Then and now: What the Normandy beaches of the D-Day landings look like 70 years on

  • D Day
Left: Allied troops help each other onto Omaha Beach after their landing craft was sunk. Right: A tourist enjoys the sun in the same spot. Credit: Reuters

Seventy years ago, allied forces underwent the largest seaborne invasion in history, landing 24,000 British, US and Canadian troops on occupied French beaches in an operation that marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

These pictures compare the scenes on those Normandy beaches during wartime to the same spots 70 years on.

Omaha Beach

US reinforcements land on Omaha beach during the Normandy D-Day landings. Credit: Reuters
Youths seen enjoying what once was the D-Day landing zone of Omaha beach near Vierville sur Mer, France. Credit: Reuters / Chris Helgren

Sword Beach

British troops seen approaching Sword Beach in 1944. Credit: Imperial War Museum
A peaceful Sword Beach pictured in 2009. Credit: Flickr / Parapluie under Creative Commons

Utah Beach, La Madeleine

US Army soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, move out over the seawall on Utah Beach. Credit: Reuters
French bathers walk over the remains of a concrete wall on the former Utah Beach D-Day landing zone. Credit: Reuters / Chris Helgren

Omaha Beach

Allied Army reinforcements march up a hill past a German bunker overlooking Omaha Beach. Credit: US National Archives
Holidaymakers hike up the hill past the same German bunker 70 years on. Credit: Reuters / Chris Helgren

Weymouth, Dorset

The 2nd Battalion US Army Rangers march to their landing craft in Weymouth. Credit: Reuters
The Weymouth Esplanade pictured in August 2009. Credit: Google Street View

Omaha Beach

Members of an American landing party assist troops whose landing craft was sunk by enemy fire off Omaha beach. Credit: US National Archives
A tourist carries a bucket and spade on the same spot on Omaha beach in 2013. Credit: Reuters / Chris Helgren

Caen, Normandy

Canadian troops patrol along the destroyed Rue Saint-Pierre after German forces were dislodged from Caen in July 1944. Credit: National Archives of Canada
Shoppers walk along the rebuilt Rue Saint-Pierre in 2013. Credit: Reuters / Chris Helgren

Juno Beach

A crashed U.S. fighter plane is seen on the waterfront some time after Canadian forces came ashore on Juno Beach in 1944. Credit: National Archives of Canada
Today tourists enjoy the sunshine on the former Juno Beach D-Day landing zone. Credit: Reuters / Chris Helgren
A veteran takes an emotional walks on the sands of Juno Beach in Normandy in 2004. Credit: PA