The 9000 who never made it home, 1944.. The fallen


 This is an art piece dedicated to those who died on D-day. It was designed by Andy Moss and Jamie Wardley.

 It was created with the help of volunteers. It shows outlines of dead soldiers who died both attacking and defending the beaches of Normandy. The art piece was made in 2013.

D-day is one of the most infamous land invasions of all time. It consisted of American, British, Canadian, and other allied troops attacking the heavily defended coast of Normandy, France. 

It was divided into 5 different beaches codenamed Juno, Utah, Gold, Sword, and Omaha. The deadliest of all was Omaha. The Germans thought the Allies would land at Calais, as it is closest to Britain, but the Allies chose Normandy to trick the Germans.

9000 men lost their lives. Before the invasion, Allied planes dropped 13,000 bombs at the coastal defenses, but they all missed their targets, especially at Omaha Beach, which led to the highest death toll at 2,400. 

The bombs were meant to damage and destroy the coastal defenses, however, many of them missed, and the invasion had to go ahead as the weather conditions were good. 

The invasion was actually meant to begin prior to June 6th, but bad weather conditions delayed the attack.

D-day saw Allied troops storm the beaches in a desperate attempt to overrun the German defenses, all while a huge and intense amount of German machine gun fire rained down upon them. The Allies succeeded in their mission.

It’s known as The Fallen.

Around 500 volunteers participated in creating the art piece, including locals and tourists.

The artwork was temporary and was erased naturally by the tide, adding to its poignancy.

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