0:00:02 > 0:00:05On the 6th June 1944,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09British and Allied forces put a top secret plan into action...
0:00:11 > 0:00:14..code-named Operation Overlord.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16D-Day.
0:00:20 > 0:00:26There was smoke, there was fire, there were explosions.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I thought nobody could survive in that, nobody.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Looked like dead bodies all over the place to me.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38In a single day, 14,000 men would be captured,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41wounded or lose their lives.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43You can't give more than your life, can you?
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Their sacrifice gave the Allies the best chance
0:00:48 > 0:00:50of defeating Nazi Germany.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56It was another untold story that begins years before D-Day.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00It's a story of how the invasion was minutely planned
0:01:00 > 0:01:03in the most incredible detail.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08D-Day was a victory not just of bombs, bullets and bayonets,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11but of intelligence and aerial reconnaissance
0:01:11 > 0:01:14that unlocked the secrets of the Nazi war machine...
0:01:16 > 0:01:18..and helped put the Allies on a path to victory.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37December 1941.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41The Americans had joined the war, bringing money and man power.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Churchill and Roosevelt were agreed.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The time had come to reverse the humiliating retreat from Dunkirk.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53A full-scale invasion would be launched
0:01:53 > 0:01:57to free occupied Europe and defeat Adolf Hitler.
0:01:57 > 0:02:03..dass diese Zukunft restlos uns gehoert!
0:02:07 > 0:02:09The area where the invasion would eventually take place
0:02:09 > 0:02:11was never seriously in doubt.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14It would be the coastline of north-west Europe,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18but it was heavily defended. The Nazis dominated the area
0:02:18 > 0:02:20and they were turning Europe into a fortress.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Fearing an Allied assault, the Germans had built a defensive
0:02:26 > 0:02:30network of bunkers, minefields and heavy guns.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Stretching along the coastline from Norway to Spain,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36it was known as the Atlantic Wall.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40The Allies knew from experience that punching a hole through it
0:02:40 > 0:02:42would be a high-risk strategy.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51'In August 1942,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53'a raid had been mounted on the French town of Dieppe.'
0:02:55 > 0:02:59It was here that the Allies made their first major attempt
0:02:59 > 0:03:03at a landing on French soil, and the result was a disaster.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14The aim was to test the German defences and seize the port,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17but patchy intelligence and poor planning
0:03:17 > 0:03:20led to a deadly miscalculation of the enemy's strength.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26And lapses in security meant the Germans were expecting the attack.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34As they landed on the beach, the Allied troops were mown down
0:03:34 > 0:03:36by machine guns hidden in the cliffs.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44In less than eight hours, over half of the 6,000-strong invasion force
0:03:44 > 0:03:46were killed, wounded or captured.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Dieppe was a defining moment in the Second World War.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07It taught the Allies a bitter but a timely lesson, and that was
0:04:07 > 0:04:11if they wanted to invade Nazi-occupied Western Europe,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13if they wanted to punch through these massive fortifications,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16they would have to get the preparation right,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20the intelligence right and execute it far better,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24and if they didn't do those things, then as that corpse-covered beach
0:04:24 > 0:04:27down there showed, the consequences would be unthinkable.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35For D-Day to succeed, the Allies needed precise intelligence
0:04:35 > 0:04:39on the German defences. They needed eyes on the enemy.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44They turned to a trusted friend, the Spitfire.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57But this was a Spitfire with a difference.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Instead of guns, it was armed with high-tech cameras...
0:05:03 > 0:05:05..to photograph every inch of the European coastline
0:05:05 > 0:05:08from heights of up to 30,000 feet.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The aerial photos were bought here to RAF Medmenham,
0:05:22 > 0:05:28just west of London. This was home to the photo interpreters, PIs.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Here, the highly trained analysts worked night and day
0:05:34 > 0:05:37to unlock the secrets of each photograph.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Using 3D glasses known as stereoscopes,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45they analysed thousands of images each week,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49scrutinising the defences in astonishing detail and probing
0:05:49 > 0:05:53the Atlantic Wall for weakness, which the Allies could exploit.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57We covered the whole of the channel coast...
0:06:03 > 0:06:07..with as much information as possible about all the defences.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13The most obvious invasion route would be straight to Calais,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18barely 20 miles, but aerial photos revealed this would be suicidal.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The Germans had anticipated an Allied attack,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and the coastline was heavily defended with vast guns.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28So the photo interpreters focused the search
0:06:28 > 0:06:31on less well-defended beaches further west.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37There's only a very few beaches that could be used for a landing,
0:06:37 > 0:06:38and that was the key to the whole thing,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42to pick out a spot where we were going to land.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45No-one, including me, knew where this was, but we had the pictures.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Eventually, the Allies found what they thought might be
0:06:54 > 0:06:58a chink in the Nazi armour, a 60-mile stretch of the Normandy
0:06:58 > 0:07:02coastline where they hoped to take the enemy by surprise.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03The advantage of that stretch of coast
0:07:03 > 0:07:06was that there were less of these, German defences,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10and there were no major ports, so no huge concentrations
0:07:10 > 0:07:13of German military power as there had been at Dieppe.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20After months of careful reconnaissance, a plan
0:07:20 > 0:07:23for the D-Day invasion could finally begin to take shape.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Five beaches would be attacked by 156,000 men.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34British and Canadian forces would seize three beaches
0:07:34 > 0:07:38in the east, codenamed Sword, Juno and Gold.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44The Americans would take two western beaches, Omaha and Utah.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50The photo interpreters at RAF Medmenham had provided
0:07:50 > 0:07:54the Allied leadership with a crucial piece in a vast jigsaw,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56but even with precise intelligence,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59such a grand plan carried high risks.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03To avoid another blood bath like Dieppe, Allied troops must be
0:08:03 > 0:08:06trained to execute the plan with expert precision.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11The British commandoes and the American rangers
0:08:11 > 0:08:14underwent some of the toughest training.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Specialising in amphibious assaults and stealth raids, these elite
0:08:18 > 0:08:22new units would spearhead some of D-Day's most dangerous missions.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26By the time we got into England, we finally developed a feeling
0:08:26 > 0:08:29that our mission would be landing on a hostile shore.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Everybody knew that.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36First, though, we were taught to transition from boats
0:08:36 > 0:08:39to the attacking of fortresses, or beach defences.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46We exercised day and night until we got it absolutely right
0:08:46 > 0:08:50and the rangers were very good troops, trained by our commandos,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54and first-class soldiers, and they got it right.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56The British commandos, in my opinion,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59were the best troops in the world.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02In those days, we were ready for anything, really.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Whatever they slung at us we'd do and that was it.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06That's right, that's right.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16June 1944. With the intelligence gathered and training complete,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19the Allies were ready to launch the greatest invasion in history,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24but the D-Day plan could not be leaked, or the Allies risked
0:09:24 > 0:09:27bloodshed on a scale far greater than Dieppe.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Troops were locked down in secure camps
0:09:30 > 0:09:32as details of the invasion were unveiled.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Aerial photos, models and maps revealed in minute detail
0:09:38 > 0:09:40the German defences that the men would face,
0:09:40 > 0:09:45from the position of minefields to the location of each gun.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48They began to show us maps and photographs
0:09:48 > 0:09:51of what was going to take place,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and that's when we seen those cliffs with those machine guns...
0:09:55 > 0:10:00..and where we were landing it was going to be two machine guns.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03And, you know, it scared everybody pretty good.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05After months of physical training,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07the men prepared themselves mentally for what lay ahead.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I couldn't sleep on the last night in the camp.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13No, no.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17We were all sitting talking about it and smoking, and...
0:10:17 > 0:10:20All anxious, yeah.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Oh, yeah, sure.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Even the Germans get like that, don't worry, yeah.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31There was a lot of punching and pushing about,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34throwing knifes at pictures of Hitler.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37It's the sort of thing soldiers get up to, and I think it's
0:10:37 > 0:10:42a bravado because we knew that we were going on something quite big.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08On the evening of June 5th, 1944, 6,000 vessels left harbours
0:11:08 > 0:11:10and ports along the British coastline.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16The next 48 hours would be decisive.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22It would be the last time many of the soldiers
0:11:22 > 0:11:24would see British shores.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29What a sight, what a sight.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32It was, erm, it was like playing for England,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34and all the crowd cheering like mad.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38We stood up there and watched all this
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and tears were running down our faces.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46We recognised that we would probably have about 50% casualties,
0:11:46 > 0:11:51and that of those, one in five would be killed.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57And, ever the optimist, the American soldier goes into battle
0:11:57 > 0:12:01no matter what, expecting that he will be the one to survive.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15June 6th, 1944.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19D-Day.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23As dawn broke, the largest armada in history
0:12:23 > 0:12:26stood waiting off the Normandy coast.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29It was an impressive sight.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32As far as the eye could see, nothing but ships.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Allied ships and aircraft pounded the Nazi defences,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41in preparation for the greatest invasion of all time.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45All that fire, and all the ships around us firing,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47planes going overhead, I began to get nervous.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52It was spectacular.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Maybe we forgot what we were doing otherwise, because we were
0:12:58 > 0:13:01in awe with the sight that we were seeing.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06If German positions could be destroyed before the assault began,
0:13:06 > 0:13:11the troops might stand a fighting chance as they landed on the beach.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15It was a mass of flame and smoke,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18and I thought nobody could survive in that, nobody.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24The stakes were high.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28The next 24 hours would determine the outcome of the war.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30If the invasion was a success,
0:13:30 > 0:13:35the Allies could surge inland and liberate Nazi-dominated Europe,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38but if it failed, thousands of men would lose their lives
0:13:38 > 0:13:42and any hope of victory would be crushed for years to come.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51The plan was audacious.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55145,000 men would assault the Normandy coast.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59In the east, British troops would attack three beaches,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02codenamed Sword, Juno and Gold.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09In the west, the Americans would take Omaha and Utah.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Of the five beaches, one promised a particularly bloody fight.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Omaha, where the Germans enjoyed lots of natural advantages.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Just look at these aerial photographs.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25They show the line of bluffs - steep cliffs, almost -
0:14:25 > 0:14:28which made it very difficult to get off the beach.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31The only way up to the countryside beyond were these exits here,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34which were, of course, carefully defended.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37There were also a line of German machine guns on the top of
0:14:37 > 0:14:40these bluffs, which were able to cover the entire beach,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43with deadly accurate machine gun fire.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46For the attackers, there would be nowhere to hide.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53We recognised that we would probably have about 50% casualties,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58and that of those, one in five would be killed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Where we were laying, there was two machine guns.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06And you know, it scared everybody pretty good.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11But the machine guns on the bluffs were just one element
0:15:11 > 0:15:12of the elaborate Nazi defences.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Allied reconnaissance planes had identified an even greater threat
0:15:17 > 0:15:19on the cliffs to the west of the beach.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22A massive gun battery at the Pointe du Hoc.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26It was feared that the heavy guns could annihilate American
0:15:26 > 0:15:30landing craft en route to the beaches. They had to be destroyed.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35It absolutely had to be neutralised, or the whole operation
0:15:35 > 0:15:38would be in danger and jeopardy.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41In the weeks leading up to the invasion, Allied aircraft dropped
0:15:41 > 0:15:45380 tonnes of bombs on Pointe du Hoc, and you can see from this
0:15:45 > 0:15:50aerial photograph the devastating damage that's been done to the area.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52What remains unclear from this
0:15:52 > 0:15:54is just what's happened to the guns themselves.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00With thousands of lives at stake, no chances could be taken.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04An elite unit of American rangers
0:16:04 > 0:16:07had been given the unenviable task of silencing the guns.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12In the early hours of 6th June, they had to land and scale
0:16:12 > 0:16:14the 30-metre cliffs under fire.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17It was one of the most dangerous missions of D-Day.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24You would get fired on while coming in.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25This was not a surprise.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28The enemy had had about 30 minutes to get up
0:16:28 > 0:16:30out of his underground bunkers.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34He was up there, throwing hand grenades down by the bush,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36and firing right down on us.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42There were Germans on top throwing potato mashers down at them,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46there were riflemen shooting at them, but the worst of it was
0:16:46 > 0:16:47that there was two machine gun nests
0:16:47 > 0:16:49that were shooting right into their backs.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56The enemy, damn it, cut some of the ropes. That was not kosher, you know.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03The first man to the top of the cliffs was there in 50 seconds
0:17:03 > 0:17:04from the time they grounded down.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08And I don't know how he did it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12But for the rangers who had fought their way to the top,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14there was a nasty surprise.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17The big guns had been moved, and they didn't know where.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18The threat remained.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Unaware of the drama at the Pointe du Hoc, Coxswain Jimmy Green
0:17:27 > 0:17:31was taking the first wave of American infantry into Omaha Beach.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The troops we took in were from Bedford, Virginia,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and they hadn't seen action before.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41They were quiet country lads, and I was trying to reassure them.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Today so many people think that they can get a sense of what the war
0:17:48 > 0:17:51must have been like by playing these realistic computer games...
0:17:53 > 0:17:56..but there's nothing realistic about those games.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00They can't replicate the gut-wrenching terror,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03they can't replicate the overwhelming desire
0:18:03 > 0:18:07to be somewhere else, to be anywhere but here...
0:18:07 > 0:18:10..and they can't replicate the stench of diesel
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and the stink of vomit that swilled around men's boots.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20As the boats came into land,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23the dramatic events below were recorded by reconnaissance aircraft.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45There was oil, there was smoke, there were explosions,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47there were troops blown apart.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Anything you wanted, unpleasant was there.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56They'd crossed 300 yards of open beach with no cover...
0:18:58 > 0:18:59..and they were mowed down.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Every man in my boat was killed.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Awful waste.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27It was a very sad occasion.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35As the second wave powered into Omaha Beach,
0:19:35 > 0:19:36they could see the devastation ahead.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I could see what looked like dead men.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47The A Company had landed ten minutes ahead of us.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52There was fire and smoke, a real chaos.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I said, "Captain, look like dead bodies all over the place to me."
0:19:59 > 0:20:00He said, "Something wrong."
0:20:06 > 0:20:09When that ramp went down, the machine guns opened up on us.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14And it was like bullets of bees swarming around.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18The captain, of course, took off first
0:20:18 > 0:20:22and right behind him was my friend Sergeant Wright,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24and when I got out on the raft, I fell.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30It was right around that time that I got hit.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37I thought my arm was going to fall off.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39The blood was pouring out of there
0:20:39 > 0:20:42that looked like it wouldn't be long I'd have no more blood.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48It's amazing, but one of the things I thought of was that, you know,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53in the United States now, the people are going to work
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and they're getting up and that there, and here we are.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05In these shallows, hundreds of Americans were drowned,
0:21:05 > 0:21:10hundreds more cut to pieces by sniper gun, machine gun fire,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13heavy artillery shrapnel, high explosives.
0:21:14 > 0:21:20This water ran red, and the beach in front was covered in corpses.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24Dick!
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Dick!
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I crawled up on the sand, and there was Dick Wright,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33my sergeant and my friend.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39He was hollering, "I'm hit, I'm hit!",
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and he raised up on his elbows.
0:21:43 > 0:21:44That was his mistake...
0:21:49 > 0:21:53..because in that machine gun nest was a rifleman,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56a sniper with a telescope...
0:21:58 > 0:22:01..and he picked him up and he hit him right in the head,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03and his face just dropped to the sand.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09I often wonder if I could have done something for Dick Wright.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14But what do you do when someone's full of bullet holes
0:22:14 > 0:22:16and the blood's coming up?
0:22:19 > 0:22:21You've got to think of your own life.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28The soldiers landing on Omaha stood little chance.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Their tanks had sunk offshore in heavy seas,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and Allied aircraft had missed the German defences.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40With the troops caught in a deadly storm of machine gun fire,
0:22:40 > 0:22:41the battle had stalled.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48We saw fear and panic there.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50They never would have gotten off the beach
0:22:50 > 0:22:52if it hadn't been for the 5th Rangers.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57John Raaen and the troops of the 2nd and 5th Rangers
0:22:57 > 0:22:59arrived at Omaha at a critical point.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Diverted from his original mission at the Pointe du Hoc,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08Raaen landed on a less heavily defended part of the beach.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Now all that time at the sand tables and the maps paid off.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17I knew exactly where I was.
0:23:18 > 0:23:19I landed...
0:23:22 > 0:23:23..probably right there...
0:23:25 > 0:23:27..and went up the bluffs.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Here's the path I went up and there's the little shack.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Those bluffs were covered with smoke when we got there,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39The smoke blinded the infantry above us, and they couldn't shoot at us.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46By challenging the machine gun nests on the bluffs,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49the rangers helped slow down the slaughter on the beach below.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57The rangers at the Pointe du Hoc had also seen success.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01The heavy guns had been found and silenced,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04and the threat to the troops at Omaha had finally lifted.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10With thousands of men ashore and many more landing,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13the battle for Omaha had been won.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14The Allies could push inland
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and consolidate their foothold in France.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22But success came at great cost.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Over 1,700 men had been killed, and many more wounded.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31By the end of the day, all five beaches had been captured
0:24:31 > 0:24:35and a little corner of Normandy had been secured.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38It's been seen by history as a great victory, the beginning of the end
0:24:38 > 0:24:42of the Nazi menace, but for those who had survived the carnage
0:24:42 > 0:24:46on Omaha, victory must have seemed like a distant prospect.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48For the men who'd watched their friends die,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51there was little chance to recover or reflect.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54With months of hard fighting ahead of them
0:24:54 > 0:24:56before Germany was finally defeated,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59the battle for Europe had only just begun.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Seven miles off the coast of Normandy, France,
0:25:16 > 0:25:206,000 ships waited for the signal.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25145,000 troops prepare to storm five beaches.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Four years after a humiliating retreat at Dunkirk,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32the Allies were poised to unleash a daring bid
0:25:32 > 0:25:37to free occupied Western Europe from Hitler's tyranny.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I think there was a general feeling amongst the lads,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42"For Christ sake, let's get this over with."
0:25:42 > 0:25:47Now we've got them on the run, let's get in, get stuck in and sod 'em.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52There aren't many days that can be said
0:25:52 > 0:25:54to have changed the course of history.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57There aren't many days like the 6th June, 1944.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01I think D-Day was the single greatest military operation
0:26:01 > 0:26:02the world had ever seen.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And at stake was nothing less
0:26:06 > 0:26:08than the freedom of the Western world.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18To gain a foothold in France, the Allies would attack five beaches
0:26:18 > 0:26:20along a 60-mile stretch of the coast.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27The British would land on three beaches in the east.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Sword, Juno and Gold.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34The Americans would storm two beaches further west -
0:26:34 > 0:26:35Omaha and Utah.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39But the beaches were just the beginning.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46If D-Day was to succeed, the Allies had to smash through
0:26:46 > 0:26:49the coastal defences and advance inland.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51If they failed to this, it would make it easier
0:26:51 > 0:26:55for the Germans to counterattack and drive them back into the sea.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58As a result, the troops landing on the D-Day beaches
0:26:58 > 0:27:02had a series of objectives, and one of the most ambitious of those
0:27:02 > 0:27:06was for the British landing at Sword Beach.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Lying seven miles inland and protected by a network of bunkers,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14their target for D-Day was the city of Caen.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24As the landing craft powered into Sword Beach,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27troops were heartened by the smoking shoreline ahead.
0:27:29 > 0:27:35These battleships, they were firing on the beach 18-inch guns, you know.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38As they went over like an express train.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I looked from the front of my landing craft.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48It was a mass of flame and smoke,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and I thought nobody could survive in that, nobody.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55But as the ramps went down, the German guns opened up.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59The Allied bombardment had left the defences damaged but not destroyed.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It would have been a living hell on this beach. Snipers, shells,
0:28:06 > 0:28:11mines, obstacles, and yet their only hope was to surge up it,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13get through the German defensive line,
0:28:13 > 0:28:14and out into the countryside beyond.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21I'd run so fast, I would have beat Jesse Owens that day.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25I suppose I was frightened out of my life a little bit.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26You just keep going,
0:28:26 > 0:28:30you've got to get off that beach else you was brown bread, ain't you?
0:28:33 > 0:28:37I'd started to rush up the beach and there was a young, a young soldier.
0:28:37 > 0:28:43He was trying to dig a hole, and the waves were crashing down
0:28:43 > 0:28:47and filling his thing up with water, and I grabbed him by the scruff
0:28:47 > 0:28:50of his neck and I dragged him all the way up.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55And I shouldn't have done that.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57I should have left him and got off the beach,
0:28:57 > 0:29:01because that's what they tell you. You've got to get off that beach
0:29:01 > 0:29:04as fast as you can, but I couldn't, I couldn't leave him there.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Taking Sword Beach wasn't easy.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12The Germans put up a stiff resistance,
0:29:12 > 0:29:14and the British suffered heavy casualties.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18But although the fighting was fierce, it was also short.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21The Germans were overwhelmed by British naval ships
0:29:21 > 0:29:25bombarding the coast and the tanks that pushed up the beach.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28By 9am, the troops were a mile inland.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36It was a critical moment for the invasion.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40Thousands of soldiers were ashore and many more were landing.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43The element of surprise was long gone.
0:29:43 > 0:29:44With bases near Caen,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48deadly German tank divisions could strike back at any time.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53It was vital for the troops to move inland
0:29:53 > 0:29:55and establish a firm foothold as quickly as possible.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59Using the aerial photographs,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02the Allied planners had identified key targets.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07'One was a German bunker complex codenamed Hillman.'
0:30:08 > 0:30:12That's Sword Beach down there, you can see that line of fog.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15These aerial photos are absolutely fascinating.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19They show that the Germans up here constructed
0:30:19 > 0:30:21hugely significant positions.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26You can see the trenches here, observation posts, machine gun posts
0:30:26 > 0:30:30and so in order for the troops to get off this beach and push inland,
0:30:30 > 0:30:32this would have to be neutralised.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40So this is the main entrance, all facing north towards the coast.
0:30:42 > 0:30:48It was clearly a battlefield command centre. You can see the wiring here,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51the communications, the maps on the wall.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54This is a place where all the information is gathered
0:30:54 > 0:30:56from the battlefields and then action is taken,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00artillery is called down, air support is called for.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02This is where the German commanders
0:31:02 > 0:31:04would win or lose the battle for Normandy.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Taking Hillman fell to the Suffolk regiment,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12and they came up against fierce resistance.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18They tried to attack, I suppose, but it wasn't successful to begin with.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22All sorts of armour was bought up.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Anti-tank guns, a royal artillery came.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30But protected by a heavy metal dome, or cupola, the German gunners
0:31:30 > 0:31:33were able to fire on the attackers at will.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39Everything that came up here and shot at the cupolas bounced off.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42It was the heroism of one man, Titch Hunter,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45that finally changed the course of the battle.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50It was only after Titch Hunter had gone forward with his Bren gun
0:31:50 > 0:31:53firing from the hip that they capitulated.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58By firing straight into the cupola,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01one man succeeded where tanks had failed.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03The Germans began to retreat,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05the Suffolks had finally won the upper hand.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Out came the Kommandant
0:32:10 > 0:32:14and 70 men under guard who had given themselves up.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20As the day wore on, progress inland had slowed.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22German resistance had been fierce,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25and positions like Hillman hard to take.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29The city of Caen remained under Nazi control,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31but the devastating counter-attack
0:32:31 > 0:32:33the Allied planners feared never came.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37A foothold in France had been won.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42As the sun set over Normandy on 6th June, 1944,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44the Allies took stock.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Not all the objectives had been met,
0:32:46 > 0:32:50and they knew they faced heavy fighting in the weeks ahead.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53As it was, they did not liberate Paris until August of that year.
0:32:55 > 0:32:56D-Day wasn't the end of the war,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00but it was perhaps the beginning of the end for the Nazis.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04They occupied France, they occupied most of Europe.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08You couldn't allow those people to go on controlling the world.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12More than 4,000 men were killed on D-Day,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16and for the survivors, memories are still vivid.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20I don't know of the words I'd describe it, but, er...
0:33:22 > 0:33:26When you think of all the friends you lost...
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Well, you think about some mates, that's all, yeah.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Yeah. Get a bit emotional, like I am at the moment.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42- The dead ones, they're the real heroes.- Real heroes.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44You can't give more than your life, can you?
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Well, I'll be fading away soon.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55But I'll maybe catch up with some of the boys.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04For me, the greatest privilege and the greatest insight of all
0:34:04 > 0:34:08is meeting the people that witnessed these events nearly 70 years ago.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Today, they still have the power to recall it
0:34:10 > 0:34:12as if it were yesterday.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15They have the ability to tell stories that will stay with you
0:34:15 > 0:34:18for the rest of your life. They have the ability in one sentence
0:34:18 > 0:34:22to make your blood run cold and to make you laugh.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24It is an enormous privilege to meet them.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28And although they're nearing the end of their lives,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30I know that their names and their stories
0:34:30 > 0:34:31will be talked about forever.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd