Concentration of Allied Invasion Forces in the United Kingdom April 1944

In April 1944, the south coast of England began its preparations for the D-Day landings, the details of which were kept top secret until only a couple of days before the operation. Numerous marshalling camps, colloquially known as ‘sausage camps’ because of their appearance on maps, were erected to house the invasion forces before they embarked across the English Channel. In an attempt to conceal the camps from German aerial reconnaissance, they were constructed in wooded areas and precautions were taken to ensure that the troop movements did not leave obvious marks on the landscape. Troops would be confined to their camps and citizens in the vicinity would not be allowed to leave the area in the week leading up to the invasion to minimize the risk of information about the D-Day operations leaking to the enemy. The soldiers themselves were only informed of their destination just before they left.