ' s german positions around 80 % of the english coast .
The Normandy landings took place in June 1944.