:00:11. > :00:18.Good afternoon. It is 4. 20pm and today is a special day. The 70th
:00:19. > :00:24.anniversary of D-Day. To mark the occasion Nel has a special programme
:00:25. > :00:29.for you, from France. Welcome to Newsround, with me Nel t. A place
:00:30. > :00:33.that -- with me Nel. A place here looks very different than it did in
:00:34. > :00:48.1944. It was one of the fiercest battles
:00:49. > :00:52.of World War II. Today, the beach is littered with people, who have
:00:53. > :00:54.travelled from around the world to be part of the special events. The
:00:55. > :00:56.commemorations began at midnight with fireworks. This morning world
:00:57. > :01:02.leaders including David Cameron and Barack Obama paid tribute to the
:01:03. > :01:06.soldiers who fought here. These people fought wars so we may be
:01:07. > :01:09.free. They fought in hopes of a day when we would no longer need to
:01:10. > :01:13.fight. We are grateful to them. The Queen is also here with Prince
:01:14. > :01:17.Charles. She laid a wreath and met some of the hundreds of ex-soldiers
:01:18. > :01:22.who have come to remember those they fought alongside. It is the biggest
:01:23. > :01:28.seaborne attack in military history and was of huge significance in
:01:29. > :01:31.helping the allies eventually win in World War II.
:01:32. > :01:36.??FORCEWHITE NEWSREEL: As down broke, the greatest Armada
:01:37. > :01:41.of ships the world has ever seen went through the narrow waters.
:01:42. > :01:48.France and Europe are under the control of German forces. After
:01:49. > :01:52.years of careful, top-secret planning, America, Britain and
:01:53. > :01:59.Canada came one a plan to begin invading Europe. The day it began
:02:00. > :02:02.will forever be known as D-Day. ??FORCEWHITE NEWSREEL:
:02:03. > :02:10.Once again we were back on the soil of France. In the early hours of
:02:11. > :02:14.June 6th, 7,000 ships carrying British, American and Canadian
:02:15. > :02:19.forces arrived here, off the coast of Normandy. It was to be the
:02:20. > :02:22.largest gathering of an invading force in history.
:02:23. > :02:28.It was the worst experience of my life. I was scared. I was on that
:02:29. > :02:33.beach and I was scared. I never moved until we got to France because
:02:34. > :02:40.it was so rough and there were ships on fire each side of us. You
:02:41. > :02:45.survived. You had to, you had no choice. By midnight 100,000 troops
:02:46. > :02:50.were taking control of the area, fighting through heavy German
:02:51. > :02:54.defences. What they did had a huge impact on the Second World War. To
:02:55. > :02:59.defeat Nazi Germany you have to get to Germany. The only way you can do
:03:00. > :03:02.that is by invading continental Europe, getting into France, which
:03:03. > :03:09.is the biggest country and sweeping eastwards. It was at a cost. Nearly
:03:10. > :03:16.3,000 British troops alone lost their lives on D-Day. Ever since,
:03:17. > :03:19.those who fought return here. There's terrific comradeship right
:03:20. > :03:29.through your life. If you say to you are a Normandy
:03:30. > :03:35.veteran you can talk to anything. -- anybody it is great.
:03:36. > :03:39.It is like a reconnection of friends.
:03:40. > :03:42.Well, you can see more of those D-Day veterans talking about their
:03:43. > :03:46.experiences on the Newsround website.
:03:47. > :03:51.Thousands of their fellow soldiers did die in a battle. For those who
:03:52. > :03:55.survived it has been an emotional day. It has been one they have been
:03:56. > :04:00.able to share with their families. I have been speaking to Fred, who was
:04:01. > :04:05.part of the Royal Navy. He is here with his granddaughters.
:04:06. > :04:08.70 years on, why have you chosen to bring your granddaughters back here
:04:09. > :04:12.again? I always say that the children should come here and see
:04:13. > :04:15.really what I have told them. You have to remember all those that
:04:16. > :04:21.didn't come back. What was it like to know that your granddad was
:04:22. > :04:25.fighting here on D-Day? It is quite worrying to know that he was in them
:04:26. > :04:32.seas behind us. And it is quite emotional. It makes
:04:33. > :04:36.it even more special to think that my granddad fought to help save all
:04:37. > :04:46.the people, even though many lost their lives. It is exciting to learn
:04:47. > :04:51.about because two countries were at war and that could have been still
:04:52. > :04:56.going on today if these veterans hadn't of gone and fought for their
:04:57. > :04:59.country. The ceremonies and events will
:05:00. > :05:03.continue here with Prince William and Catherine due to have tea with
:05:04. > :05:08.veterans very shortly. You can catch up with everything that has happened
:05:09. > :05:14.and learn about the history on the website. For now I will leave you
:05:15. > :05:20.with some images of D-Day and its lasting effect.