65th anniversary of D-Day

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/ - the view from inside a landing craft approaching Normandy on 6 June, 1944

Tomorrow is the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Operation Overlord saw 160,000 Allied troops landing on the beaches of France during June 6, 1944. With the youngest veterans of the operation now being in their early eighties, this weekend’s events are an important opportunity to hear their stories, and to mark the day and remember those who gave so much.

I was in Berlin a few weeks ago and seeing the bullet ridden masonry that still lines the banks of the Rhine as I took a river cruise with my friends, and sipped beer on a sunny day, made me think about how lucky I am to live at this time, and how much we owe the brave people who fought for our freedom sixty-five years ago.

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/ - soldiers and vehicles move ashore during D-Day

D-Day was a major turning point in the war, and although there was still much fighting to be done, many historians see the invasion as marking the beginning of the end for Hitler and Nazi Germany. Things couldn’t have been more different just a few years before, when Germany had a firm grasp on much of Europe, and stood on the brink of launching an invasion of Britain. This sample video from Key Stage 2 History QCA Unit 9 (‘What was it like for children in the Second World War?’) explains the German plan for conquering Britain.

Fortunately failure in the Battle of Britain meant that the Germans never got past the first phase, and the largest single-day amphibious invasion of the war (and indeed, of all time) was in the other direction across the Channel a few years later. Nevertheless, this video is a stark reminder of how it all could have been so different…

Title of clip	Conquest Britain
Curriculum location	Primary Module A  >  History  >  Key stage 2  >  Unit 9: What was it like for children in the Second World War?  >  Section 1: What was the Second World War? When and where did it take place?
Description	World War II: Adolf Hitler backdropped against the Eiffel Tower, German troops march through Paris’ streets, declaration of successful invasion of Britain, six weeks to create a three phase invasion plan, phase one, aircraft to bomb military sites, blitz communication and transport lines, take command of the air, phase two, dive-bomb the English coastline, parachute troops to take over airfields, phase three, Panzer divisions cross channel to invade, divide and destroy armed opposition.
Duration	2 minutes 4 seconds