D-Day - Airborne Assault

In the early hours of D-Day, as the invasion fleet approached the beaches of Normandy, Allied parachute and glider-borne troops were dropped behind enemy lines to seize key points such as bridges, causeways and road junctions. Their orders were to hold these and to secure the flanks of the invasion until relieved by troops from the beaches. Later in the day, reinforcements arrived by glider at Landing Zones near Ranville and Ste-Mere-Eglise.
 
In the images presented here, gliders can be seen at rest in and around their Landing Zones and empty parachute canopies are visible, discarded by airborne troops after landing. The drops were not without cost, however, and the scars of crashed gliders and transport aircraft can be seen in fields around Ste-Mere-Eglise.