World leaders and veterans have gathered at commemoration services around Europe, paying homage to those involved in the D-Day landings on the 6th of June, 1944.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the largest military seaborne offensive of World War II, in which Allied forces worked together to liberate France from Nazi rule.
The offensive and the fighting which followed would lead to the end of World War II, but it came at the cost of many lives.
World leaders have commemorated the D-Day anniversary at an event in Portsmouth, England. Source: The Canadian Press
It's a sacrifice Queen Elizabeth remembers well and in the English city of Portsmouth, where she said all those who fought in the D-Day offensive are a testament to the resilience of their generation - her own generation.
"Seventy-five years ago, hundreds of thousands of young soldiers sailors and airmen left these shores in the cause of freedom," she told the crowd.
"In a broadcast to the nation at that time, my father King George VI said, 'What is demanded from us all is something more than courage and endurance. We need a revival of spirit. A new unconquerable resolve.' That is exactly what those brave men brought to the battle as the fate of the world depended on their success."
More than 300 World War II veterans were in attendance along with leaders of the countries that fought alongside Britain: the United States, Canada, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland.
United States President Donald Trump also quoted the words of a former leader in his address: the U-S President in 1944, Franklin Roosevelt.
"Almighty God. Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavour. A struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilisation and to set free a suffering humanity," he said.
Veterans stand on stage during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth. Source: AP
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also in attendance, noting that the actions of the Allied nations also liberated Germany from Hitler.
She added that the sacrifices made in World War II are the reason Europe is now unified and at peace.
"That I, as Chancellor of Germany, can be present today to stand together for peace and freedom - that is a gift of history which we must protect and nurture today and it is in this spirit that we have today also carried out these ceremonies and these commemorations," she said, in German.
Across the English Channel, Allied and German soldiers also gathered at a memorial service at the German War cemetery in La Cambe, France.
Germany's Ambassador to France, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut said the actions of Nazi Germany are unforgivable and the German people are ashamed of such an atrocious time in human history.
"We Germans know our history, the horrors and the terror of National Socialism; and the Shoah – an unforgettable rupture of civilisation that we provoked in Europe," Mr Meyer-Landrut said, in French.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony at the Caen prison to pay tribute to French resistants. Source: AP
"We know the history of the soldiers that died – both simple soldiers and war criminals, heroes of Nazi propaganda, are buried here in La Cambe."
French President Emmanuel Macron also attended a smaller memorial service in the French city of Caen along with the larger ceremony in the UK.
Caen is the city in which close to 80 French resistance members were executed by the Nazis.
Mr Macron took the opportunity to not only thank the Allied forces for coming to France's aide, but to reiterate the importance of global unity.
