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Warm welcome on the Normandy beach as 47 Commando mark D-Day’s 81st anniversary
6 June 2025
Royal Marines were met on the sands of Normandy by flags and cheering schoolchildren rather than fire and fury as they commemorated D-Day’s 81st anniversary.
The green berets of Plymouth-based 47 Commando were greeted by the skirl of bagpipes, French civilians and schoolchildren on the beach at Asnelles – 81 years to the day their forebears stormed ashore to begin a daring two-day mission to seize a small fishing port.
Today’s marines – specialists in raiding and amphibious operations using a panoply of landing/raiding craft to land personnel and kit on hostile shores – handed out commemorative Commando comics and coins to youngsters before an 8½-mile march along the coast.
They are joined on the memorial walk by veterans, and members of the local community, retracing the historic route from Gold Beach to Port-en-Bessin, mirroring the journey made by the original commandos on June 6, 1944.
After spending the night just two miles outside the fishing village, the 420 men of 47 Commando launched their assault on the morning of June 7.
They successfully breached the outer defences, but encountered fierce resistance from two German flak ships in the harbour. The attack claimed the lives of 11 commandos and wounded 17 more.
Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the commandos displayed extraordinary courage and determination. Their heroic efforts led to the capture of Port-en-Bessin, though at a heavy cost: 46 men were killed and 70 wounded—an overall casualty rate of 25 percent.
Their sacrifices are remembered in a monument on the western edge of the village, where on the anniversary of liberation today’s 47 Commando personnel will join veterans, local residents, and dignitaries for a commemorative service, featuring a heartfelt performance by local children, who sang a song of gratitude to the commandos for freeing them from the Naziyoke.
Port-en-Bessin would go on to play a vital role in the Allied liberation of Western Europe as a terminal for the PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean) project, enabling the Allies to transport vast quantities of fuel from England to the front lines in France.