Operation Overlord was the code name for the Allied invasion of German-occupied northwest Europe. The Normandy landings (D-day)--the first critical stage of Overlord--were code-named Operation Neptune, a suboperation of Overlord.

The Overlord concept was a product of the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, which authorized the creation of an invasion planning staff (called COSSAC, after the acronym for Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander) and also authorized a buildup of American troops in Great Britain for use in a cross-Channel invasion (this buildup phase was code-named Operation Bolero).

The first task of planning was to determine an appropriate landing area either in the Low Countries or France. Requirements were severely limiting: the landing place had to be within the range of Allied fighters, had to be defended by German positions that could feasibly be knocked out, and had to offer logistics that would enable a rapid and massive buildup of landing troops that would outpace the Germans' ability to move in defenders. Ultimately, COSSAC planners decided that the chief requirement was the proximity of a major port and the ability to supply troops on an adequate beachhead for a 90-day interim period, which was considered sufficient time to capture and repair the required port. Moreover, the troops would need to land in a place well served by a road network, lest they become trapped between the sea and the interior. After much study, COSSAC determined that the Baie de la Seine, between Le Havre and the Cherbourg peninsula, met the necessary criteria better than any other place: Cherbourg offered a major port, which (it was mistakenly believed) could be captured quickly, and supplies could be landed in the interim by means of unique artificial Mulberry harbors while fuel was pumped all the way across the English Channel via a pipeline system dubbed "Pluto" (Pipe Line Under the Ocean).

The initial COSSAC plan was presented at the Allies' Quebec Conference in August 1943. Winston Churchill, burdened by memories of the catastrophic Dunkirk and the harrowing Dieppe raid, called for a 25 percent increase in the initial assault force. Ultimately, in January 1944, the decision was made to expand the assault force even further, from three to eight divisions, including three airborne assault divisions. The problem with this expansion was not manpower but a chronic shortage of landing craft. . .

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