Immortalised for a new generation in the graphic opening sequences of Saving Private Ryan, ‘Bloody’ Omaha Beach was almost an epic failure. Among the five beaches stormed as part of the 6 June 1944 D-Day assault, the Allied invasion met its greatest difficulty and uncertainty at Omaha Beach. Only at Omaha did the long anticipated Operation Overlord, and the re-entry of the Allied armies into France, threaten to fail in its execution.

Reviewing the preparation and planning by the various Allied assault groups designated for Omaha Beach, author Robert Parker provides a lively description of one of the greatest and most important military endeavours in all of world history. Concentrating on Day 1, he captures the drama, intensity, and struggle of this effort and the opening of the vital second front leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany, illustrated with seventy images and maps, many in colour.