IN July 1943, more than 100,000 soldiers descended on Pembrokeshire to prepare for the D-Day landings.
Saundersfoot, Tenby and Amroth were taken over by the military for the practices, leading to the areas being under military control for a number of weeks to allow them to carry out the 13-day exercise which saw 16,230 tonnes of supplies brought ashore.
It was on these Welsh beaches that Exercise Jantzen was carried out to provide the troops with a rehearsal of the D-Day landings and so the beaches were full of army landing crafts.
Village life was turned upside down during this period for those living close by. A curfew was put in place and all correspondence out of the villages was censored. Anyone visiting the area was told to leave and a number of the larger buildings were commandeered for military use.
A number of the local hotels were used as billets for the military personnel, while St Brides Hotel was turned into a Signals Training School for the Royal Marines.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill was even on location to watch the rehearsals.
Here are some images that capture the exercises.
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