Remembering D-Day through the eyes of the people of the time…
I’m sure you know, 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of the Normandy beach offensive, code named Operation Overlord, and as we pay tribute to the thousands of Allied troops who carried out the most ambitious military operation in history, our search for the perfect commemorative is over…
The D-Day Landings Newspaper book stands out with particular poignancy for its insight into the time without retrospection. The D-Day Anniversary Newspaper Book is a comprehensive collection of original accounts and authentic articles, covering the events that unfolded between the Allied invasion and the liberation of Paris which marked the beginning of the end of World War II.
The honesty of this piece is truly remarkable; reflecting exactly how major events were viewed and interpreted as they happened, in fact, it’s like walking in the shoes of the people who were there. Here’s just a small snapshot of some of the highlights…
Back in France at last!
The aim of Operation Overlord was to open a second front which would relieve pressure on the Soviet Union in the east, liberating France and disassembling German domination in Western Europe. A successful invasion would grant the Allies a foothold in northern Europe for the first time since 1940.
Deception campaigns, increased production of resources and a steady build-up of forces in Britain formed the three pillars of meticulous planning at the heart of Operation Overlord and such detailed planning proved to be essential…
Shortly after midnight on 6th June 1944, the Allied assault began with airborne and seaborne landings comprised of British, American and Canadian troops taking place on five code-named beaches. The Atlantic Wall fortifications provided some German resistance but the Allied deception campaign kept the threat away from Normandy and the landings were largely considered a success, but at a great cost.
From detailed descriptions of troop formations to German radio accounts of ‘the enormous swarm of Allied planes, which came over in enormous waves’ and home-front propaganda campaigns, this incredible newspaper collection leaves no forgotten moments and has an unbelievable ability to transport its reader to a bygone time.
The Strangest escapade of the war…
Covering everything, the book pays tribute to every aspect of the operation, including the secret scientists…
This particular escapade proved to be one of the vital links to the orchestration of Operation Overlord. With knowledge that a crucial part of the beaches was once an ice-age forest, there would be soft spots and the Allies needed to know exactly what sort of beach they would be landing on…
So, a party of eminent scientists raided the beaches of Normandy on their bellies, armed with instruments to collect sand and soil specimens ahead of the offensive and collected invaluable data for analysis without detection!
These fascinating accounts remain unknown to most of us and the book is the perfect way to keep these moments alive for generations to come.
Life begins once again…
Perhaps the most moving accounts are those which humanise the operation. Rich with photographs of young soldiers and broken villages, the book sensitively captures the actuality of the D-Day Landings and its enormous impact on human life.
Now, 120 A3 pages bursting with articles is quite something to behold and with accounts of the devastating Berlin bombing campaign alongside stories of small businesses reopening, the emotional scope of the book cannot be underestimated, revealing something new with every read. In fact, the book allows you to read about D-Day for the very first time, through the eyes of the wartime generation, exactly as events unfolded…
Of course, this is a tiny snapshot of the events documented in the D-Day Landings Newspaper Book, which acts as a window into the D-Day Landings we know so much and so little about, simultaneously. Complementing the importance of its content, the book is bound in premium black leather and embossed with gold wording, finishing this commemorative piece beautifully.
It is difficult to do justice to the powerful impact of this collection of articles without seeing it for yourself and holding history in your very hands but we have done our best with this short video…
To find out more about the ultimate D-Day commemorative, click here>>
