From the NFRW Armed Services Committee
Operation OVERLOAD was the code name for the long-awaited Allied invasion into France. American forces had already been fighting in Africa and Italy, as well as in the Pacific. June 6, 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the operation that ultimately involved the coordinated efforts of 12 nations. Surprise was an essential element of the Allied invasion plan, as the Germans had 55 divisions in France.