The D-Day Landings
By spring 1944, the Second World War had been raging across the globe for about five years. But along the south coast of England, something unusual was happening: Allied troops made up mainly of British, Canadian and American soldiers were gathering in large numbers. This marked one of the final stages of a top-secret operation that had been months, perhaps years, in the planning. Code-named “Operation Overlord”, it was the largest combined sea, air and land operation in history, the aim being to free north-west Europe from German occupation. After waiting for the perfect combination of weather, moon and tides, the date for the start of Operation Overlord was set for 6 June.
An order issued by Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower to the troops read: “Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened ... But this is the year 1944 ... The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!”
With these words ringing in their ears, Allied soldiers prepared for what would become known as D-Day. At dawn on 6 June, thousands landed by parachute behind enemy lines in northern France. Meanwhile, thousands more were journeying across the English Channel to Normandy, protected by fighter planes in the skies above them. Their objective was clear: to reach the Normandy beaches along about 80 kilometres of French coastline. But even in the depths of war, few could have been prepared for the violence and horror they would experience there.
The fiercest fighting was at Omaha Beach. The enemy were hiding, ready to attack the Allied soldiers even before they reached land. Boats were hit and men drowned, while those who did make it to the beach faced heavy machine gunfire. By mid-morning, hundreds lay dead in the water and amongst the tanks on the beach. One soldier recalled how he barely made it with bombs falling all around him: “I was the first one out. The seventh man was the next one to get across the beach without being hit. All the ones in between were hit. Two were killed; three were injured. That's how lucky you had to be.”
But, despite the high cost in human life, the D-Day landings were a success and were seen widely as the beginning of the end of the Second World War. By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the River Seine, Paris was liberated and the Germans had been removed from north-west France. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with the Soviet military moving in from the east.
Seventy years later, men who had fought on D-Day gathered on both sides of the English Channel, where people were coming together for memorial ceremonies. As part of this solemn and moving occasion, a former soldier read out to the crowd these lines from the poem For the Fallen, by Laurence Binyon:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Survivors of the D-Day landings continue to meet to remember the fellow soldiers and friends they lost that day. Although each year they are fewer in number, their outstanding acts of courage mean that we will always remember them — as well as those who lost their lives on the beaches of northern France.