0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains some violent scenes and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:07 > 0:00:15June 6th, 1944 - D-Day. Thousands of Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, in France.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20There was smoke, there was fire,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23there were explosions.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Looked like dead bodies all over the place to me.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Real chaos.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31I thought, "Nobody could survive in that.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34"Nobody."
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Every man in my boat was killed.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Awful...waste.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Two years of espionage, state-of-the-art technology
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and millions of three-dimensional reconnaissance photographs
0:00:47 > 0:00:50had gone into planning the invasion.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Without the photo intelligence, we'd have been lost.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Details of German gun batteries, communication links
0:00:59 > 0:01:02and strategic bridges had been pieced together.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07That was the key to the whole thing - to pick out the spot where we were going to land.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Now armed with this vital intelligence,
0:01:10 > 0:01:15half a million men unleashed in a single day the full fury...
0:01:17 > 0:01:19..of Operation Overlord.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24You could get killed, you could get wounded,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27or the war would end.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And the war didn't look like it was going to end any time soon.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36In this film, we hear from some of the last surviving heroes of D-Day
0:01:36 > 0:01:40and how the sacrifices of thousands gave the Allies their best chance
0:01:40 > 0:01:42of defeating Nazi Germany.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47We didn't like Mr Adolf Hitler, did we?
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Like, you know, a bit of a rascal, you know.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54There was no question in our mind what we were fighting for -
0:01:54 > 0:01:56we were fighting for our country.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58We were fighting for mankind.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Someone had to say, "Enough."
0:02:06 > 0:02:10There aren't many days that can be said to have changed the course of history.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14There aren't many days like the 6th of June 1944.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19I think D-Day was the single greatest military operation the world had ever seen -
0:02:19 > 0:02:24and at stake was nothing less than the freedom of the western world.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43On the evening of the 5th of June, a vast armada set sail
0:02:43 > 0:02:45on one of the most decisive missions of World War II.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55A full-scale invasion of occupied France.
0:03:00 > 0:03:046,000 vessels were now heading out from these British coastal waters,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06out towards Normandy.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08It was typical June, much like this one.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12One storm had just blown through, there was another one in the offing,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15but the meteorologists thought they'd spotted a gap in the weather,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20a window that would allow this vast armada to get to Normandy safely.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24British intelligence had been planning this invasion
0:03:24 > 0:03:27down to the most minute detail for years,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31including a vast deception campaign to try and convince the Germans
0:03:31 > 0:03:35that the target of the attack was not Normandy at all.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40The fact is, though, as these ships left these waters they were heading into the unknown.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50All the boats started tooting their hooters - "Whoop, whoop, whoop."
0:03:50 > 0:03:53We stood up there and watched all this
0:03:53 > 0:03:55and heard all the cheering and the shouting,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58and tears were running down our faces.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04It was an impressive sight. I mean, as far as the eye could see,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06nothing but ships.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14On airfields across England, airborne troops prepared themselves
0:04:14 > 0:04:17for covert missions behind enemy lines.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21We did realise that...
0:04:21 > 0:04:24we'd better be super-audacious
0:04:24 > 0:04:27about the whole bloody affair, because it's the only way to be.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34My thoughts - that I was scared to death.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39That's what I was talking about.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Thought you would get killed.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Two years of meticulous planning had gone into D-Day...
0:04:53 > 0:04:58..from the reconnaissance pilots, who had taken millions of aerial photos of the German defences...
0:05:02 > 0:05:06..to the highly trained interpreters at RAF Medmenham,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09who had analysed them in three dimensions
0:05:09 > 0:05:14and identified the location of almost every gun battery, minefield and bridge in Normandy.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22This top-secret detail would mean the difference between success and failure
0:05:22 > 0:05:23for the troops on the ground.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30See this place here?
0:05:30 > 0:05:31It's called Carentan.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33It's the last place in hell you want to be.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37'We had aerial photographs, we had regular maps.'
0:05:37 > 0:05:41We had anything we could... At our disposal that we needed.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46As you can see from the aerial photos, this is a heavily defended area.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50We used the photos and therefore you can locate yourself
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and that is the biggest problem that you have in warfare -
0:05:53 > 0:05:57is knowing where you are and where the enemy is.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03D-Day was hugely ambitious.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10A vast 150,000-strong amphibious invasion of five Normandy beaches.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17In the east, British and Canadian troops would storm three beaches...
0:06:19 > 0:06:24..Sword, Juno and Gold.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28On the western flank, American soldiers would attack two...
0:06:30 > 0:06:33..Omaha and Utah.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41Inland, 20,000 airborne troops would capture or destroy key targets -
0:06:41 > 0:06:45bridges, railroads, communication links.
0:06:47 > 0:06:54We went into battle with so much knowledge that we were going to attack,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57that we went there with every confidence.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07The opening salvo of D-Day would come soon after midnight.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10It's your last chance to get off.
0:07:10 > 0:07:16Horsa gliders carrying 180 men headed for a bridge over the Caen Canal,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18four miles inland from Sword Beach.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24The target was codenamed Pegasus.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Onboard, Major John Howard went over details
0:07:30 > 0:07:34with Lieutenant Den Brotheridge, his second in command.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Howard had done a tremendous job.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44They could cope with almost any situation,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47provided I could put them down in one piece.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The team had rehearsed the operation for months -
0:07:51 > 0:07:55but each man knew it was potentially a suicide mission.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Just days before, photo interpreters at Medmenham
0:08:00 > 0:08:03had discovered the Germans were preparing for an airborne attack.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09These photos show that the Germans were digging a huge number of holes
0:08:09 > 0:08:12right where the gliders were planning to land.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Now, those holes were designed to have wooden stakes put in them,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18which would prove catastrophic for an airborne landing.
0:08:18 > 0:08:24Each stake would be connected to an intricate network of explosive charges.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28If a glider hit one, the entire field would detonate -
0:08:28 > 0:08:30killing everybody onboard.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36I remember saying, "Well, you know, that's not playing the game at all, you know.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40"It's just like the Germans not to play fair, like, er...
0:08:40 > 0:08:43"But we'll have to show them they can't put us off with a few poles."
0:08:43 > 0:08:47That's how daft you are at that age, I suppose.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55At the French coast, the gliders were released.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58The men were now fully committed.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04As soon as I cast off, there's no sound from the glider,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06there's no sound from the troops.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Everything went quiet
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and I started then to take my course -
0:09:12 > 0:09:14you had the speed right
0:09:14 > 0:09:19and the glider went "ssh" through the sky.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27At 16 minutes past midnight on June 6th,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31they braced for a 90-mile-an-hour crash landing.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Their lives now depended upon the skill of their pilot.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40I had to land fast, because it was a fairly small field
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and I'd two other loads coming behind me.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48And so they said, "For God's sake, Jim, you know, get well up.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51"You know, I don't want you halfway down the bloody field."
0:10:10 > 0:10:11They'd survived.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16The meticulous planning and training had paid off.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19There were no exploding stakes.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23The Germans were due to put them in the following day.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32This was the most remarkably challenging landing zone.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Jim Wallwork's glider and two others were expected to land here,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39on a strip of land that's no more than about 30 or 40 yards -
0:10:39 > 0:10:42this lake on one side and the canal on the other.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The bridge of course, the target, right there.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47What's remarkable about the flying in the dead of night
0:10:47 > 0:10:50is that the pilots managed to put it down right here -
0:10:50 > 0:10:53in fact, these mark the spot where Jim Wallwork's glider landed,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56perhaps 50 yards away from their target.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01It was subsequently described as one of the most remarkable bits of flying of World War II.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07I could have been 50 yards away, which is close enough -
0:11:07 > 0:11:10pretty close as a glider.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I was content, anyhow.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15If the glider pilot's content, it's a bloody good flight.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25As soon as we landed, all hell broke loose.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28SHOUTING AND GUNFIRE
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Lieutenant Brotheridge and his men immediately charged into battle.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Details of the bridge from the 3D aerial photos
0:11:41 > 0:11:44helped them manoeuvre in the dark with deadly efficiency.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51As troops checked for explosives, Brotheridge spearheaded an attack
0:11:51 > 0:11:53on the enemy machine gun positioned across the canal.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59EXPLOSION
0:11:59 > 0:12:01He never made it that far.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06He was hit about three quarters of the way across the bridge.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09But though he fell, the troops carried on.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12They knew they had to take that end of the bridge -
0:12:12 > 0:12:15otherwise the whole thing would have been a wash out.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21D-Day had claimed its first Allied soldier killed in combat.
0:12:23 > 0:12:2629-year-old Den Brotheridge wouldn't be the last.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31It was very fierce fighting and it was very frightening.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34I can still hear it, I can still smell it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36And the noise...was horrific.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41SHOUTING AND INTENSE GUNFIRE
0:12:43 > 0:12:45At 26 minutes past midnight,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48just ten minutes after the first glider landed,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Major Howard ordered the codewords to be transmitted.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Ham and jam. Pegasus Bridge had been secured.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04The D-Day plan was beginning to deliver.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10The local cafe owner's daughter, Arlette Gondree,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14was one of the first to witness the liberation of her country.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Down below in this dark cellar,
0:13:17 > 0:13:18we were shivering.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Suddenly, Daddy brought down two monsters, as we called them.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28They were covered in black with helmets and nets and clothes.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30And so I started hiding behind the saddle bale.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33But what made me come forward
0:13:33 > 0:13:36was that one of them put his hand in his jacket
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and he brought a piece of chocolate out with some biscuits.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Up to 12 miles off the Normandy coast,
0:13:45 > 0:13:51thousands of troops clambered into landing craft in preparation for the beach assaults.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- ROBERT SALES:- We had to go down rope ladders.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59And, you know, the landing craft was a small affair.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02The waves were kicking it up and down.
0:14:03 > 0:14:09And I turned to loose the rope and I didn't think I'd ever stop falling
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and it, er... I took a pretty good fall. It didn't hurt me or nothing.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24As we sailed out, we were running into seas
0:14:24 > 0:14:28that were running somewhere between six and maybe eight feet.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Everybody was drenched, everybody was miserable.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- HE SIGHS - "It's finally here."
0:14:37 > 0:14:39That's really, I think, what everybody felt.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44We'd been training for... I guess it was nine months by that point.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46And, er, it was finally here.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50But the lives of these men
0:14:50 > 0:14:54would depend upon the operations already under way
0:14:54 > 0:14:55behind enemy lines.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Using aerial spy photographs,
0:15:03 > 0:15:08D-Day strategists had identified two vital targets over the River Douve,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11just inland from Omaha and Utah.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Without control of the bridges,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18the American troops landing on the beaches
0:15:18 > 0:15:23would struggle to join forces and risk being cut off and slaughtered by the enemy.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27In the early hours of June 6th,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31the 101st Airborne were sent in to take control of it.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Among them, Ed Shames.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Things were very silent.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Very sombre.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Everybody's thoughts...
0:15:45 > 0:15:47were into themselves.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51A lot of smoking going on.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54In fact, there was so much smoke
0:15:54 > 0:15:57you could hardly see your hand in front of you.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59As the Dakotas crossed the French coastline,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01they came under intense enemy fire.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05EXPLOSIONS
0:16:07 > 0:16:08HE RETCHES
0:16:09 > 0:16:13The campaign was sweeping every which way when I said...
0:16:13 > 0:16:17I said to my Sergeant, "Is this for real?" He said, "It's for real."
0:16:19 > 0:16:24When the green light went on, we all shuffled out to the front.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29The guy in front of me, he slipped on the floor.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33By the time I got him up, we must've gone four or five extra miles.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38They'd now overshot their designated landing zone
0:16:38 > 0:16:41and were dropped miles from their objectives.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47It looked like the 4th of July,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50because everything was going off all at one time
0:16:50 > 0:16:52and they were all aiming at me.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07And when I got down on the ground, I landed in a bunch of cows.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10I'm not into cattle but I'm sure that, er,
0:17:10 > 0:17:11they weren't very happy either!
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Aerial photos reveal paratroopers scattered across enemy territory.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Each man now isolated and vulnerable,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30including the commanding officer Colonel Wolverton.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The Germans were there waiting for him.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40He'd landed in a tree and instead of letting him surrender,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44they used him as target practice.
0:17:48 > 0:17:55He had 162 bullet holes and bayonet wounds when they cut him down...
0:18:02 > 0:18:06..which made us only more determined...
0:18:07 > 0:18:09..and a little bit more fierce.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Ed Shames eventually met up with a handful of men -
0:18:19 > 0:18:22but they were lost, with no commanding officer.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28If they failed to take the bridges over the Douve,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32it would risk the lives of those men landing on the beaches.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38The plan was unravelling.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45I had no idea where I was.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48We'd passed a couple of these farmhouses,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50so I stopped and I said,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53"Boys, OK, this is where we're going to knock on the door
0:18:53 > 0:18:55"and we're going to get this farmer to tell us where we are."
0:19:00 > 0:19:03SHE SQUEALS
0:19:03 > 0:19:05And the farmer's wife, she started to scream.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07I slapped my hand on her face.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- Sainte-Mere-Eglise?- La.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- Saint-Come-du-Mont?- La, la.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25Carentan?
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Oui. Oui.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35And he says, "Oui," and he knocked on the floor.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38"Carentan, oui."
0:19:38 > 0:19:40Ici. Ici.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Then I really became nervous,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47because it was a core headquarters of the German division.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Hey, boys, let's get out of here right now.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05As dawn began to break, the vast armada approached the French coastline...
0:20:10 > 0:20:13..and the Allies started to soften up the German defences.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23We passed the Texas just about the time they let fire the initial round.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27The sound was so loud that it rocked the boat.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34These battleships - they were firing on the beach 18-inch guns.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38It was spectacular.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Maybe we forgot what we were doing otherwise,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45because we were in awe with the sight that we were seeing.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53All that fire of the Texas and all the ships around us firing,
0:20:53 > 0:20:54planes going overhead...
0:20:56 > 0:20:57I began to get nervous.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04D-Day was now truly under way.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10With the element of surprise gone, the enemy were fighting back.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Inland, the British troops who had captured Pegasus Bridge
0:21:22 > 0:21:23had already come under attack.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28We didn't really have time to congratulate ourselves.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31The other side was not going to lie down and say,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35"Well, bloody hard lines - they've taken it now."
0:21:35 > 0:21:40The thought immediately is, "Be prepared for a counter-attack."
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Alerted by the earlier fighting, an enemy tank approached the bridge.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12The only armour-piercing weapon the men carried was a PIAT mortar.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17It was the most easily made thing.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20It was a piece of... Like a piece of drainpipe.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24It was David versus Goliath.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Sergeant Wagger Thornton volunteered for the role of David.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42He waited until it was close enough so he couldn't miss -
0:22:42 > 0:22:46he could not only not miss, he could hit it where he wanted.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04And the bloody thing went up beautifully
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and we were all delighted.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11The bridge remained in British hands...
0:23:13 > 0:23:15..but they needed reinforcements fast.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18They were on the way.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Among them, medic David Tibbs.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31We had agreed on an aerial photograph
0:23:31 > 0:23:35where the pilot of our plane was hoping to place me.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39And when I landed, I looked round and in the half moonlight
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I could see an apple tree.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47And I realised that I had landed exactly where this pilot had said it was,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51at the corner of an orchard.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And I could hear in the distance the crackle and thump
0:23:55 > 0:24:00of the Pegasus Bridge battle going on.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Which was encouraging - you realised you really were there.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It was my job to go over the dropping zone
0:24:12 > 0:24:17and pick up any injured parachutists, because a drop of something like 2,000 men -
0:24:17 > 0:24:22you will inevitably get men who injure themselves.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26This chap, he said to me,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29"Sorry, Doc. I'm damn sorry to be a nuisance."
0:24:29 > 0:24:34Which is an extraordinary thing when you've sustained a near-mortal wound.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41I've often thought about his amazing sort of...
0:24:41 > 0:24:45tenacity and courage. He was apologetic because he...
0:24:45 > 0:24:47was another wounded man.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Just after first light, it was time for the main event.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Here you can see the beaches on this wonderful map here.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09You've got Sword Beach, in the very east of the area of operations.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10You've got Juno, Gold
0:25:10 > 0:25:14and then the two American beaches of Omaha and Utah.
0:25:14 > 0:25:15Now was the moment of truth.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Now these landing craft are about to hit the shoreline.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Within the next couple of hours,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24either tens of thousands of young men would be slaughtered in the shallows
0:25:24 > 0:25:29or the Germans be driven back and Allies would have a foothold in occupied France.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37As the men waited to storm the beaches,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40an elite unit of American rangers was poised to carry out
0:25:40 > 0:25:42one of the most daring missions of D-Day.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50For months, Allied spy planes had been monitoring
0:25:50 > 0:25:53a cliff-top gun battery at Pointe du Hoc
0:25:53 > 0:25:57that threatened the invasion fleet heading for Omaha and Utah.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It absolutely had to be neutralised
0:26:03 > 0:26:08or the whole operation would be in jeopardy.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15But the first wave of Rangers was guided into the wrong headland.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20John Raaen was part of the second wave.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24They were supposed to have landed at 6.30.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26They did not land at 6.30.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Nothing happened, we got no word.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33We then circled and we circled and we circled.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Everything went wrong, that could possibly be wrong.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42The delay upset the precisely timed planning and put lives at risk.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46At 6.30am coxswain, Jimmy Green,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49was due to take the first landing craft into Omaha beach.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53The troops we took in were from Bedford, Virginia
0:26:53 > 0:26:55and they hadn't seen action before.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57They were quiet country lads.
0:26:57 > 0:27:04Unfortunately, we landed in that terrible beach where the Germans were waiting.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06In the skies above,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11Allied planes monitored progress for commanders back in Britain.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16It looked busy, all of the naval fleets firing at the beaches
0:27:16 > 0:27:18and the people on the beaches firing back
0:27:18 > 0:27:23and landing craft trying to get on through all that mess.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27It was a place you didn't want to be.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33SHOUTING
0:27:33 > 0:27:36MACHINE GUN FIRE
0:27:42 > 0:27:46GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:27:53 > 0:27:57There was oil, there was smoke, there were explosions,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00there were troops blown apart -
0:28:00 > 0:28:02anything you wanted unpleasant was there.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10They had to cross 300 yards of open beach with no cover...
0:28:10 > 0:28:12and they were mowed down.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23HAIL OF BULLETS
0:28:23 > 0:28:25HE GROANS
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Every man in my boat was killed.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Awful waste.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52It was, er, a very sad occasion...
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Hmm.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07I think if I'd been out here on June the 6th,
0:29:07 > 0:29:09I'd have been pretty angry.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13I'd have been pretty angry with the damned fool who made me attack this beach,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16it looks more like a cliff than a beach.
0:29:16 > 0:29:22And I think I'd have just been quite sad that me and my mates
0:29:22 > 0:29:28were being sent on a mission that felt like a suicide mission.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38If the massacre at Omaha was repeated elsewhere,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41the years of planning would have been in vain.
0:29:43 > 0:29:4530 miles further east,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49over 10,000 British troops were now approaching Sword Beach.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57The plan - to seize the beach, set up defences,
0:29:57 > 0:30:02and then push on to Caen, a critical communication centre.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Sitting at a comfortable desk in RAF Medmenham,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10it's easy to look at the neat aerial photos and the maps
0:30:10 > 0:30:13and get some sense of what's going on on a strategic level,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16understand the Normandy landings, but when you arrive here,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19on Sword Beach, the easternmost beach,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22it's seven miles long alone.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30I looked up from the front of my landing craft,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34it was a mass of flame and smoke
0:30:34 > 0:30:38and I thought, nobody could survive in that, nobody.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41And as the men landed here,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43they would not have been thinking about the rest of the landings,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45what was happening in the big strategic picture,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49the horizon would have crowded in until all they could care about, all they could see,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52was just a circle around them of a couple of hundred metres.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55They were interested in where the threat was coming from,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58which machine gun was spitting fire at them
0:30:58 > 0:31:00from the ruined houses up there.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08A huge shell landed about 30 foot away, it caused a huge wave.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10I fell in the water, went under
0:31:10 > 0:31:13and pushed my feet and I just came out the water
0:31:13 > 0:31:16and it only came up to there, I thought, "Oh, what a 'nana."
0:31:19 > 0:31:23I ran so fast, I would have beat Jesse Owens that day.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27I suppose I was frightened out of my life a little bit,
0:31:27 > 0:31:30you just keep going, you've got to get off that beach,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32or else you're brown bread, ain't you?
0:31:34 > 0:31:39We made for a burnt-out tank to get some cover,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43because we could hear sniping going on and in fact,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46I did see one officer go down as he ran towards us.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50You feel, well, if there's something coming over
0:31:50 > 0:31:53and it's going to hit you, it will and...
0:31:53 > 0:31:54And that'll be the end of it.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I'd started to rush up the beach and there was a young,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04a young soldier, he was trying to dig a hole,
0:32:04 > 0:32:10and the waves were crashing down and filling his thing up with water,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13and I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and I dragged him all the way up.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't leave him there,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22and I dragged him all the way up the back,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24I got him up the back, dumped him down.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27I said, "Where's your unit?" He said, "I don't know."
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Oh, here we go.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43That bloke, he looks very much like a friend of mine,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Bert Chillingsworth.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49He got killed on D2. I'm around here somewhere.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50You think you might be in this boat?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Yeah, we were both in 1 Troop.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56- An explosion there...- Yes.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00- It looks like somebody's got it. - Yeah.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04That's it - that's where he fell off the boat.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Yeah, that's it, that's where I fell off the ramp.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Yeah. A bloke's stuck on there already.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15- There's the guy going up to help. - He's going back up to help him.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19He's holding everybody up, you see. Chaos there...
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Cor - I've never seen all these...
0:33:21 > 0:33:25- They're queuing up to come down. - Yeah.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Scared at this point or just focussing on getting up the beach?
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Well, not scared, you...
0:33:31 > 0:33:34You got to get down there and get moving, get inland -
0:33:34 > 0:33:35that's the object.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40After two and a half hours,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42the German resistance collapsed.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Sword Beach had been taken.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48The men now had to move inland fast
0:33:48 > 0:33:51to capture Caen by nightfall.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58On the western side of the invasion front,
0:33:58 > 0:34:04Ed Shames and the 101st Airborne were now closing in on the River Douve,
0:34:04 > 0:34:09but their mission to seize and hold two vital bridges hung in the balance.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14This is the western edge of the bridge.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Of course, the central span was destroyed later in the Normandy battle,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21but they wanted to secure these bridges.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24But like so many of the parachute drops right across the battlefield,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26pretty much everything went wrong, it was chaos.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Of the 250 paratroopers that were supposed to secure this bridge
0:34:30 > 0:34:34and then push across the river, into the German defenders on the other side,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37only around 40 turned up by dawn on June 6th.
0:34:45 > 0:34:51We went down the river until we got to our bridges,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54just about daylight we got there.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10There were Germans across the river firing at us.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16I'm over here. Don't waste any lead!
0:35:16 > 0:35:19We were defending the bridge, that's all.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21That's all we could do.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25The Germans on the other side was firing constantly,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28there was no let up.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Keep your head down!
0:35:30 > 0:35:33They didn't have enough ammunition, they didn't have any comms,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35their radios weren't working
0:35:35 > 0:35:37and they didn't have nearly the kind of heavy weapons required
0:35:37 > 0:35:40to take on the hundreds of German defenders that lined that bank.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42SHOUTS IN GERMAN
0:35:43 > 0:35:47'We had several men killed at the bridge.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51'I told Sergeant Stockings...'
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Keep your head down, snipers...
0:36:07 > 0:36:10'He got a bullet right in the middle of his temple.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13'Killed him instantly.'
0:36:15 > 0:36:20It wasn't free that we did this, it was at a cost.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25The US Rangers had finally reached the critical landing zone
0:36:25 > 0:36:26at Pointe du Hoc.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Now they had to climb a 30-metre cliff
0:36:31 > 0:36:33and destroy the German artillery,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36so carefully monitored by the planners.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38The enemy was waiting for them.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50We were fired on while coming in.
0:36:50 > 0:36:51This was not a surprise,
0:36:51 > 0:36:53the enemy had had about 30 minutes
0:36:53 > 0:36:55to get up out of his underground bunkers.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58He was up there throwing hand grenades down
0:36:58 > 0:37:00and firing right down on us.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03GUNFIRE
0:37:04 > 0:37:07But the worst of it was that there were two machine gun nests
0:37:07 > 0:37:10that were shooting right into their backs.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13The enemy, dammit, cut some of the ropes, you see.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15That was not kosher, you know!
0:37:17 > 0:37:22And there were two guys on the rope right in front of me, going up.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24I yelled up to these fellas, "Boys,
0:37:24 > 0:37:28"put your faces in and your butts out, they're throwing grenades."
0:37:30 > 0:37:35Yet the first man to the top of the cliffs was there in 50 seconds
0:37:35 > 0:37:40from the time they grounded down, and I don't know how he did it.
0:37:41 > 0:37:42When they reached the top
0:37:42 > 0:37:46the Rangers discovered their mission had been fruitless.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52The big guns had been moved.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58Reconnaissance photos had suggested this before D-Day,
0:37:58 > 0:38:03but Allied leaders decided the mission should go ahead to make sure.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05Days of British and American bombing
0:38:05 > 0:38:09had turned this into a shattered pulverised moonscape,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12these huge bits of reinforced concrete had been tossed around
0:38:12 > 0:38:16like children's toy bricks, it was no place to keep heavy guns.
0:38:16 > 0:38:17The Germans had moved them inland.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19So the Rangers were desperately worried
0:38:19 > 0:38:22they hadn't fulfilled the mission. Were the guns just there inland
0:38:22 > 0:38:27and could still be brought to bring down fire on Omaha and Utah beaches?
0:38:30 > 0:38:32A second wave of American soldiers
0:38:32 > 0:38:36was now closing in on the killing field of Omaha Beach,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39among them Bob Sales.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43I could see what looked like dead men.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46The A Company had landed ten minutes ahead of us.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52There was fire and smoke, real chaos.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59I said, "Captain, it looks like dead bodies all over the place to me."
0:38:59 > 0:39:02He said, "There's something wrong."
0:39:09 > 0:39:13When that ramp went down, the machine guns opened up on us
0:39:13 > 0:39:18and it was just like bullets, bees swarming round.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21The captain took off first
0:39:21 > 0:39:26and right behind him was my friend Sergeant Wright.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29When I got out on the ramp, I fell.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40I hit that water and went to the bottom, I got rid of the radio.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43I knew I'd drown if I tried to fight that radio.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Even in June it's unbelievably cold here
0:39:54 > 0:39:56and because they'd landed on these sand banks,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59they found that they couldn't touch the bottom
0:39:59 > 0:40:02when they got off the landing craft, they couldn't get back on -
0:40:02 > 0:40:05the landing craft were immediately reversing away to go and get more
0:40:05 > 0:40:06of the attacking infantries,
0:40:06 > 0:40:09they had no choice but to try and get to the shore,
0:40:09 > 0:40:14swimming, but they got absolutely weighted down with their equipment.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25I crawled up on the sand and there was Dick Wright,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28my sergeant and my friend.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31He was hollering, "I'm hit! I'm hit!"
0:40:31 > 0:40:34And he raised up on his elbows.
0:40:37 > 0:40:38Dick!
0:40:43 > 0:40:48In that machine gun nest was a rifleman, a sniper.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52But I knew he had seen me,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54so I buried my face in the sand
0:40:54 > 0:40:58and just waited for the shot to come.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04And did what I knew of the 23rd Psalm.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want
0:41:07 > 0:41:09He makes me lay down in green pastures...
0:41:09 > 0:41:14I often wonder if I could have done something for Dick Wright,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17but what do you do with somebody who's full of bullet holes
0:41:17 > 0:41:20and the blood's coming up?
0:41:26 > 0:41:29..He leads me beside the still water.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Yea, tho' I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
0:41:32 > 0:41:36I shall fear no evil for thine...
0:41:36 > 0:41:38'You've got to think of your own life.'
0:41:43 > 0:41:47In these shallows, hundreds of Americans were drowned,
0:41:47 > 0:41:51hundreds more cut to pieces by sniper fire,
0:41:51 > 0:41:55machine gun fire, heavy artillery, shrapnel, high explosives.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02This water ran red and the beach in front was covered in corpses.
0:42:08 > 0:42:09As soon as the ramp was dropped,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12the machine gun fire coming... came in there.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15HEAVY GUNFIRE
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Well, rather than run through that thing,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21we started bailing off the side.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24HE GROANS
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Well, it was right around that time that I got hit.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I thought my arm was going to fall off.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39The blood was pouring out of there, it looked like...
0:42:39 > 0:42:41It wouldn't be long I'd have no more blood.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Your hope was that somebody was going to be able
0:42:45 > 0:42:47to get to those machine gun nests and get rid of them,
0:42:47 > 0:42:52because in time, they would have had us all.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57One American Commando shouted,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00"There are only two kinds of men on this beach -
0:43:00 > 0:43:03"dead ones and those who are about to die.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05"Let's get off the beach."
0:43:09 > 0:43:12I knew I had to go forward. If I was going to survive
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I had to get to that wall for self-protection.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21And many men, when they were dying, would ask for God or their mother.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28I've seen this happen time and time again.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36I used one dead man to another, crawled from one to another,
0:43:36 > 0:43:40crawled by a leg, an arm,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44and of course, all hell was breaking loose.
0:43:44 > 0:43:45It was just unbelievable.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53It's amazing, but one of the things I thought of was that, you know,
0:43:53 > 0:43:57in the United States, and all the people are going to work,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00and they're getting up and that there, and here we are.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19EXPLOSION
0:44:20 > 0:44:23We saw fear and panic there.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26They never would have gotten off the beach
0:44:26 > 0:44:27if it hadn't been for the 5th Rangers.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32In the heat of the battle, the second wave of US Rangers
0:44:32 > 0:44:36due to attack Pointe du Hoc had been diverted.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42They now landed on a less heavily defended part of Omaha Beach.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Due to the months of reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering,
0:44:45 > 0:44:47they knew precisely where they were.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Now all that time at the sand tables and the maps paid off.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53I knew exactly where I was.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56I landed...
0:44:58 > 0:45:03..probably right there, and went up above.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Here's the path I went up, and there's the little shack.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Those bluffs were covered with smoke when we got there.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16The smoke blinded the infantry above us and they couldn't shoot at us.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23By taking out the German machine gun nests,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27the Rangers helped prevent further slaughter on the beach below.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34At the same time, other Rangers were hunting down the artillery guns
0:45:34 > 0:45:36moved from the Pointe du Hoc.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42The senior man saw some wagon tracks, and he said,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46"Well, wagon tracks, heavy loads - that could be the guns."
0:45:46 > 0:45:50And he walked down there, about a half mile, and found the guns.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53By 9:30, they had found and destroyed the guns,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56plus they'd set up all the necessary road blocks.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08D-Day was now more than 12 hours old.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11Thousands of Allied troops had landed in Normandy.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22These fantastic aerial photos taken on D-Day
0:46:22 > 0:46:24show how the battle was progressing.
0:46:24 > 0:46:29This one here, taken on Omaha, shows that after the initial massacre,
0:46:29 > 0:46:31the Americans had managed to gain the upper hand
0:46:31 > 0:46:33and were now landing reinforcements.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36On the other four beaches, you can see similar things happening.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Landing craft going into the shallows,
0:46:38 > 0:46:42tanks and heavy equipment rolling off and pushing inland.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46Chillingly, you can also see lots of black dots
0:46:46 > 0:46:49spread across the beaches and on the waterline,
0:46:49 > 0:46:53and those are dead bodies, of men killed in the assault.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Despite the loss of life,
0:46:57 > 0:47:01the years of intelligence-gathering seemed to be paying off.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04But the Allies had also been lucky.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08The stormy weather lulled Nazi leaders into believing
0:47:08 > 0:47:11an invasion unlikely.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14Erwin Rommel, Commander in Normandy,
0:47:14 > 0:47:18was in southern Germany for his wife's birthday.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Even Hitler was slow to issue orders.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Without his authority, no-one dared act.
0:47:26 > 0:47:31But as D-Day wore on, a concerted counterattack was inevitable.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45It was now vital for the Allied troops to move inland
0:47:45 > 0:47:47and press home their advantage.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55But key targets identified by the aerial photographs
0:47:55 > 0:47:57still had to be overcome.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04One was a German bunker complex, codenamed Hillman.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08That's Sword Beach down there.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10You can see that line of fog.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12And these aerial photos are absolutely fascinating.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15They show that the Germans up here constructed
0:48:15 > 0:48:19a hugely significant position.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24You can see the trenches here, observation post, machine gun posts.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26So, in order for the troops to get off this beach
0:48:26 > 0:48:32and push inland, this would have to be neutralised.
0:48:33 > 0:48:39So this is the main entrance, all facing north towards the coast -
0:48:39 > 0:48:43a fantastic observation post, and it's brilliant.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45There are careful German diagrams here,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49showing all the notable landmarks with their exact distance.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53For example, that double steeple over there, that's La-Delivrande
0:48:53 > 0:48:55and it's 5,700 metres away.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58So an observer here can see enemy troop formations
0:48:58 > 0:49:05and then can phone down and give the artillery a precise bearing and a range.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08HE GROANS
0:49:08 > 0:49:13A huge plate of steel there, big thick walls,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16reinforced concrete, steel plating on the roof,
0:49:16 > 0:49:17three or four metres underground -
0:49:17 > 0:49:21this bunker was designed to be pretty much indestructible.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25It was clearly a battlefield command centre.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28You can see the wiring here, the communications,
0:49:28 > 0:49:32the maps on the wall. This is a place where all the information
0:49:32 > 0:49:34is gathered from the battlefield...
0:49:34 > 0:49:36SPEAKING IN GERMAN
0:49:36 > 0:49:39..and then action is taken - artillery is called down,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41air support is called for.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44This is where the German commanders would win or lose
0:49:44 > 0:49:46the battle for Normandy.
0:49:49 > 0:49:54Taking Hillman was the task of the Suffolk Regiment,
0:49:54 > 0:49:57but every attempt met fierce resistance.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59It wasn't successful to begin with.
0:49:59 > 0:50:05All sorts of armour was brought up - anti-tank guns,
0:50:05 > 0:50:10a Royal Artillery came - and everything that came up here
0:50:10 > 0:50:13and shot at the cupolas bounced off.
0:50:16 > 0:50:23And it was only after 'Titch' Hunter had run forward with his Bren gun,
0:50:23 > 0:50:26firing from the hip, that they capitulated.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33Out came the Commandant,
0:50:33 > 0:50:39and 70 men under guard that had given themselves up,
0:50:39 > 0:50:41all coming out with suitcases,
0:50:41 > 0:50:45and going back to a prisoner of war cage.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Advancing inland, the Allied troops faced another threat,
0:50:52 > 0:50:57one the photo analysts had underestimated - the bocage.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03The Germans hollowed out the backs of hedgerows
0:51:03 > 0:51:05and put machine guns underneath the hedgerow
0:51:05 > 0:51:07with just a little embrasure -
0:51:07 > 0:51:09a little firing port out the front -
0:51:09 > 0:51:10and you couldn't see them.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15A German could be on the other side and you wouldn't even know it.
0:51:28 > 0:51:29Where'd that come from?!
0:51:31 > 0:51:32Stay down!
0:51:36 > 0:51:39There was a German sniper
0:51:39 > 0:51:41and he'd got three men that morning
0:51:41 > 0:51:44and we couldn't figure out where he was.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49But anyway, I worked my way round.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59I was scared to death I'd make a sound, he'd turn round and blast me.
0:52:01 > 0:52:02TWIG SNAPS
0:52:06 > 0:52:08And I pumped six bullets in him
0:52:08 > 0:52:12and he was about dead, and he made a motion for a cigarette.
0:52:37 > 0:52:38And in a few minutes he was dead.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53I was glad I killed him, and I said, "This evens the score a little bit
0:52:53 > 0:52:55"for Dick Wright, because I loved Dick Wright."
0:52:55 > 0:52:58GUNFIRE
0:53:01 > 0:53:03EXPLOSION
0:53:06 > 0:53:08At the River Douve, the 101st Airborne
0:53:08 > 0:53:10were still holding on to the bridges.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17And they, of course, wanted to use those bridges
0:53:17 > 0:53:20to cross with their armour. They couldn't do it.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22I think we did a good job.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27I don't think I'm happy about what we did,
0:53:27 > 0:53:31but we did what we had to... What had to be done.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38This is just another classic example of what was going on
0:53:38 > 0:53:41right across the Normandy battlefield on D-Day -
0:53:41 > 0:53:45small groups of men involved in intense skirmishes,
0:53:45 > 0:53:50flare-ups of extraordinary violence that individually were isolated,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54but taken together had an absolutely decisive impact on the battle.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00In the East, advancing British Commandos reinforced
0:54:00 > 0:54:04the glider-borne troops who had captured Pegasus Bridge
0:54:04 > 0:54:05in the first few minutes of D-Day.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11We came to a huge open ground which led down to this place.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15Yeah, you should have seen the Paras throwing all their hats up
0:54:15 > 0:54:20in the air, yeah, and then we had to cross the bridge,
0:54:20 > 0:54:22- run across that bridge a bit lively. - Yeah.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26Cos they had a machine gun rattling away at it.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30- We was a minute, a minute or two late, that's all.- Yeah.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34- There was some naughty people stopped us trying to get there.- Yeah.
0:54:35 > 0:54:40Late in the day, Allied gliders flew in thousands of reinforcements.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44- The whole of the Airlanding Brigade came in.- Wonderful.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Hundreds and hundreds of gliders
0:54:46 > 0:54:49- and we're all digging in like mad, aren't we?- Yeah.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53- Suddenly - boom, boom, boom - the aircrafts are going off.- Yeah.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57Aircraft guns are going off and we saw all this whole crowd
0:54:57 > 0:54:59of gliders all coming in.
0:54:59 > 0:55:00Wonderful sight.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15As the sun set over Normandy on 6th June 1944,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17the Allies took stock.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21Not all the objectives had been met,
0:55:21 > 0:55:25but they knew they faced heavy fighting in the weeks ahead.
0:55:25 > 0:55:30As it was, they did not liberate Paris until August of that year.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32D-Day wasn't the end of the war,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35but it was perhaps the beginning of the end for the Nazis.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39As such, it was a day that shaped the future of the world.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47Two years of planning, millions of 3D photos,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50and the largely forgotten work of the photo interpreters
0:55:50 > 0:55:54at Medmenham had played a critical role in the invasion.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02156,000 Allied troops had landed in Normandy.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08A vital foothold in France had been secured.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17Normandy was something that we had to overcome,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21in order to get a hold on the Continent so we could win the war.
0:56:21 > 0:56:22That was the key.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27I never dared tell anybody else this,
0:56:27 > 0:56:30so this is very strictly between us...
0:56:31 > 0:56:36It was my utter surprise, because I landed precisely
0:56:36 > 0:56:42where I had in mind. That was the most amazing thing really.
0:56:44 > 0:56:50The countless acts of heroism and self-sacrifice had ensured victory.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56Over 4,000 soldiers had died in a single day.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01More than 10,000 were injured or missing.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03On Omaha Beach alone,
0:57:03 > 0:57:07at least 1,700 men had lost their lives.
0:57:10 > 0:57:15I don't know where the words are to ever describe it, but...
0:57:15 > 0:57:19when you think of all of the friends you lost...
0:57:24 > 0:57:27So many of them perished on that day,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29so soon after landing.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37When you stop and think of all the things they've missed,
0:57:37 > 0:57:42like the 60-something Christmases they missed,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45the opportunity to raise their families...
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Just what the price you pay when you lose your life fighting.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56Very few people who are called heroes
0:57:56 > 0:57:58believe themselves to be heroes.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03Most of us know that that was what we had to do,
0:58:03 > 0:58:07and we did it the best we could.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11You can't give more than your life, can you, for your country?
0:58:15 > 0:58:20Well, you think about your mates, that's all. Yeah, yeah.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24Get a bit emotional, like I am at the moment.
0:58:24 > 0:58:25Oh, sorry.
0:58:27 > 0:58:29Yeah.
0:58:51 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd