Normandy was the site of intense fighting. The Allies had made progress in France despite suffering major losses on several beaches, and the scattering of paratroopers across the French countryside.

World War II veteran Jake Larson meets youths during ceremonies at the US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings, Friday, June 6, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy.

(CNN) — Friday marks 81 years since D-Day, the first day of the Normandy landings that laid the foundations for the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day. Of 160,000 troops landing in Normandy on D-Day, 73,000 were from the US and 83,000 from the UK and Canada.

See D-Day in historic photos U.S. soldiers wade through surf and German gunfire to secure a beachhead during the Allied Invasion on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

D-Day veterans gathered in Normandy on Friday to mark the 81st anniversary of the pivotal military landing in World War II. Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of ...

The city of Caen was one of the most important targets for British forces landing in Normandy on D-Day. Recognizing the ...

Veterans are gathering on the beaches of Normandy to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings — a pivotal moment that eventually led to the collapse of Adolf Hitler’s regime.

World War II veteran Jake Larson meets youths during ceremonies at the US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings, Friday, June 6, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy.

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Veterans gathered Friday in Normandy to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings — a pivotal moment of World War II that eventually led to the collapse ...

The Allied forces also carried decoy campaigns to deceive the Germans and divert their attention away from Normandy on D-Day. 'D' in D-Day stands for 'day' and refers to the first day of the big ...