The Normandy Landings of 6 June 1944 were a major and decisive episode of the Second World War and have been, for more than sixty years, the object of countless books, films, investigations, reports and television series. However, is it known that D-Day was preceded by, on 27 April 1944, a tragic rehearsal that resulted in over nine-hundred deaths and which remained a secret for decades ? Is it known that the beautiful Lily Sergueiev, an artist and great traveller, was considered by the Allies as their best disinformation agent....and by the Germans as their most efficient agent in Great Britain ? Or is it known that, Lionel Crabb, the Royal Navy's star frogman, was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's character, James Bond ? Is it known that the Germans' favourite song Lili Marlene, was also very popular with the allied soldiers ? These are some of the surprising revelations contained in this book which is both original and informative, based on over half a century of research undertaken by Philippe Bauduin and which casts a new light on D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.

Fascinated by new technology that he discovered during the summer of 1944, a time when he was still a teenager, Philippe Bauduin went on to undertake a scientific career which notably led him to set up the GANIL in Caen (Large Heavy Ion National Accelerator). He is the author of seventeen books and numerous articles on various aspects of the Landings.

Jean-Charles Stasi has worked as a journalist since 1985 and is the author of twenty books, most of which deal with the Second World War. He was awarded the Prix Grand Témoin 2007 and the Grand Prix de la Légion d’Honneur 2008 for his book L’Épopée du Normandie-Niémen, co-written with Roland de la Poype.