Churchill's D-Day: The Inside Story (Hardback) - Richard Dannatt

The fascinating inside story of Churchill's D-Day, told through a ground-breaking collaboration between a world expert on Churchill and a highly decorated British general.

'This is a fascinating book which re-examines events that liberated and thus shaped the future of Europe.' Lord Soames, Winston Churchill's grandson

'An engrossing delight . . . Dannatt and Packwood have produced an account of Churchill's D-Day worthy of both the Great Man and the colossal event . . . Readers will greedily want more in the future from this superb writing partnership.' International Churchill Society

'Do you realise that by the time you wake up in the morning twenty thousand men may have been killed?'- Winston Churchill to Clementine Churchill, 5 June 1944

D-Day is rightly celebrated as a great triumph and a major turning point in the Second World War. But as Churchill knew, large-scale land and sea operations were fraught with danger and victory was not guaranteed. What would have happened if D-Day had failed? Would the outcome of the war have been different? And how much of its success was down to the leadership of one man?

Churchill's D-Day plunges us back in time to this knife-edge moment to witness events as they unfolded. Through documents and letters from the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, we get a vivid sense of the tremendous risks involved in the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, the largest land, sea and air operation ever staged. This authoritative new history combines the analysis of General Richard Dannatt, one of the most respected of Britain's contemporary military leaders, with the insight of Allen Packwood, one of the world's foremost Churchill experts. Together they reveal the intricacies of Churchill's thinking, the strength of his instrumental leadership, his precision planning and impeccable timing.

Original, illuminating and gripping, Churchill's D-Day demonstrates how the road to victory led directly from the beaches of Normandy to the streets of Berlin, ultimately securing our freedom.

About the Author

Richard Dannatt led the British Army during its most challenging time in the post-war era as it fought two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has written regular columns for the Sunday Telegraph, and lectures on leadership and current defence and security issues. He is Chairman of Trustees of the British Normandy Memorial, which will be the focus of the 2024 commemoration activities.

Allen Packwood is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, and the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre.