Empire ship the Normandy invasion depended on the successful construction of the Mulberry ports. These were prefabricated ports, constructed at Southampton, Gosport, Portsmouth, Tilbury Docks, and even as far north as Birkenhead and Hartlepool. Two hundred tugs then took three months to tow the components of the harbours from where they were constructed to assembly areas on the South Coast. Between 7 June 1944 and the end of July, the tugs towed the materials across the channel to Normandy. Before D-Day, sixty old merchant ships and four old warships were selected as blockships, to be scuttled in a line to give protection
British Army during the Second World War (Gerard Bucknall, later Brian Horrocks) took part in the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 at Sword Beach and Gold Beach, during Operation Overlord. VIII Corps (Richard O'Connor, later Evelyn Barker) entered the line during mid-June to add its weight to the assault, followed by XII Corps (Neil Ritchie) and II Canadian Corps On 23 July 1944 I Corps was transferred to the newly activated Canadian First Army, where it would remain until March 1945, followed by the II Canadian Corps at noon on 31 July. The Eighth Army was formed from the Western Desert Force in September 1941, under