The 6th June, 2014 will mark the 70th Anniversary of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landing that changed the course of the Second World War and was the largest seaborne invasion in history.
Tonight at 9.30pm, 70 years ago the first aircraft took off from British airfields for airborne operations to seize key objectives such as bridges road crossings, and terrain features, particularly on the eastern and western flanks of the landing areas.
Some estimates state that more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing. However, by the end of the day around 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches.
In the following weeks after D-Day, the Allies fought their way across the Normandy countryside in the face of determined German resistance and by the end of June, the Allies had seized the vital port of Cherbourg, landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy, and were poised to continue their march across France.
Do you have any D-Day heroes in your family? Maybe you are researching them and your family's military history - search the Forces war records site and fill in the missing pieces...
