D-Day and Portsmouth

The launch of the Normandy invasion from the harbour

Portsmouth and its dockyard played a central role in the planning and execution of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, established his advance headquarters at Southwick House, a country house a few miles north of Portsmouth, and it was from there that the fateful decision to launch the invasion was taken despite uncertain weather.

The dockyard at Portsea was a hive of activity in the weeks and months before D-Day. Warships, landing craft, transports and support vessels were repaired, fitted out and provisioned. The dockyard workforce, stretched by years of wartime demands, worked around the clock to ensure the fleet was ready. The harbour and the surrounding waters were packed with vessels as the invasion fleet assembled.

Troops from across the Allied nations were billeted in and around Portsmouth, waiting for the order to embark. Many embarked from The Hard and other landing points around the harbour. The scale of the operation was extraordinary: Operation Neptune, the naval component of the invasion, involved over 6,000 vessels of all types, including battleships, cruisers, destroyers, minesweepers, landing craft and merchant ships.

Portsmouth's geographical position, facing the Normandy coast across the English Channel, made it the natural choice as a principal embarkation port. The harbour's capacity, the dockyard's facilities and the transport connections by road and rail all contributed to its selection.

The D-Day story is commemorated in the D-Day Story museum at Southsea, a short distance from Portsea, which houses the Overlord Embroidery and an extensive collection related to the invasion. Within the Historic Dockyard, the National Museum of the Royal Navy also covers the D-Day operations. The anniversary of D-Day is marked each year with ceremonies and events in the Portsmouth area.