‘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.
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Reviews
Churchill's D-Day represents a remarkable and timely collaboration between General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff and Head of the British Army, and Allen Packwood, one of the most renowned experts on Churchill.
Importantly with 2024 marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings they have brought together some remarkable material which adds much new light to the greatest Combined Operation of all time.
Churchill was obviously deeply involved and heavily invested in the D-Day Operations from its conception through to its planning and execution.
This is a fascinating book which re-examines events that liberated and thus shaped the future of Europe.
As a subject of historical study, D-Day appears nearly close to being exhausted, save for the endless stream of inaccurate, stylised, but highly questionable movies and TV series that shows no sign of abating. It is invigorating, therefore, that Dannatt and Packwood have brought blockbuster flair to an enormously broad subject. The result is an engrossing delight, and it is immensely satisfying to know just how much more there is to explore about the motivation, circumstances, and challenges faced by someone as titanic and well known as Churchill on an even better-known day. 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.
A superb primer - and one of impeccable historical accuracy - on the events around D-Day.