06/06/2014 Newsround

Good morning. I'm Leah with loads on

the 70th anniversary of on one of the most important battles of World

War II on the way plus. New research that could explain how

our moon was formed. First to the 70th anniversary of the

biggest seaborne assault in military history and a major turning point in

World War II. The D-Day landings saw troops from Britain, America and

Canada join together in a mission to defeat Nazi Germany and its leader

Adolf Hitler. Thousands of troops lost their lives and today the last

surviving veterans are commemorating the event. Nel sent us this special

report from one of the beaches where the D Day landings took place.

I'm on the north coast of France. 70 years ago today this beach would

have looked very different to what it does now. On D-Day it was known

as gold and it was one of the beaches that the British soldiers

landed on. 150,000 soldiers landed here on this coastline on a single

day mounting a huge operation that would change the course of World War

II. NEWSREEL: As dawn broke on that grey

June morning, the Greats armada of ships the world has seen filled the

narrow waters. France and parts of Europe are under

the control of German forces. After years of careful top-secret

planning, America, Britain and Canada came up with a plan to begin

invading Europe. The day it began will forever be known as D-Day.

NEWSREEL: Once again, we were back on the soil of France. In the early

hours of 6th June, around 7,000 ships carrying British, American and

Canadian forces arrived here off the coast of Normandy in the English

Channel. It was to be the largest gathering of an invading force in

history. It was the worst experience of my life. I was scared. It was on

that beach, I was scared. I never moved until we got to France because

it was so rough and there was ships on fire each side of us. You

survive. Hu to, you had no choice. By midnight over 100,000 troops are

taking control of the area, fighting through heavy German defences. What

they did that day had a huge impact on the Second World War. To defeat

Nazi Germany, you had to get to Germany and the only way you can do

that is by getting into France which is the biggest country and sweeping

eastwards. But it was at a cost, nearly 3,000 British troops alone

lost their lives on D-Day and ever since, those who fought return here.

There is terrific comradeship through your life. If you say you

are a Normandy veteran you can talk to anybody. It's great. You come

back for the comradeship really. It's like a reconnection. Friends.

We'll have more from Nel in half an hour as she speaks to some of the

brave soldiers who were involved on that day. And you can also head over

to the Newsround website to find out more about what happened during the

D-Day landings. German researchers believe they've

discovered the planet that crashed into earth called Theia and helped

form the moon billions of years ago. After studying bits of lunar rock

they say it shows traces of the planet and confirms that the Moon

was created by the massive collision. The discovery has

impressed researchers at the Natural History Museum in London.

People been looking for this for a long time and the scientists in

Germany say they think they've found it.

History Museum in London. In sport, England boss Roy Hodgson

says he's optimistic that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be fit to

play in the World Cup. The Arsenal injured his knee in Wednesday warm

up with Ecuador and left the team hotel yesterday with a heavy

strapping on it. But Hodgson says he'll leave it until the day before

England first World Cup game versus Italy to decide whether to replace

him. We will have more on how animals in

Japan are preparing for the big kick off.

You will