American Soldiers Run through a Severely Damaged French Village

As Allied forces pushed inland in the days and weeks following D-Day, they encountered a determined German force. Lacking air support and heavy artillery, the Wehrmacht relied on their Panzer battalions and veteran soldiers to mount a fierce resistance to the Allied advance. In spite of these well-trained troops, American forces pushed inland and proceeded to take the Cotentin Peninsula, the port of Cherbourg, and vital German strongpoints over the coming weeks.