This day, June 6, 2024, will be a day of honor for our Navy. On the one hand, the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, together with the Minister of Defense, Nikos Dendias, will visit the Lorient shipyards, where the first Greek frigate Belharra “Kimon” will begin sea trials in a few weeks, on the other hand, the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, known as ‘D-Day’.

Our country participated in Invasion of Normandy with our Navy, with two ships, the corvette “TOMBAZIS” and “KRIEZIS”, with a total crew of 155 men, which contributed significantly to the successful outcome of the operation, without any injuries among the Greek crews. Let’s not forget that the Commander of the ship “KRIEZIS”, Grigorios Pavlakis, at an anniversary ceremony in France in 2004, was honored with the title of Knight of the Honor of the French Republic.

June 6, 1944 it was probably the most decisive day of World War II with the Allied landing of Americans, British, Canadians, Free French, etc. under the supreme command of the American General Dwight Eisenhower. A landing, which took place on a coastal front to a significant degree protected and was to change the course of history as well as strategic thinking, but at the same time to confirm classic lessons of Geopolitics.

The total landing force amounted to 1,200 warships, 4,126 landing craft, 10,000 aeroplanes, 804 transport ships and 156,000 men of which 132,000 were transported by ship to the Normandy coast and 23,500 by aeroplane. Directly and immediately, 3 million personnel worked on the military operation in Normandy, showing that, apart from the vanguard forces, large numbers of civilian and military personnel contributed mainly at the logistical level. Tens of thousands of articles, studies, theses, plans, book volumes etc. have been written for this particular day.

The landing took place on five main beaches codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The fighting was fierce, especially at Omaha and Juno Beach, where the Allied forces met stiff resistance from well-fortified German troops. Despite heavy losses, the Allies managed to capture the beaches and advance into the interior of France.

‘D-Day’ was not only a military victory but also a symbol of unity and cooperation between the allied nations. The courage and self-sacrifice of the soldiers who took part in the landing inspired generations of people and underlined the importance of freedom and democracy. The success of “D-Day” was the turning point that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and ended the war in Europe.