D-Day: The Unheard Tapes

This audio edition includes archived recordings from interviews taken with Second World War soldiers, as well as an Introduction and Epilogue read by the author.

A powerful, immersive account published for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and battle for Normandy, and tied into the groundbreaking BBC2 documentary series D-Day: The Unheard Tapes.

D-Day was bloody, chaotic and frequently terrifying. Its outcome was far from certain. And at its epicentre were tens of thousands of young men, many seeing their first active service. It was a single day that changed millions of lives. A critical turning point of the Second World War.

Using audio interviews from the archives of the Imperial War Museum and National World War II Museum, this immersive oral history describes what it was actually like to take part in the landings on 6 June 1944 and the weeks of ferocious fighting in Normandy that followed. British, American, Canadian and German veterans, as well as French civilians, speak of experiences they could never forget.

Stories include the forward observer hiding alone on Omaha beach, thinking of his wife as he waits to bring down fire on the German defenders. The commando racing to Pegasus Bridge. The Typhoon pilot who is about to be shot by the SS when he is saved by a Luftwaffe officer. The injured tank driver who risks his life to save five other crews. The German soldier haunted by the fact he was forced to abandon his dying friend.

In D-Day The Unheard Tapes Geraint Jones has skilfully brought the battle for Normandy to life in a vivid narrative that allows the voices of those who fought to shine through, authentic and unforgettable.