D-Day Collection
21 Episodes
6th June, 1944, the Allies embark on the liberation of Europe. Explore the events of Operation Overlord with our specially selected documentaries.
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56:30Episode 1
D-Day - 24 Hours in Normandy
Episode 1
At 07.37 on 6th June 1944, the ramps of the landing craft carrying the men of A and D companies 6th battalion Green Howards went down, and the men stormed up the beaches.
It was D-Day.
Now Dr James Rogers is going to put D-Day under the microscope, following in the footsteps of the men of the ...
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51:12Episode 2
D-Day: Secrets of the Solent
Episode 2
On 6 June 1944, Allied forces undertook the largest air, land and sea invasion in history. On D-Day, more than 150,000 allied troops stormed five assault beaches in Normandy, attempting to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
Whilst the remnants of the D-Day landings can be seen all around No...
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9 Remarkable D-Day Photos Colourised by Marina Amaral
Episode 3
Marina Amaral is a Brazilian artist. Her remarkable colourisations of original photographs have been compiled in the recent book The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850-1960, authored with Dan Jones. In this video, some of the most famous photographs of the Allied landings during Ope...
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43:46Episode 4
D-Day with James Holland
Episode 4
James Holland, author of Normandy ‘44: D-Day and the Battle for France, answers the key questions surrounding D-Day.
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16:52Episode 5
D-Day Minus One
Episode 5
Before the masses arrived by sea on D-Day, the brave few came from the air. This archive documentary follows the operations of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, who landed behind enemy lines to prepare the way for the D-Day landings.
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22:31Episode 6
D-Day: As It Happened
Episode 6
An immersive documentary of how the Allied landings on D-Day unfolded from midnight to late afternoon on 6 June 1944. Using extensive archive footage, veteran interviews and expert interviews this will get viewers closer to what happened during the Normandy landings, as it happened.
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Uncovering the Band of Brothers, Episode 1
Episode 7
80 years ago, millions of American soldiers started arriving in Britain, a friendly invasion that was here to prepare for the liberation of Europe. Amongst them was Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment - that would become the famous Band of Brothers. Now, a team of volunteers, in...
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Uncovering the Band of Brothers, Episode 2
Episode 8
80 years ago, millions of American soldiers started arriving in Britain, a friendly invasion that was here to prepare for the liberation of Europe. Amongst them was Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment - that would become the famous Band of Brothers. Now, a team of volunteers, in...
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03:45Episode 9
D-Day Deception: Operation Bodyguard
Episode 9
British deception before D-Day was such that it tricked the Germans into concentrating their forces around the Pas-de-Calais, rather than near the beaches of Normandy. Blow up tanks, scarecrow paratroopers and dropping tin foil all contributed to creating a huge diversion and helped secure the be...
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Behind the Photograph: Taxis to Hell and Back
Episode 10
At c.7.40am 6 June 1944 Robert F Sargent took one of the most famous photographs from D-Day - and the whole of the Second World War - on a landing craft at Omaha Beach. This is the story behind the photograph.
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07:37Episode 11
Consolidating in Normandy
Episode 11
Once the beach heads were secure on 6 June 1944, the Allies faced a huge battle for the domination of northern France. Despite landing over 1 million men and having vast air superiority over the German defenders, the Battle for Normandy continued for two more months. In August, several German arm...
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10:03Episode 12
Tank Mission World War Two
Episode 12
A US War Department film details the vital role of tanks in defeating the Axis during World War Two, particularly in Europe. Not only were tanks deployed for punching through enemy lines, but also mine and obstruction clearance and supporting engineer units. Sourced via AP Archive.
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07:13Episode 13
The Spirit of France
Episode 13
Having been defeated by Nazi Germany in the Battle for France of April and May 1940, French resistance fighters carried on the underground struggle, causing difficulty for the German occupiers, and supplying the Allies in Britain with much needed intelligence in the build up to D-Day. An archive ...
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20:43Episode 14
5 Great Speeches By Allied Leaders on D-Day
Episode 14
Many Allied political leaders and generals delivered remarkable speeches on D-Day, here are 5 of the greatest.
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04:17Episode 15
Liberating Armies Invade Normandy
Episode 15
This short film includes contains remarkable footage from several beaches on D-Day - but particularly Sword. You can clearly see just how tiny some of the Allied beach heads were in the immediate aftermath of the invasion - a huge amount of men, tanks, guns and supplies were being shipped into ve...
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28:19Episode 16
D-Day Veteran Interviews: Frederick Bates
Episode 16
History Hit subscriber Nathan Portlock Allan interviews Fred Bates who was a Private landing on Gold Beach on D-Day. In this poignant interview, Bates recalls what it was like for the young men who stormed the beaches and remembers those who were left behind.
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11:21Episode 17
D-Day Veteran Interviews: George Skipper
Episode 17
Recently Dan met D-Day Veteran and Chelsea Pensioner George Skipper at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. After being called in to the British Army in 1940 as an eighteen year old, by June 1944 he was already a veteran of the North African campaign. During the D-Day landings, George and his regiment lan...
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17:02Episode 18
D-Day Veteran Interviews: Bill Fitzgerald
Episode 18
Recently Dan met D-Day Veteran and Chelsea Pensioner Bill Fitzgerald at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. After enlisting with the British Army as an eighteen year old in 1944 Bill reveals the extraordinary preparations he and his fellow recruits went through for D-Day with the famous 7th Armoured Divi...
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15:10Episode 19
My D-Day: Ken Cooke
Episode 19
Private Ken Cooke, from York, of 7th Battalion The Green Howards, is a D-Day veteran and fought in battles across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. He sat down with History Hit tell tell us about his experiences in Normandy 78 years ago.
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23:15Episode 20
D-Day Veteran Interviews: WarGen
Episode 20
A series of four D-Day veteran interviews from WarGen - an online repository of oral history from the people who lived through World War Two. Short versions of these interviews with Arthur Davis, Ken Stone, Harry Appleton and Jack Bracewell also feature in our documentary D-Day: As It Happened.
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D-Day: The Soldier's Story, with Giles Milton
Episode 21
Giles Milton and Dan Snow discuss D-Day: The Soldier's Story, for the History Hit book club.