'Operation Overlord' Oval Supersize Commemorative Strike

More than 75 years ago on 6th June 1944 at 06:25 hours the order went out to the waiting troops. It was to become a defining moment in British history.

Codenamed 'Operation Overlord', the plan entailed landing nine divisions of sea and airborne troops, over 150,000 men, along a 60-mile stretch of Normandy coast in just 24 hours. With more than 11,000 aircraft, 6,000 naval vessels, 2 million soldiers, sailors and airmen from 15 countries, the invasion force assembled for Overlord was the greatest in history.

Winston Churchillcalled Overlord 'the most difficult and complicated operation that has ever taken place.' Overlord proved a psychological and physical blow to German military fortunes from which they would never recover. That momentous day has subsequently become one of the most crucial of the Second World War and will forever be remembered as the D-Day landings.