Hello everyone,
So alot of you should be aware of this important date but if you arent then today (06.06.19) is the date of the battle of Normandy, several countrys working together to reclaim the land and fight against Hitler in 1944. Britain, France, Canada, America and many more flew down onto the beaches, others came in on tanks and the most pinical image we have is of course the boats who dropped off soldiers who waded through the ocean to get to shore. Did you know that approx 156,000 allied soldiers stormed this beach with thousands never making it home.
This date should always be remembered, not just for the cause but because of the thousands of men and women who sacrificed themselves for the future generation and for their country. They all knew how important this day would be, but never would they have known how it would shape history. We owe our gratitude and our lives to these people, without their strength,determination and bravery we would of had a much worse fate.
Today is the 75th Anniversary for D Day, in the UK we had a spectacular ceremony in Portsmouth where the Royal Family including the Queen, Our Primeminster Theresa May, President Trump alongside US Veterans of D Day and the French president all stood side by side and watched as story's were told, War planes passed and other military vehicles and ships which were involved in the battle. They then crossed to the Normandy beaches were Veteran Paratroopers dropped down onto the beach one last time. It was a special day for a lot of people, remember we arent celebrating war we are remembering those who lost their lives on the battlefield and thanking them. If you'd like to know more about this story here is a useful link, if not you can always Google D Day 75 to have a read: D Day 75 Anniversary
Heres a few facts you may enjoy knowing:
Had it not been for the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming (in 1928) and further research and testing by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain (in the late 30s and early 40s) - proving that penicillin could successfully treat infections - the death tolls would have been far greater.
Instead of two days, it took Germany's 2nd Waffen SS Division two weeks to reach the front. Allied air power, Eisenhower's spies and French Resistance contacts all contributed to that result.
195,000 naval personnel manned 6,939 naval vessels (including 1,200 warships and 15 hospital ships).
About 17 million maps supported the mission.
Training maps used fake names.
The United States shipped 7 million tons of supplies (that translates into 14 billion pounds of material).
Of those supplies, ammunition accounted for 448,000 tons.
Air-support operations - often overlooked in the success of D-Day - sustained significant losses: Between the 1st of April and the 5th of June, 1944, the Allies flew 14,000 missions losing 12,000 airmen and 2,000 aircraft.
127 more planes were lost on D-Day.
By the end of the Normandy campaign, 28,000 airmen were dead.
Thank you for reading and I hope it didn't bore you too much!, I'm passionate about remembering those who gave so much for us and you should all be too. Xxx
@rambo @missy