On June 6, 1944, Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy in northern France in the operation known as D-Day. More than 150,000 troops took part in the largest seaborne invasion in history, which marked a turning point in the war. Ahead of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Reuters photographer Chris Helgren compiled archive pictures taken during the 1944 invasion, and then visited the same places to photograph them as they appear today.
The Beaches Of Normandy, On D-Day And Today
![A combination photo shows U.S. reinforcements landing on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion near Vierville sur Mer, France, on June 6, 1944; and on the left, the same beach in August 2013.](https://gdb.rferl.org/dfb7e2c3-27e2-4826-8a05-c37616a2c4cd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A combination photo shows U.S. reinforcements landing on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion near Vierville sur Mer, France, on June 6, 1944; and on the left, the same beach in August 2013.
![On the right, a downed plane on Juno Beach in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, and on the left, the same beach as it appears today.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0d57734c-abc2-4a67-b683-7c07fd5e83d3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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On the right, a downed plane on Juno Beach in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, and on the left, the same beach as it appears today.
![On the right, U.S. troops wade ashore from a Coast Guard landing craft at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944; and the same beach in 2013.](https://gdb.rferl.org/de63e471-5833-4299-8ca8-d205c8d7c283_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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On the right, U.S. troops wade ashore from a Coast Guard landing craft at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944; and the same beach in 2013.
![On the right, U.S. Army reinforcements march up a hill past a German bunker overlooking the D-Day landing zone on Omaha Beach. On the left, young people hike past the same bunker.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6adf62f4-cbaf-4e9c-9ca1-52c24e1dafdf_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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On the right, U.S. Army reinforcements march up a hill past a German bunker overlooking the D-Day landing zone on Omaha Beach. On the left, young people hike past the same bunker.
![On the right, U.S. troops gather around a signal post used by engineers on the site of a captured German bunker overlooking Omaha Beach on June 7, 1944.](https://gdb.rferl.org/45a24ac4-0de3-4df4-a031-0e7d7c42ae06_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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On the right, U.S. troops gather around a signal post used by engineers on the site of a captured German bunker overlooking Omaha Beach on June 7, 1944.
![The church pictured here was was rebuilt under the Marshall Plan along with the rest of the Normandy town of Aunay-Sur-Odon. The village was flattened by Allied bombing raids.](https://gdb.rferl.org/02b7c0b1-d404-47c9-942b-46d4f1ec5fe4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The church pictured here was was rebuilt under the Marshall Plan along with the rest of the Normandy town of Aunay-Sur-Odon. The village was flattened by Allied bombing raids.
![U.S. troops make a battle plan in a farmyard near the D-Day landing zone of Utah Beach in Les Dunes de Varreville. They are surrounded by the bodies of cows killed by artillery bursts.](https://gdb.rferl.org/74196afd-a4c2-4ad0-9cf0-7d6e19f3a582_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. troops make a battle plan in a farmyard near the D-Day landing zone of Utah Beach in Les Dunes de Varreville. They are surrounded by the bodies of cows killed by artillery bursts.
![German prisoners of war, captured after the D-Day landings, are guarded by U.S. troops at a camp in Nonant-le-Pin on August 21, 1944.](https://gdb.rferl.org/831f21e8-fe1e-4614-a4b5-55ed785c5acd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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German prisoners of war, captured after the D-Day landings, are guarded by U.S. troops at a camp in Nonant-le-Pin on August 21, 1944.
![Allied forces move over a seawall at Utah Beach, near La Madeleine, Normandy, on June 6, 1944.](https://gdb.rferl.org/95bab933-051f-4772-bff8-f6725a3c4be4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Allied forces move over a seawall at Utah Beach, near La Madeleine, Normandy, on June 6, 1944.
![The supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaks with U.S. Army paratroopers at Greenham Common Airfield in England on June 5, a day before the D-Day landings.](https://gdb.rferl.org/9332ad0d-24d6-4918-a66a-6e1b1f7a7284_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaks with U.S. Army paratroopers at Greenham Common Airfield in England on June 5, a day before the D-Day landings.
![A Cromwell tank leads a British Army column inland from Gold Beach after landing on D-Day in Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2d7149c2-0f08-4e1d-9d9f-7e9ed7049ceb_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Cromwell tank leads a British Army column inland from Gold Beach after landing on D-Day in Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy.
![U.S. army paratroopers drive a captured German vehicle on D-Day in Carentan, France.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5ad90a68-10ce-4095-877c-c4e180a9705d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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U.S. army paratroopers drive a captured German vehicle on D-Day in Carentan, France.
![Canadian troops patrol the rubble-strewn Rue Saint-Pierre in the town of Caen after dislodging German forces.](https://gdb.rferl.org/624c3f47-1c57-4d9b-b9c1-86a89fa37299_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Canadian troops patrol the rubble-strewn Rue Saint-Pierre in the town of Caen after dislodging German forces.
![The body of a German soldier lies in the main square of Place Du Marche after the town was taken by U.S. troops.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ada94838-e5ed-4d65-b0e9-8d33e9901f81_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The body of a German soldier lies in the main square of Place Du Marche after the town was taken by U.S. troops.
![British troops keep watch across a destroyed square after German forces were dislodged from the town of Caen in July 1944.](https://gdb.rferl.org/626e6dfb-af8b-48dd-b09a-b98c1b71b00f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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British troops keep watch across a destroyed square after German forces were dislodged from the town of Caen in July 1944.
![On the right, U.S. Army Rangers surround a destroyed bunker two days after they captured the strategic site overlooking the D-Day beaches at Pointe du Hoc.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1793311c-e3fa-41d7-9f17-118a46fa949c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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On the right, U.S. Army Rangers surround a destroyed bunker two days after they captured the strategic site overlooking the D-Day beaches at Pointe du Hoc.
![German prisoners of war march along Juno Beach to a ship taking them to England after they were captured by Canadian troops on June 6, 1944.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c6efb06d-ff71-4fa4-9d00-172538856517_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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German prisoners of war march along Juno Beach to a ship taking them to England after they were captured by Canadian troops on June 6, 1944.