PIC BY GUY HARROP. Woolacombe beach, Devon turned into a battlefield at the weekend when American G.I. re-enactors carried out a mock D-Day assault on the beach. The 2 day event marked the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Army Assault Training Centre which was established on 1st September 1943 on the beach to teach and train American infantry the tactics of amphibious assault in preparation for D-Day 6th June 1944.