D-Day survivors return to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of the landings

The beaches and green meadows of Normandy are once again the scene of one of the most famous historical commemorations this week, the anniversary of the 1944 landing which marked the beginning of the liberation of France and northwestern Europe from Nazi occupation.

Around a million visitors and several dozen heads of State and Government will visit the region in the coming days for numerous ceremonies and tributes on this 80th anniversary, while a large force of 43,000 police and soldiers will protect security.

In addition to the historical memory, this commemoration has a marked international political overtone when compared to the 75th anniversary of 2019 and other previous celebrations, since for the first time Russia has not been invited (as heir to the Soviet Union) but yes to Ukraine.

On June 6, 1944, ‘D-Day’, what until then was the largest amphibious military operation in history took place, in which 7,000 ships and 9,500 aircraft of all types allowed 132,000 soldiers and 3,200 aircraft to land on French soil. vehicles.

At the end of that first day, the Allies had secured a bridgehead in France from which to begin the attack on the heart of Germany, but at the price of some 10,000 casualties between dead and wounded.

Welcome to France, heroes. pic.twitter.com/q6HFecv9xX

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 4, 2024

After more than two months of hard fighting in the region, the Battle of Normandy ended in Falaise, on August 21, with a resounding Nazi defeat. From there, the Allies launched a rapid race toward the German border, and the liberation of Paris came just four days later.

This year, the French organization has prepared a series of events to bring remembrance to other aspects of the tragedy of war that have not normally been discussed.

On Wednesday the 5th, French President Emmanuel Macron will lead two ceremonies, the first in the neighboring region of Brittany, in tribute to the resistance, which with its sabotage of communications and transportation greatly complicated the arrival of German reinforcements.

Tribute to the dead civilians

And the other will be in Saint Lô, in an unprecedented memory of the 20,000 civilians killed during the Allied bombings and combats in the almost three months that the Battle of Normandy lasted.

On Thursday the 6th, the day of the anniversary, King Charles III will inaugurate a new monument to British troops in Ver sur Mer.

Afterwards, US President Joe Biden will lead the ceremony in tribute to his country’s troops who assaulted Omaha Beach, where the fiercest fighting of ‘D-Day’ took place, to the point that the beach was nicknamed ” “Bloody Omaha.”

Later, the traditional international ceremony will take place in Coleville sur Mer, with the presence of some 25 heads of State and Government from Europe and North America.

In addition to Macron and Biden, the presidents of Italy, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic; The heads of government of Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Luxembourg, and the kings of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg are among those attending.

Russia absent, Ukraine invited

Russia has not been invited on this anniversary. “The conditions for their participation are not met” due to their invasion of Ukraine, according to the Elysée. On the other hand, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, will be there.

The next day, Biden will go to the Pointe de Hoc, scene of one of the most difficult battles for American troops, in a speech in which he will highlight “the importance of defending freedom and democracy,” according to what he has said. the White House.

That same day, Macron will be the first French president to commemorate the liberation of Cherbourg, which occurred on June 26, 1944 and which allowed the arrival of enormous quantities of key supplies through its port, then with the largest roadstead in the world. the offensive.

In addition to the million tourists expected, thousands of history buffs are beginning to arrive this weekend on the coastal strip from Cherbourg to Caen with their uniforms and period vehicles.

‘Camp Geronimo’ has already been reconstituted in Saint Mère Eglise, where hundreds of devotees pitch their ‘vintage’ military tents next to their historic vehicles: jeeps, trucks and even American armored vehicles, such as the M8 or M10.

The beaches of Normandy and its surroundings, which have 44 museums and 21 monuments, but also impressive military cemeteries (28, with almost 118,000 graves) will once again relive one of the most celebrated moments in contemporary history.