The last living World War II veterans have made the journey to France to commemorate the Normandy landings, which mark the beginning of the Allied campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi Germany.
Only a handful of veterans are marking the D-Day anniversary in NormandyImage: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa/picture alliance
Advertisement
Some of the last surviving veterans gathered in France on Saturday to mark the anniversary of D-Day, 82 years since the Allied landing in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
Veterans will attend the annual Ceremony of Remembrance at the British Normandy Memorial.
Only six have confirmed their attendance this year, marking the smallest number present at the ceremony since the memorial opened in 2021.
Commemorations began with French schoolchildren walking across Juno Beach to mark H-Hour, the time at which British servicemen were deployed.
The Jedburgh Pipe Band marched across Juno Beach to mark the military operation's 82nd anniversaryImage: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa/picture alliance
What is D-Day?
On June 6, 1944, nearly 160,000 Allied troops, made up of soldiers from the UK, the US, Canada, France and several other countries, landed in Normandy on the coast of northern France.
Advertisement
This date is known as "D-Day" — a military term for the first day of an operation. The "D" simply stands for day.
The Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, which led to the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control.
On D-Day alone, 4,400 troops died from the combined Allied forces. The exact number of German casualties on the day is not known, but it is estimated that between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing.
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed at Normandy and opened a second front against the Nazis. It was the beginning of the end of World War II, and one of the most mythically charged moments in 20th century history.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Day of reckoning
The Normandy invasion is known historically as D-Day, but it remains unclear what exactly the "D" means. Whether it's simply a signifier for "Day," or it means "Decision," one thing is for certain. It was the beginning of one of the most significant battles in military history.
Image: Imago
Operation Overlord
The five sectors of the 80-kilometer (50-mile) stretch of Normandy coast where the landings happened were all given different names: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword, and Juno. Apart from the US, 13 other nations were involved in the invasion. Troop contingents were provided by the Americans, British, Polish, Canadians, French, Greeks, Czechs and Australians.
Image: Imago
Commander in charge
The commander of the Allied forces in northern Europe was General Dwight Eisenhower, who would go on to become the 34th president of the United States. A few months prior to D-Day, Eisenhower had successfully led landings in Sicily and mainland Italy.
Image: Imago
Far-reaching weather report
Just before the planned start of Operation Overlord on June 5, storms broke over Normandy, forcing Allied commanders to push the invasion back a day. The largest amphibious landings in military history got underway on June 6. The weather was not ideal, but allies feared Germans would learn of their plans if the delay continued.
Image: public domain
Death commando
Around 156,000 soldiers reached land on D-Day. On five different locations on the beach, they stormed the "Atlantic Wall," where German Wehrmacht soldiers were perched in fortifications that had been built in anticipation of an assault. The allied troops were forced to run unprotected, first through water and then onto the beach, all the while under German fire.
Image: AP
Paratroopers
Before the D-Day Invasion began, paratroopers had touched ground early on June 6 in a bid to secure key positions behind the Atlantic Wall. The troopers were camouflaged (shown here); they also used war paint and Mohawks to frighten the enemy.
Image: Imago
Aerial and naval assault
At first, the beaches of Normandy were bombed from the air by the Allies. After the beach had been secured, over 1,000 warships and some 4,200 landing crafts converged on the coast. Further reinforcement was provided by thousands of planes and tanks.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
Nifty maneuver
One of the reasons why "Operation Overlord" was so successful was that the German military command simply wasn't expecting it - at least not in Normandy. The Allies duped the Nazis into thinking they would land at Calais, near the Belgian border, and at a date later than June 6.
Image: AP
Nazis on vacation
Many leading NS officers had absolutely no idea D-Day was going to happen when it did. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, for instance, was celebrating his wife's 50th birthday in the south of Germany when the invasion started. (Pictured above: Wehrmacht divisions at Normandy in 1940)
Image: Imago
A confident Hitler
When the invasion got underway, Adolf Hitler was sleeping in Obersalzberg. His officers didn't dare wake him, and when they did (at 10 in the morning), the Nazi leader was in surprisingly good spirits. After being briefed, he is said to have exclaimed: "The news couldn't be better!" Hitler was apparently pleased that the Allies were "finally in a place where we can defeat them."
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
Almost a year of loss
Even if the Normandy landings were perhaps the decisive battle for the Allies, the final victory came at heavy price. It still took 11 months for peace to be declared in Europe, and many of the soldiers who took part in the invasion were shipped straight to the Asia Pacific shortly thereafter. The war lasted until September 2, 1945, when Japan capitulated.
Image: AP
Fallen heroes
Around 57,000 Allied soldiers lost their lives in Operation Overlord, which started on D-Day and continued until the end of August. Another 155,000 were injured and 18,000 reported missing. German losses rounded out at about 200,000. Each year on June 6, there is a ceremony of remembrance at Normandy. Heads of state and government and many veterans often make the trip to the French coast.
Image: AP
Settled dust
In 2004, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder became the first German leader to take part in the ceremonies at Normandy. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, shown embracing France's Jacques Chirac, chose his words carefully for the event: "We will never forget the victims." Schröder added: "It's not the old Germany of those dark years that I am representing today."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
13 images1 | 13
Hegseth warns Europe faces 'invasion' of dangerous ideologies
In a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Saturday linked immigration to the legacy of the D-Day landings.
"Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different, dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive," Hegseth said.
"When will European capitals do something about that invasion or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not," he added.
The Pentagon chief's remarks echo criticisms often made by the administration of US President Donald Trump about Europe failing to control immigration.
Hegseth said that Western countries had grown "comfortable" since World War II.
"We forgot that freedom is not free. We forgot that peace is not wished into being," he said.
His remarks also echoed Trump's demand that US allies in NATO increase their military budgets.
"We stand by our allies, and we expect our allies capable and ready to stand alongside us," he said.
