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June 6, 1944—known to us all as D-Day—is one of history’s greatest and most unbelievable military triumphs. It was the moment that turned the tide for the Allied forces and ultimately led to the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II, freeing Europe from the clutches of fascism and tragedy.
The story begins in the opening months of the 1940s, as Germany tightens its grip around eastern and western Europe, seizing control of entire nations on the ground and bombarding others into submission by air. Then, in 1943, as morale and resources start to wane, Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Casablanca to discuss a new plan for victory--a coordinated invasion of occupied France, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Failure, it is understood, is not an option. Over the next eighteen months, under the codename OVERLORD and a deep veil of secrecy, the large-scale action is organized, mobilizing soldiers across Europe by land, sea, and sky. And when the day comes, it was unlike anything the world has ever seen.
These moments and more are seen in real time, through the eyes of those who experienced them--the children and citizens whose towns are suddenly populated by troops training on the coast of England, the COSSAC planners bent over maps and meteorological reports, making sure every scenario is planned through, the airmen and paratroopers glancing out the sides of their planes ready to jump into occupied territory and fight, the intelligence operatives seeding disinformation with the enemy so that they don’t catch on to the Allied plan, the army correspondents and journalists taken along for the ride, unaware that they will have a front seat to history, the generals and leaders upon whom the weight of their mission rests, and the young men, with no idea of what awaits them, boarding landing craft bound for Normandy, ready to lay down their lives for a cause greater than themselves.
A visceral, page-turning drama, When the Sea Came Alive is the most comprehensive account of D-Day that we have yet to see, and an unforgettable, fitting tribute to the men and women of the Greatest Generation.
(book review taken from Amazon)
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