The Allied landings on the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944, have assumed near-mythic status in the annals of World War II. Now Olivier Wieviorka brings the Normandy campaign back down to earth in a balanced and honest account that narrates the titanic enterprise from the planning stages to the Allied entry into Paris. In addition to describing the landings with precision and drama, Wieviorka covers the planning and diplomatic background, Allied relationships, German defensive preparations, morale of the armies, economics and logistics, political and military leaders, and civiliansα and soldiersα experience of the fighting. Surprisingly, the landing itself was not the slaughter the general staff expected. The greater battle for Normandy waged on farmland whose infamous hedgerows, the bocage, created formidable obstacles and took a severe toll not only in lives lost, but on the survivors who experienced this grueling ordeal.

"Originally published as Histoire du débarquement en Normandie : des origines à la libération de Paris, 1941-1944, © Éditions du Seuil, janvier 2007"-- From the reverse of the title page.

Introduction: Return to France -- Allies, not friends -- Preparing for war -- Planning for D-Day -- Logistics, training, rehearsals -- Strategies and stratagems -- The other side of the hill -- D-Day, H-Hour -- To win a battle -- Stalemate -- Psychoneuroses -- From Avranches to Paris -- The Battle of France - and France's battle -- Liberation and liberated -- Conclusion: Farewell to Crusades?.