UK, D-Day War Diaries and Photographs, 1944

Historical Context

The Normandy Landings, commonly referred to as 'D-Day,' constituted the largest seaborne invasion in history. On 6th June 1944, a huge military force set out from the UK toward the beaches of Northern France. Allied plans and warships bombarded German defensive positions at the same time as thousands of soldiers were dropped by plane behind enemy lines. By the end of the day, 156,000 allied troops were ashore and engaged in pushing the German army back from the coast and, by the end of August, out of Northern France.

This Collection

This collection comprises selected War Diaries from D-Day as well as a collection of photographs from the front line. The war diaries document operations for select British units on 6th June 1944 and include reports on action, intelligence summaries, and other pertinent material.