D-Day: A beginner's guide
The 60th anniversary of D-Day – the invasion of mainland Europe by the Allies, codenamed Operation Overlord, which began on 6 June 1944 – has created huge interest in the achievements of that period and the memories of those who took part.
Here you will find the results of our sifting through the thousands of websites that deal with the 'longest day' – from overviews of the massive operation to the spies who actively deceived Hitler.
- Overviews
The broad sweep of history: large websites stuffed with information on the invasion and its participants. - Museums
Places in the UK, France and the US where you can see artefacts of Operation Overlord. - Eyewitnesses
The invasion in the words of those who took part or were otherwise affected by it. - Tragic predecessors
The Allies prepared for D-Day with a raid on Dieppe and an exercise on the Devon coast. Both resulted in great loss of life. - D-Day in the air and at sea
We usually connect D-Day with soldiers landing on the Normandy beaches. Here are the stories of the sailors and aircrew who helped them. - Spies and saboteurs
The men and women who risked their lives to make life difficult for the German occupiers of France. - Deceiving Hitler
How the Nazis were led to believe that the invasion would happen elsewhere. - Miscellaneous
War cemeteries, two poets, a D-Day game, information on Churchill and on where the military bigwigs laid their heads.
