The D-Day Landing Beaches are made up of five main beaches in Normandy which, on 6th June 1944, prior to the allied invasion, were given the code names Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno. These landings represented the largest seaborne invasion in history, with 156,000 allied troops landing across Normandy.

Pegasus Bridge was renamed from Pont de Bénouville, to pay tribute to the men of the British 6th Airborne Division, who seized it in the early hours of June 6, 1944. Seizing the bridges was essential to stop the German armour and infantry from crossing the canal and counter-attacking the eastern flank of the troops landing on Sword Beach.

The German AtlantikWall was one of the last major defence lines built in the last century. It was built by the German occupation forces in the period 1942-1944 along the coasts of France, the Channel Islands, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Denmark. During this period a total of 14,000 heavy, concrete bunkers were built.