At first light on the 6th of June 1944, the Allies launched Operation Overlord, the largest combined land, air and sea operation ever. This invasion, designed to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi oppression, would be forever known as D-Day. The assault was a tremendous gamble and the element of surprise was critical to success. Through a tangle of intrigue and deception, the Allies convinced Hitler that the real invasion would not occur at Normandy but instead would fall at the Pas de Calais, 150 miles from the true invasion site.

The preparation for the operation was intense and the assault phase of Operation Overlord was a tremendous victory for the Allies. They had broken the vaunted Atlantic wall and established a foothold on the continent. Soon afterwards they were celebrating the liberation of Paris. Between the two events were 80 days of war and its uncertainty. The story of these three phases, the build up, the assault and the breakout are the real story of D-Day, Operation Overlord.

This compelling story is retold using archival images, including rare color footage from the Library of Congress, coupled with the thoughts of the men and women who actually participated in these historic events. They tell the story of Operation Overlord as it occurred sixty years ago, when the world came together in conflict on the storm swept beaches of Normandy.