SCOTLAND’S contribution to the success of D-Day came in many and varied forms, though above all it was the fighting prowess of soldiers, sailors and airmen that made the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the turning point of the Second World War.

WHAT PART DID SCOTLAND PLAY?

THE land itself was vital to the preparations for D-Day. Operation Overlord, as the D-Day invasion was named, was many months in preparation.

Even before the planning began, Scotland was already home to the bases where many troops were trained, including the commandos and special forces who would play a crucial role on the day itself.

People across Scotland knew about the training but never spoke about it. It was a proud boast of this nation that Germany’s intelligence services never appreciated the sheer scale of what was going on.

From Achnacarry in Lochaber where the commandos were trained to Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire where the armoured units practised, great swathes of Scotland provided the perfect background for the armed forces of Britain, the US and their allies to prepare for D-Day.

Inveraray in Argyll was the centre for amphibious warfare training, while the Gareloch became the US Navy’s base.

Landings were practised at beaches around Scotland. The Mulberry Harbour which became the temporary ports after D-Day were built on the Clyde and tried and tested at Garlieston on the Solway Firth where part of one discarded harbour can still be seen at Wigtown Bay.

Many more locations in Scotland were used for everything from paratrooper training to naval exercises.

WHAT ABOUT THE GREAT BLUFF?

ONE of the biggest secrets of the war was Operation Fortitude North. Part of the overall project to deceive the German military, Fortitude North was based around Edinburgh and the Forth and was designed to make German intelligence think the invasion of Europe would be via Norway.

The bluff used a fake Operation Cockade, an “army” based at Edinburgh Castle to trick the Germans. Fake radio traffic – Operation Skye – was invented and newspapers even carried false wedding announcements to make it look as if there were large numbers of troops in Scotland getting married in a hurry as they were about to invade Europe.

Commando raids on Norway from Scotland in early 1944 helped to convince the Germans that the invasion would be in the north of their Fortress Europe. It worked – the German army kept 13 divisions in Norway even after D-Day as they were sure an invasion of Norway was still coming from Scotland.

WHAT ABOUT TIREE AND THE WEATHERMEN?

FOR months before D-Day, a force of converted Halifax bombers flew from Tiree far out into the Atlantic measuring temperatures and pressures. The information they gained proved vital in one of the big decisions of the war, one taken by a Scotsman, Group Captain James Martin Stagg, from Dalkeith. Knowing what weather was coming in from the Atlantic, Stagg advised the Allies’ Supreme Commander General Dwight D Eisenhower not to proceed with the planned invasion date of June 5, but to delay for 24 hours. He was accurate in his predictions that there would be a weather window for D-Day.

ON THE DAY ITSELF?

ONE of the first Scottish officers to land in France on D-Day was Lieutenant-Colonel – later Brigadier and Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire – Alistair Pearson, commander of the 8th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, who were ordered to destroy river bridges at Troarn inland from the invasion beaches.

Pearson was shot in the hand by one of his own men as they landed, but insisted on retaining command. He later told the story of waiting breathlessly for the sound of the naval guns pounding the Germans, set for 5.45am prompt. No sound came and Pearson thought they were done for, only for massive explosions to start a few seconds later – they had forgotten to calculate the time for the sound to travel inland. He received his fourth Distinguished Service Order for his role in Normandy.

The most famous Scottish servicemen to take part in D-Day had their roles immortalised in the film The Longest Day. Brigadier Simon Fraser, the 15th Lord Lovat, and his 1st Special Service Brigade of commandos came ashore on Sword Beach, piped on to the beach by Lovat’s personal piper Bill Millin. They began to march towards the strategically important Pegasus Bridge which had been captured by the British 6th Airborne Division. Lovat and Millin went forward to the bridge where Lovat famously apologised for being two minutes late. German snipers drew a bead on Millin the piper but did not shoot as they thought he was mad.

For most of the Scottish participants it was a quick dip in the sea followed by a sheer bloody slog. The 51st Highland Division came ashore in the afternoon and quickly moved several miles inland. Other regiments followed and the beachhead was secured. There would be no going back, and certainly not for the 84 Scots who died on D-Day.

They above all must be remembered on this day.