Gold Beach

In the military, D-Day is the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. The best-known D-Day is during World War II, on June 6, 1944—the day of the Normandy landings—initiating the Western Allied effort to liberate western Europe from Nazi Germany. However, many other invasions and operations had a designated D-Day, both before and after that operation. The terms D-Day and H-Hour are used for the day and hour on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. They designate the day and hour of the operation when the day and hour have not yet been determined, or where secrecy is essential. For a given operation, the same D-Day and H-Hour apply for all units participating in it. When used in combination with numbers, and plus or minus signs, these terms indicate the point of time following or preceding a specific action, respectively. Thus, H−3 means 3 hours before H-Hour, and D+3 means 3 days after D-Day. (By extension, H+75 minutes is used for H-Hour plus 1 hour and 15 minutes.) Planning papers for large-scale operations are made up in detail long before specific dates are set. Thus, orders are issued for the various steps to be carried out on the D-Day or H-Hour plus or minus a certain number of days, hours, or minutes. At the appropriate time, a subsequent order is issued that states the actual day and times. Other days such as A-Day (Battle of Leyte), L-Day (Battle of Okinawa) etc. have different meanings for the military. Other languages have terms equivalent to D-Day such as "Hari H" (Indonesian),Час Ч (Russian), Dagen D (Swedish), Dan D (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene), E eguna (Basque), Jour J (French), Lá L (Irish), Tag X (German), and Ziua-Z (Romanian). The initial D in D-Day has been given various meanings in the past, while more recently it has obtained the connotation of "Day" itself, thereby creating the phrase "Day-Day", or "Day of Days".

Asnelles (French pronunciation: [anɛl] ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.

Meuvaines (French pronunciation: [møvɛn'] ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was not ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and time of day, that meant only a few days each month were deemed suitable. Adolf Hitler placed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt placed Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower in command of Allied forces. The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 American, British, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialised tanks. The Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, Saint-Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five beachheads were not connected until 12 June; however, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were documented for at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.

The British Normandy Memorial is a war memorial near the village of Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. It was unveiled on 6 June 2021, the 77th anniversary of D-Day, and it is dedicated to soldiers who died under British command during the Normandy landings. The memorial records the names of 22,442 people from more than 30 countries under British command who were killed in Normandy from 6 June to 31 August 1944 .

Saint-Côme-de-Fresné (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ kom də fʁɛne] ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

Crépon (French pronunciation: [kʁepɔ̃] ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

The Manoir de Mathan is a manor house located in the town of Crépon in the Calvados region of France. The original structure was built in 1605, when it included a coach entry, which has since been removed. At that time, the manor belonged to the Hue de Mathan family after whom it was named. As well as the main house, there was a cellar, kitchen garden, and a bread oven in a separate outbuilding. A pond fed by a stream that flowed through the grounds completed the ensemble. The building's most notable characteristics are its grand stone staircase, and the triangular pediments above the doors and the entryway. A century after it was built, the west end of the building was extended to twice its original size; later a barn, storage building, and stables were added, arranged around a square courtyard. This is the current configuration of the manor. The building was raised slightly and a new entryway was constructed. An old-fashioned water pump has been preserved in the middle of the courtyard. The Manoir de Mathan has been noted in the general inventory of the cultural patrimony of Low Normandy.

The Ferme de la Rançonniere is a farm located in the commune of Crépon, Calvados department, Normandy, France. The first buildings were constructed in the 13th century, when the residence was called La Ferme de Biéville. At that time, Normandy was suffering from the tensions between the English crown and the kingdom of France, which eventually evolved into the Hundred Years War. Since at least 1463 the fiefdom of Biéville, to which the farm belonged, was in the hands of the Chastel family, whose coat of arms can be found on the fresco painted on the round tower. Most of the farm was reconstructed in the first part of the 17th century; the tower, which had lost its spiral stairway, is the only remnant of the original farm. In 1710, the farm was acquired by the de la Rançonnière family, to which it owes its current name.

The canton of Ryes is a former canton of the Calvados département in northwestern France. It had 12,033 inhabitants (2012). It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. The canton comprised 25 communes: Arromanches-les-Bains, Asnelles, Banville, Bazenville, Colombiers sur Seulles, Commes, Crépon, Esquay-sur-Seulles, Graye sur Mer, Longues-sur-Mer, Magny-en-Bessin, Le Manoir, Manvieux, Meuvaines, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, Ryes, Saint-Côme-de-Fresné, Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer, Sommervieu, Tierceville, Tracy-sur-Mer, Vaux-sur-Aure, Ver-sur-Mer, Vienne-en-Bessin et Villiers-le-Sec.

Bazenville (French pronunciation: [bazɑ̃vil] ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.Bazenville Airfield was a former World War II Advanced Landing Ground, mostly located outside the commune of Bazenville 1.8 km to the north-east. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bazenvillais or Bazenvillaises.

Ver-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [vɛʁ syʁ mɛʁ] , literally Ver on Sea) is a commune in the Calvados department and Normandy region of north-western France. It is situated at the eastern end of Gold Beach between Arromanches and Courseulles. The town lies 20 km north-west of Caen and 14 km north-east of Bayeux. As well as its beach, the village has a bakery, pony club, sailing club, shrimp fishery, small supermarket, tennis court, and youth hostel. It is also home to the America Gold Beach Museum. Ver-sur-Mer lighthouse, still active today, was built in 1908 on the heights above the beach. During World War II, Canadian troops swiftly seized the lighthouse; however, it was badly damaged and had to be restored after the end of the war. Ver-sur-Mer's church, which was constructed between the 10th and 12th centuries, is dedicated to Saint Martin.