Imagine trying to keep a secret that 156,000 people know about. That is what the Allied forces had to do before D-Day. On June 6, 1944, soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada, and other countries crossed the English Channel. Their target was the beaches of Normandy, France. Nazi Germany had conquered most of Europe. Millions of people lived under a cruel government. The Allies needed to take back the land. Planning took over a year. Generals studied maps and weather reports. They even built fake armies out of rubber tanks to fool the enemy. The trick worked. Germany expected an attack at a different beach. Before dawn, thousands of paratroopers dropped from planes behind enemy lines. Then the boats arrived. Soldiers waded through cold water toward the shore. Enemy fire was heavy. Many soldiers did not survive. But the troops pushed forward. By the end of the day, they had gained a foothold on the beaches. D-Day did not end the war right away. But it opened a path into Europe. Within a year, the war in Europe was over.