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Watch Vintage Newsreel Footage of the D-Day Landings in Normandy

Archival footage of the invasion of Normandy was captured by professional film crews with 35mm cameras.

American troops helping their injured friends from a dinghy after the landing ship they were on was hit by enemy fire during the Allied invasion of France on D-Day
American troops helping their injured friends from a dinghy after the landing ship they were on was hit by enemy fire during the Allied invasion of France on D-Day | Fox Photos/Getty Images

On June 6, 1944, or what came to be known as D-Day, Allied troops carried out Operation Neptune—the code name for the landings on the beaches at Normandy. The invasion liberated France from Nazi Germany, and ultimately led to the Allied victory on the Western Front in World War II. D-Day can be read about in countless history books, and thanks to footage shot that day, it can be viewed online as it unfolded.

Global News’s YouTube channel features archival footage of the invasion of Normandy. The action was captured by professional film crews with 35mm cameras the day the Allies invaded. The public relations division of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), headed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower at the time, organized the filming. The motion pictures captured that day were later featured in news reels like the one below.

This video, which uses clips from the U.S. National Archive, starts with the military preparation leading up to the day. Ships, troops, and the amphibious duck boats that made the mission possible are featured. The news narrator says, “Never in military history has any campaign been so long anticipated, so much discussed, so thoroughly organized as the second front.” Later in the video, soldiers can be seen wading through the waters to invade Nazi-occupied France.

The amount of film captured at D-Day helped make it one of the most iconic events of World War II. You can watch the full video below.

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A version of this story ran in 2019; it has been updated for 2024.

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