During the Second World War (1939–1945) Normandy was part of the German occupied France. The town of Dieppe was the site of the unsuccessful Dieppe Raid by Canadian and British armed forces. The Allies (Britain, the United States, and Canada) launched the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 under the code name 'Operation Overlord'. This invasion from the sea involved nearly 160,000 Allied soldiers in about 7,000 ships and landing craft. About 12,000 planes dropping paratroopers preceded the amphibious assault by several hours. 