Australia Honours Heroes on 80th Anniversary of D-Day

Australian servicemen contributed to land, sea, and air attacks which turned World World II in the Allies’ favour.

Royal Marines of 47 Commando and civilians commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings by landing at a beach at Asnelles in Normandy, France, on June 6, 2024. Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Australian forces who participated in the D-Day invasion of the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 were remembered yesterday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the 80th anniversary of Operation Overload.

Mr. Albanese said in Parliament on June 6 that the anniversary was a reminder that the act that turned the tide of World War II in the Allies’ favour, “rightly holds a place in our collective hearts as one of the most extraordinary turning points in global history.”

D-Day is commemorated annually to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers who participated in the invasion from all of the Allied nations.

Memorials, museums, and cemeteries in Normandy and around the world serve as reminders of the successful invasion of Normandy which was a critical turning point in World War II.

Its success marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, as the Allies opened a Western Front by liberating France.

This forced Germany to fight a two-front war, which ultimately overstretched resources allowing for an Allied advancement from the West, and the Soviets from the east.

As part of a total fighting force of 156,000, approximately 3,200 Australian servicemen, spread across all branches of the military, took part in the assault on the south-east of the Cotentin Peninsula alongside combatants from the the United States, the UK and Commonwealth nations, as well as other allies.

Omaha Beach. Courtesy of Jim Birchall

Australia’s Part In The Invasion 

While much focus has traditionally been on the exploits of U.S. troops, Australian squadrons and personnel were embedded within Royal Air Force units, contributing to fighter, bomber, and coastal command missions.

Notable squadrons included No. 453 (RAAF) Squadron, which provided air cover for the invasion fleet.

The 460 Squadron’s Lancaster Bombers dropped ordinance on Utah Beach while mainly Canadian land units took control.

Further, 466 Squadron’s Halifax bombers flattened a significant battery, and Spitfires and Mosquito’s knocked out inland communications and put supply chains out of order. 

The Australian Navy also played their part, the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia and other vessels participated in naval operations leading up to and during the invasion, while antipodean soldiers attached to the British units participated in the ground assault. 

Ove 14 Australian serviceman lost their lives directly during Operation Overlord, and several hundred were killed in the days following excursions into France. 

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the sacrifice of Australians should not be forgotten.

“Our gratitude to them must never wane, our duty to them is to never drift into complacency, when peace is threatened in our times, our memory of them must never fade,” he said. 

“It is our honour as a nation, our privilege as a parliament to acknowledge, commemorate and pay tribute to the 3,200 Australians who were involved in D-Day.”

Mr. Albanese added that today’s Australians owe a lot to the brave actions of a few. 

“Cinema has given a sense of how it looked, yet what will always remain elusive to us is how it truly felt. The chaos, the noise, the desperation and, yes, the fear, yet also the determination, the camaraderie, the overwhelming sense of purpose,” he said.

“Eight decades on, we are reminded tragically often that peace is far from a foregone conclusion, yet as we remember D-Day, we are also reminded about one of the most important truths: peace is always worth fighting for.”