Come and join us for a weekend of events in Wrea Green to commemorate 80 years since D-Day. Click here to explore the schedule and be part of the commemoration. It's a great opportunity to immerse yourself in history and honour the bravery of those who fought for our freedom.

80 YEARS SINCE D-DAY

Over the course of the weekend we will be raising money for The Royal British Legion & SSAFA

If you like to donate please click the link below.

Operation Overlord - 6 June 1944

The 'D' in D-Day stands simply for 'day' and the term was used to describe the first day of any large military operation. Overlord was the code name for the overall operation.

British factories increased production and in the first half of 1944 approximately 9 million tonnes of supplies and equipment crossed the Atlantic from North America to Britain. A substantial Canadian force had been building up in Britain since December 1939 and over 1.4 million American servicemen arrived during 1943 and 1944 to take part in the landings. By 1944, over 2 million troops from over a dozen countries were in Britain in preparation for the invasion. On D-Day, Allied military consisted primarily of American, British and Canadian troops but also included Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian and Polish naval, army and air forces.Opening a second front would relieve pressure on the Soviet Union in the east and the liberation of France would weaken Germany’s overall position in western Europe. The invasion, if successful, would drain German resources and block access to key military sites. Securing a bridgehead in Normandy would allow the Allies to establish a viable presence in northern Europe for the first time since 1940.

D-Day - 6 June 1944 - was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. The invasion was conducted in two main phases - an airborne assault and amphibious landings. Shortly after midnight on 6 June, over 28,000 Allied paratroopers and glider-borne infantry landed in the invasion area to provide tactical support for infantry divisions on the beaches. The Allies used over 5,000 ships and landing craft to land more than 150,000 troops on five assault beaches, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the day, the Allies had established a foothold along the coast and could begin their advance into France. Allied air forces flew over 14,000 sorties in support of the landings and, having secured air supremacy prior to the invasion, many of these flights were unchallenged by the Luftwaffe. Members of the French Resistance and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) provided intelligence and helped weaken defences through sabotage. Furthermore, Allied deception campaigns succeeded in convincing the Germans as late as July 1944 that the main invasion force would still land elsewhere.German defence suffered from the complex and often confused command structure of the German Army as well as the constant interference of Adolf Hitler in military matters. However, the Allies faced a number of setbacks both on 6 June and in the months that followed. On D-Day, American forces came close to defeat on Omaha beach partially because the preliminary air and naval bombardment failed to knock out strong defence points, but also because they faced highly effective German troops who had gained battle experience on the Eastern Front. Technical superiority of their tanks and anti-tank weapons, as well as the tactical skill of their commanders, gave German forces some advantages over the Allies. However, the Germans were never able to fully exploit their successes or the weaknesses of the Allies in a decisive way.The beach landings and airborne assaults of D-Day marked the start of a long, costly campaign in north-west Europe. After nearly a year of hard-fought battles across Europe, Victory in Europe (VE) day marked the end of World War II on 8 May 1945.