absolutely hammer German beach defenses with bombers and fighters first? We flew and dropped airborne divisions behind enemy lines overnight but I don't think we did any significant bombing. And my understanding was by this point in the war, the RAF and USAF had FAR more power than the Luftwaffe.
Why didn't the Brits and the US just obliterate any German beach defenses from the air BEFORE sending in the landing craft?
I've never heard a great answer for this.