D-Day, Almost Sixty Years On

Sixty years ago a fifty-mile stretch of unremarkable French coastline became the focus of the biggest combined naval, military and air operation ever seen. In the early hours of June 6th, 1944, the first of thousands of Allied troops began landing in Normandy. Code-named Overlord, the D-Day landings remain one of the most memorable events of the Second World War.

The anniversary this June may well be the last on which veterans gather in significant numbers. The Imperial War Museum’s new exhibition marks this by concentrating on the stories of those who took part – the men and women who helped with the planning, the soldiers who landed on the beaches, and the sailors and airmen who supported them.