Solemn 75th anniversary of D-Day in UK
World leaders gather on the coast of southern England to mark the 75th anniversary of DDay, the largest seaborne invasion in history and a feat that helped bring World War Two to an end.
Britain’s queen Elizabeth and prime minister Theresa May will be joined for the commemorative events in Portsmouth by veterans and by US president Donald Trump, on the final day of a state visit.
French president Emmanuel Macron, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, German chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders from 10 other countries are also expected.
“As we unite to pay tribute to those whose bravery and sacrifice on the beaches of Normandy marked a turning point in WW2, we will vow never to forget the debt we owe them,” May said. “Their solidarity and determination in the defence of our freedom remains a lesson to us all.” In the early hours of June 6 1944, more than 150,000 allied troops set off from Portsmouth and the surrounding area to begin the air, sea and land attack on Normandy that ultimately led to the liberation of western Europe.
By the time of the Normandy landings, Soviet forces had been fighting Germany in the east for almost three years. Kremlin chief Josef Stalin had urged British prime minister Winston Churchill to open a second front back in August 1942.
The invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord and commanded by US general Dwight Eisenhower, remains the largest amphibious assault in history and involved almost 7,000 ships and landing craft along an 80km stretch of the French coast. Shortly after midnight, thousands of paratroopers were dropped. Then came the naval bombardment of German positions overlooking the shore. Then the infantry arrived on the beaches.
Mostly American, British and Canadian men, some just boys, waded ashore as German soldiers tried to kill them with machine guns and artillery. Survivors say the sea was red with blood and the air boiling with the thunder of explosions.
Thousands died on both sides. Row upon row of white crosses honour the dead in cemeteries across northern France. Even sector code names – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword – can draw tears from veterans.
“Seventy-five years ago this Thursday, courageous Americans and British patriots set out from this island towards history’s most important battle,” Trump told a news conference in London on Tuesday.
“They stormed forward out of
Largest invasion in history helped free western Europe from Nazi oppression
ships and aeroplanes, risking everything to defend our people and to ensure that the United States and Britain would forever remain sovereign and forever remain free.”
Sixteen countries – Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, the UK and the US – agreed a proclamation to “ensure that the unimaginable horror of these years is never repeated”.