D-Day was the culmination of four years of planning and preparation that began in the summer of 1940 when Britain stood alone and under imminent threat of German cross-Channel invasion. Charles Messenger's vivid study of the landings and subsequent campaign chronicles the gradual evolution of the invasion plan, encompassing the intelligence efforts, the Ango-US strategic debate over where the Allies should attack, and the elaborate deception put in place to fool the Germans about the true D-Day objective. The build-up culminates in a day-by-day account of the landings by sea and by air on the beaches of Normandy--Utah,Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword--and the ensuing grim struggle for six weeks to break through the German defenses.At the heart of this fascinating re-creation of the D-Day campaign are seventy-one maps in full color, which incorporate the latest computer technology. Many are in fact based on the very same maps used by the Allies in 1944. Specially commissioned reconstruction drawings and 82 contemporary photographs help bring the beaches of Normandy to life.