D-Day: 80th Anniversary

The Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day, began on 6 June 1944, and resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began when some 156,000 Allied soldiers, transported by 7,000 naval vessels, went ashore on five beaches along a 50 mile stretch of a heavily fortified French coastline. They were protected by thousands of aircraft who carried out more than 14,000 sorties, bombing targets and dropping or landing some 24,000 airborne personnel behind enemy lines.

D-Day: 80th Anniversary