British logistics in the Normandy campaign played a key role in the success of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France in June 1944. The Allies had to land sufficient assaulting forces to overcome the initial opposition, and build them up faster than the Germans could respond. The British Second Army and Canadian First Army included six armoured divisions (including the Polish 1st Armoured Division), ten infantry divisions, two airborne divisions, nine independent armoured brigades and two commando brigades. Logistical units included 6 supply unit headquarters, 25 base supply depots, 83 detail issue depots, 25 field bakeries, 14 field butcheries and 18 port detachments. During the first seven weeks after the Normandy landings on D-Day, 6 June 1944, the advance was much slower than anticipated, but by 26 July, 675,000 personnel, 150,000 vehicles, 690,000 tonnes of stores and 69,000 tonnes of bulk petrol had been landed.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_logistics_in_the_Normandy_campaign

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1674:

Shivaji, who led a resistance to free the Maratha from the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, was crowned the first chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivaji

1882:

The Shewan army defeated Gojjame forces at the Battle of Embabo, an event that contributed to the supremacy of Shewa within the Ethiopian Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Embabo

1971:

Hughes Airwest Flight 706 collided with a US Marine Corps jet near Duarte, California, killing 50 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_Airwest_Flight_706

1985:

The remains of Josef Mengele, a Nazi physician notorious for performing human experiments on Auschwitz inmates, were exhumed in Embu das Artes, Brazil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ushanka: A traditional Russian fur cap with earflaps. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ushanka

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Come purge my soul, Thou Master of my days, Of vain and empty words, of idle ways, Of base ambition and the urge to rule; That hidden serpent that corrupts a fool; and grant me, Lord, to see my sins alone. That I not call my brother to atone; Make chaste my heart and lend me from above Thy fortitude, humility, and love.   --Aleksandr Pushkin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Pushkin