Gold, Juno, Sword

On 6 June 1944, the British Second Army landed on beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, along the coastal sector above the towns of Bayeux and Caen, its D-Day objectives. In a number of sectors, the landing was particularly hardfought in the face of stout resistance put up by the defending Germans bunkered in concrete positions that were still almost intact despite heavy bombardment. Some of these historic events took on epic proportions to the sound of Bill Mi//in's bagpipes and the advance of Lord Lovat's commandoes.

Part One of this lavishly illustrated 208-page album described all the coastal defenses, the setting for this battle, along with details of the forces involved. In this second part, we offer, from east to west, a step-by-step account of all these operations, and return to the scene of this tremendous upheaval of June 1944 to see the various places as they look today. This book is both a narrative of this page of history and a guide for visitors wishing to follow the story in the field.