I have for some time been quite enthralled by this very dramatic military operation. Many aspects of Operation Overlord, which launched the Allies back into Nazi-occupied Europe in the summer of 1944, have been the subjects of intense historical interest. The complicated preparations for D-Day, indeed, for the whole military campaign to drive back the German army, contain many subjects for books, documentaries, films and online conferences.
The following is up to now one of the very best video documentaries I have ever viewed on the dramatic events of 6 June 1944.
It is titled - 6 JUN 1944 - The Light of Dawn (colourised version). It incorporates extensive video recordings of the days preceding Operation Overlord.
This page is devoted to the study of Operation Overlord, and will explore the use of numerous resources to gain deeper insight into the long and intense campaign that began just after midnight, the 6th of June 1944, "the longest day."
THE FAMOUS QUOTE ABOUT "D-DAY
“Believe me, gentlemen, the first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive! For the Allies, but also for the Germans, it will be the longest day ... the longest day.” – German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Rommel did not know that his ominous phrase "the longest day" would become the title of a best-selling book by Cornelius Ryan in 1959 and also a block-buster film in 1962.
MY RECOMMENDED WEBSITE
To get us started, here is the excellent, very useful, detailed and educational BBC website which I have found myself referring to over and over again.
IF YOU WERE THERE....
If you were a US paratrooper or British infantryman preparing yourself for battle the day before D-Day, you would look like this. You would also have received a reassuring letter from General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Wonder what the Supreme Allied Commander Allied Expeditionary Force would write to you? Needed to hear the voice of the General himself?
Here are the final, tense and anxious moments as your plane takes off on the late evening of 5th June, transporting you over from England to the battle fields of Normandy, France.
D-DAY IN NUMBERS