How did the landing operations prepared by Churchill and Roosevelt from 1940 onwards, requested by Stalin in 1941, manage to catch Hitler by surprise even though he had known they were inevitable from as early as 1942 ? What were the crucial moments during the historic day which saw the opening of a second front ? How, after two months in Normandy when little headway was made, did the Avranches breakthrough at Avranches make the "Overlord invasion" the strategic decisive victory of World War II ? With the mature emotion of someone who has lived through such historic events, the author recounts the story of the preparation and execution of the operation that was to put an end to the totalitarian holocausts, liberate Europe and reestablish the world balance of power. Although fragile at times, the latter has nonetheless lasted for over fifty years.
