To mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, historian James Holland takes us through the depths of the operation, the brutal 77 day Battle for Normandy that came after the initial invasion. Holland challenges some of the myths that come to surround this vital campaign, arguing that we have become all too comfortable in our understanding of these events.

As veterans gather to relive one of the turning points of the Second World War, historian James Holland moves beyond the D-Day beaches to reassess the brutal 77-day Battle for Normandy that followed the invasion.

This story is about the challenge for both sides to adapt to conditions in a campaign of carnage that has rarely been acknowledged.

More than just well trodden tales of heroic struggle, it is also the story of two competing military doctrines: one ill-prepared for the organisational demands of a long battle, the other in the process of building the greatest military machine ever seen.