A powerful, immersive account of the D-Day landings and battle for Normandy tied into the groundbreakding BBC2 documentary series D-Day: The Unheard Tapes and published for the 80th anniversary.

‘Everybody who was involved in the invasion was afraid, basically. This is what war is about – it’s two groups of very frightened men facing each other’ Joe Minogue, Westminster Dragoons

D-Day was bloody, chaotic and frequently terrifying. Its outcome was far from certain. And at its epicentre were tens of thousands of young men, many seeing their first active service. It was a single day that changed millions of lives. A critical turning point of the Second World War.

Using audio interviews with British, American, Canadian and German veterans, as well as French civilians, this immersive new oral history describes what it was actually like to take part in the landings on 6 June 1944 and the weeks of ferocious fighting in Normandy that followed.

Stories include the forward observer hiding alone on Omaha beach, under the noses of the German defenders. The commando racing to Pegasus Bridge. The Typhoon pilot who is about to be shot by the SS when he is saved by a Luftwaffe officer. The German soldier haunted by the fact he was forced to abandon his dying friend.

Published for the 80th anniversary, in D-Day The Unheard Tapes military historian Geraint Jones has skilfully brought the battle for Normandy to life in a gripping and vivid narrative that allows the voices of those who fought to shine through, authentic and unforgettable.