The Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy involved more than 3,000 military personnel serving under British command, the majority from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) (Australian members of No. 196 Squadron pictured). Others served with the Royal Navy and British Army. After participating in the Allied landings on 6 June 1944, Australian air force and army personnel fought in the subsequent Battle of Normandy between June and August 1944, and an RAAF fighter squadron operated from airfields in Normandy. Throughout the campaign, Australian airmen provided direct support to the Allied ground forces by attacking German military units and their supply lines, as well as forming part of the force which defended the beachhead from air attack. Australians also indirectly contributed to the campaign by attacking German submarines and ships which posed a threat to the invasion force. Australia's contribution to the fighting in Normandy is commemorated in memorials and cemeteries in London and Normandy.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_contribution_to_the_Battle_of_Normandy
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1779:
Tekle Giyorgis I began the first of his six reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekle_Giyorgis_I
1807:
French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent for their Pyréolophore (diagram pictured), one of the world's first internal combustion engines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9olophore
1922:
The German protectorate of Togoland was divided into the League of Nations mandates of French Togoland and British Togoland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland
1940:
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, one of the first freeways built in the United States, opened to traffic, connecting downtown Los Angeles with Pasadena, California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroyo_Seco_Parkway
1999:
The Chinese government began a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
punctilious: 1. Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions. 2. Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/punctilious
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Five enemies of peace inhabit with us — avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace. --Petrarch https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Petrarch
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