The definitive soldier-on-the-beach account of the greatest invasion in history. D-Day was the greatest invasion in history. An epic battle that involved 156,000 men, 7,000 ships and 20,000 armoured vehicles, the desperate struggle that unfolded on 6 June was, above all, a story of individual heroics - men who were driven to keep fighting, until the German defences were smashed and the precarious beachheads secured. In D-DAY Giles Milton paints a dazzling canvas of the opening day of battle, exploring the momentous events through the prism of those who took part. Sweeping from the principal architects at Supreme Command to the graphic testimonies of the men who struggled ashore on the morning of 6 June, his narrative lays bare the absolute terror of those on both sides trapped in the frontline massacres of Operation Overlord. In an overview that is both meticulous and vast, 'the longest day' is revealed as never before - less a masterpiece of strategic planning than a day on which thousands of scared young men found themselves staring death in the face - told through the eyes of those who took part, as we approach the 75th anniversary of the battle in 2019.