Seventy-two years ago today, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France to liberate a German-occupied Western Europe.
Over 9,000 allied troops were killed or wounded during the invasion, but by the end of the battle, the Allies had regained their foothold in Europe, a critical move that turned the tide of the Second World War against Nazi Germany.
A day of great carnage, D-Day was the largest sea invasion ever undertaken. What follows is a series of photos that capture some of what happened on that day.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s order to the Allied troops. (Credit: Library of Congress)
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks with paratroopers who jumped behind enemy lines. (Credit: National Archives)
D-Day by the numbers. (Credit: The SITREP)
US soldiers assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, apply war paint to each other’s face in England in preparation for the invasion. (Credit: National Archives)
The weather prediction that won D-Day. (Credit: Business Insider)
The C-47 “Goonie Birds” were the first to take off to begin D-Day. (Credit: NARA)
Paratroopers before taking off for D-Day’s initial assault. (Credit: National Archives Catalog)
NASA-tested aircraft that were used during the invasion. (Credit: Langley Research Center)
The Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder “Flak-Bait” flew two missions on D-Day. (Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)
Gustav the pigeon crossed the English Channel to bring the first news of the invasion to the UK. (Credit: BT Group)
Montreal D-Day pilots. Peter Roper (fifth from right) with members of 198 Squadron. In January 1944, 198 was the highest-scoring squadron in Fighter Command with 50 enemy planes shot down. (Courtesy of Dr. Peter Roper)
Bing the British para-dog played a vital role in liberating France. Even after he was wounded by mortar fire, he continued to sniff out trouble. He was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal in 1946. (Credit: Daily Mail)
Then and now: tourists walk by where the body of a dead German soldier once lay in the main square of Place Du Marche in Trevieres. (Credit: Reuters)
Allied landing craft with protective barrage balloons head toward the French coast. (Credit: AP)
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Then and now: the former Juno Beach D-Day landing zone where Canadian forces once came ashore in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, France. (Credit; Reuters)
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German prisoners of war captured after the D-Day landings at a camp in Nonant-le-Pin, France. (Credit: Reuters)
Eisenhower’s initial report on the D-Day invasion. (Credit: FDR Presidential Library)
Eisenhower’s initial report on the D-Day invasion. (Credit: FDR Presidential Library)
American Sergeant George A. Kaufman.
Photo from the hours after Americans heard about the invasion. (Credit: The Smithsonian)
A happy crowd of American soldiers receive a warm welcome from the inhabitants of Cherbourg after its liberation (Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
A French boy thanks veterans for freeing his country at the annual Cabbage Patch ceremony and parade. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Crista Mary Mack)
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