List of Allied forces in the Normandy campaign


This is a list of Allied forces in the Normandy campaign between 6 June and 25 August 1944. Primary ground combat divisions and brigades are listed here; unit articles may contain a complete order of battle.

United Kingdom

See also Hastings Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy
Independent and GHQ brigades included 30th Armoured; 1st Tank Brigade; 4th Armoured; 1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers; 31st Tank; 34th Tank; 6th Guards Tank Brigade; 27th Armoured ; 33rd Armoured; 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade; the headquarters of 74th, 76th, 80th, 100th, 101st, 105th, 106th and 107th Anti-Aircraft Brigades; numerous light anti-aircraft and HAA regiments; and 56th Infantry Brigade, which joined 49th Division from 20 August 1944.
UnitArrivalBeachCommander
Guards Armoured Division28 JuneJuno?Major-General Allan H.S. Adair
7th Armoured Division6/12 JuneGoldMajor-General George W.E.J. Erskine
11th Armoured Division13 JuneJunoMajor-General George P.B. Roberts
8th Armoured Brigade6 JuneGoldBrigadier Bernard Cracroft
27th Armoured Brigade6 JuneSwordBrigadier G. E. Prior-Palmer
6th Airborne Division6 JuneOrne BridgeheadMajor-General Richard Gale
3rd Infantry Division6 JuneSwordMajor-General Thomas G. Rennie
Major-General Lashmer G. Whistler
15th (Scottish) Infantry Division14 June?Major General G.H.A. MacMillan
43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division24 JuneJunoMajor General G.I. Thomas
49th (West Riding) Infantry Division13 JuneGoldMajor General E.H. Barker
50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division6 JuneGoldMajor General D.A.H. Graham
51st (Highland) Infantry Division6-7 JuneJunoMajor-General D.C. Bullen-Smith
Major-General T.G. Rennie
53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division27 June?Major General R.K. Ross
59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division27 June?Major General Lewis Lyne
79th Armoured Division6 JuneSupported Gold, Sword, and JunoMajor-General Percy Hobart
1st Special Service Brigade6 JuneSwordBrigadier Lord Lovat
4th Special Service Brigade6 JuneSword, Juno, GoldBrigadier Bernard W. Leicester

Free Polish forces

UnitArrivalCommander
1st Armoured DivisionNLT 7 AugMajor-General Stanisław Maczek

Free Belgian forces

UnitArrivalCommander
1st Belgian Infantry Brigade Between 30 July – 8 AugustColonel Jean-Baptiste Piron

Free Czechoslovak forces

UnitArrivalCommander
1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group30 AugustMajor General Alois Liška

Free Norwegian forces

Approximately 1,950 Norwegian military personnel took part in the Normandy campaign in separate Norwegian units or as part of other Allied units in addition to 45 civilian ships with approximately 1,000 men from Nortraship. The Norwegian units operated under British command and were therefore primarily employed in the Gold, Sword and Juno sectors.
Some of the participating units: