On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Allies began the invasion of Normandy, France. The code name for the invasion was "Operation Overlord". The invasion was successful and led to the defeat of the German forces in France. Paris was freed in August 1944 and the Allies continued eastward while the German front collapsed. Operation Market-Garden was the combined aerial invasion of the Netherlands launched on September 17, 1944. The purpose of the invasion was to seize a series of bridges that included a bridge in Arnhem, which spanned the Rhine river. The airborne invasion was called Market. The ground invasion, named Garden, reached the Rhine river, but could not take the Arnhem bridge.