D-Day June 6, 1944


This is a rare soldier’s perspective through a porthole on a ship during the D-Day landings. Troops wade towards the shore under a hail of gunfire, with barrage balloons flying high in the air. These defended against aircraft attack by raising cables to cause a collision risk for approaching pilots


American troops receive medical care on June 6, getting bandaged up and taking the chance to have a smoke


An American medical officer bandages the hand of a US soldier who was burned when a landing craft blew up after hitting a mine


A German 47mm anti-tank gun blocks a narrow gap on the sand on the beach between Les Dunes and La Madeleine, in Normandy, on June 12. The machinery lies abandoned since six days after the original invasion, as the Allies cemented a solid offensive line along the region’s beaches


Members of a a US rifle squad grin as they pose with a captured Nazi flag. A German helmet with a pencilled inscription is also shown in the foreground

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This horrific photo (left) shows the rubble and burning houses left following The Battle of Carentan, which was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy. The battle took place between 6 and 13 June 1944, on the approaches to and within the city of Carentan, France. This photo was taken four days after the battle in the town

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Soldiers and prisoners at Pointe du Hoc on June 12


Soldiers from the 2nd Ranger Battalion look over the trenches, with one using a 30 calibre machine gun. The troops were at La Pointe du Hoc, in Normandy, but had arrived at the landing area on Omaha Beach, a two hour walk away. The image is one of the few to show troops in combat conditions during the historic invasion


Soldiers brace themselves ahead of the bloody invasion, peering over the edges of their boat to see what lies ahead. The American forces landed 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops


A soldier peers through the devastation in an unknown location. Vigilant about enemy fire, the man looks towards the rubble of town buildings behind the safety of a brick wall


Having been wrecked beyond repair, a ruined LCI 91 lies abandoned. It was struck by artillery and possibly mines, and is thought to have been left to burn throughout the day. No one in the forward compartment escaped


Taxis to Hell – and Back – Into the Jaws of Death (pictured) was taken on June 6 1944 by Robert F. Sargent, a chief photographer’s mate in the US Coast Guard. It depicts the US 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, as they disembark at Omaha Beach. It is one of the most recognised photographs of the Normandy Landings and has been mirrored in such films as Tom Hank’s Saving Private Ryan


A D-Day casualty is shown lying next to a fallen tree. Soldiers talk in the background, as they are now use to seeing fallen comrades. It’s believed the photograph was taken on June 7, the day after troops stormed the beaches


A German soldier is partially buried in rock and soil after a trench collapsed following an artillery bombardment on June 9. The caption on the original photograph indicates he was freed by allied soldiers but taken prisoner


Worried medics try to resuscitate an injured soldier on the Normandy beaches. The US National D-Day Memorial Foundation have so far verified 2,499 Americans dead during the 1944 invasion, with the other Allied nations losing 1,914

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Thanks. What man looks at these without placing himself into the picture …and wondering…

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