Description

The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later Europe) from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.

More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high - more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded but more than 100,000 soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

Each coin is a precious keepsake honouring the 14,000 Canadians who were among the 150,000 Allied troops that landed on June 6, 1944, and salutes the forces that supported them by air and sea.