July 6

Siege of Brest Begins — WWII Normandy Campaign

U.S. forces began the siege of the heavily fortified port of Brest, held by 40,000 German troops under orders to defend it to the last. The siege would last 45 days despite the port's strategic importance for Allied supply lines.

Brest's destruction by the German garrison before surrender meant the port was useless for Allied supply — forcing dependence on the Red Ball Express truck system that strained Allied logistics.