24 Harrowing Photos From The Front Lines Of D-Day

"They fought together as brothers in arms; they died together and now they sleep side by side." —Adm. Chester Nimitz

On June 6, 1944, a coalition of 12 Allied nations launched the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Code-named "Operation Overlord," approximately 160,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel to gain a foothold on the heavily fortified, Nazi-held beaches of Normandy, France. When the guns finally fell silent, an estimated 10,000 allied soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing in action.

To mark the anniversary, here are some of the most striking pictures from the D-Day campaign.

Anonymous / AP

American soldiers crouch within their amphibious landing craft as they approach the Nazi-entrenched beaches of Normandy.

AP Photo / U.S. Army Signal Corps

U.S. paratroopers fix their static lines before a jump before dawn over Normandy.

Stf / AFP / Getty Images

Canadian soldiers land on Courseulles beach in Normandy. D-Day marks one of the world's most gut-wrenching and consequential battles: The Allied landing in Normandy led to the liberation of France, which marked the turning point in the Western theater of World War II.

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A group of U.S. soldiers, some in critical condition, reach Omaha Beach by using a life raft after their landing craft was sunk by Nazi artillery.

Via AP Photo

U.S. Army medical personnel administer a plasma transfusion to a wounded comrade, who survived when his landing craft went down off the coast.

After landing at the shore, these British troops wait for the signal to move forward.

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Wounded U.S. soldiers are treated for burns at a secure location on a Normandy beach.

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Parachutes and Airspeed Horsa gliders litter the fields of the 6th Airborne Division's Landing Zone near Ranville, on the morning of June 6 (left). Tracer fire (right) from many ships light up the night sky over the English Channel during the opening phase of D-Day.

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The bodies of eight American paratroopers lie outside the wreckage of their glider near Hiesville, France, after being shot down on the day of the invasion.

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AP Photo

A makeshift monument (left) to a dead American soldier is seen in the sands of Normandy. A Normandy youngster (right), seemingly confused as to which side the invading army was fighting for, gives the Nazi salute after American soldiers enter the town of Montebourg.

Keystone-france / Getty Images

American paratroopers, still clad in camouflage and covered in dirt from the battle, display the Nazi flag that they captured after liberating a French town in Normandy.

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A U.S. soldier holds a group of German troops and laborers at gunpoint in a ditch at Omaha Beach.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

A captured German officer explains details of a Nazi military map to members of the Allied Expeditionary Force.

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An armada of landing craft, boats, and seagoing vessels are seen delivering infantry supplies during the amphibious assault.

Anonymous / AP

British wounded are shipped back to England and dispersed to various hospitals.

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British soldiers inspect three German "Doodlebugs" — remote-controlled tanks, loaded with high explosives.

American reinforcements arrive on the beaches of Normandy from a Coast Guard landing barge on June 23. Their objective was to reinforce fighting units that secured the Norman beachhead and spread north toward Cherbourg.

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German soldiers are seen here being marched through the streets of Cherbourg after the city was liberated by the Americans.

AP Photo

French refugees, many of whom had not eaten for three or more days, are seen here receiving food from British troops.

Keystone / Getty Images

Three Lions / Getty Images

An American paratrooper and a French woman (left) enjoy a joke together in the shell-torn streets of Sainte-Mère-Église. An American GI (right) is sound asleep in a Normandy trench.

Himes / Getty Images

A wooden cross, a soldier's helmet, and flowers mark the grave of an American soldier who was killed in battle during the invasion of Normandy. A sign posted by French civilians reads "Mort pour la France," or "Died for France."