D Day

Today marks a significant anniversary from the second world war.
It is the 80th Anniversary of the D Day landings and today we remember all those who helped to create peace in Europe all those years ago.

The Second World War started in 1939. Britain was at war with Germany. D-Day was Tuesday 6th June 1944. By this time, Britain had been at war with Germany for nearly 5 years and many people had died. By now, most of Europe had been taken over by Hitler’s army, including France. In 1944, the Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, and the American Commander, General Eisenhower, knew that it was time to try to liberate (free) those countries in Europe that had been invaded by Hitler’s forces. For months, many people worked in secret making plans so huge numbers of troops could land on the beaches in France. Normandy was chosen as the place where the Allied forces would invade France. Before the troops landed on the beaches, paratroopers were dropped from aeroplanes behind enemy lines. They were parachuted in at night. Planes also bombed targets on the ground. Just before the landings started, ships in the English Channel began firing at German army guns and defences. Early in the morning, thousands of ships arrived and soldiers from Britain, Canada, America and France landed on the beaches in a part of France called Normandy. The beaches were given special code names. These were Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. More soldiers arrived later in the day. Some soldiers put up huge barrage balloons above the beaches. These giant balloons were filled with gas and helped to protect the army from being attacked by enemy aircraft. Just after D-Day, nurses also landed on the beaches to help wounded soldiers in the hospitals in France. After fierce fighting, the Allies began to push the German army back and to take more land in France and other countries. After D-Day, the fighting still went on for many months and thousands of people died, but, D-Day played an important part in helping the Allies win the Second World War. On June 6th each year, we remember the efforts and sacrifices made by so many people on D-Day and the days that followed to bring peace to Europe.  

Find out more using these links.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/articles/zf49rj6
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/D-Day/476249

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