It was around the 1930s that many of the products, devices and concepts as we know them today have been discovered: antibiotics, radars, turbojets, plastics from rubbers and synthetic fuels, Radio... But we will have to wait until the beginning of World War II to make all these inventions and finally find their industrial development. This book tells the story of 50 discoveries, chosen arbitrarily among many others which, by allowing us to understand the great story through that of technology, sheds new light on what the gigantic Overlord operation was.

"So it was in the Thirties that numerous commodities, appliances and devices taken for granted today were discovered : antibiotics, sulphonamides, radar, turbo-jets, synthetic rubber, mineral oils, radiotelephony, and artificial intelligence... but only the outbreak of the Second World War could give rise to their development and industrial use. In the pages that follow is an account of 50 discoveries chosen at will from many others, that, in giving the reader a wider understanding of technological advance, sheds new light too, on the scale of Operation Overlord. Visitors to the Landing Beaches may thus appreciate how humanity as a whole has profited from all the inventions collated in the Battle of Normandy."

The Normandy Landings of 6 June 1944 were a major and decisive episode of the Second World War and have been, for more than sixty years, the object of countless books, films, investigations, reports and television series. However, is it known that D-Day was preceded by, on 27 April 1944, a tragic rehearsal that resulted in over nine-hundred deaths and which remained a secret for decades ? Is it known that the beautiful Lily Sergueiev, an artist and great traveller, was considered by the Allies as their best disinformation agent....and by the Germans as their most efficient agent in Great Britain ? Or is it known that, Lionel Crabb, the Royal Navy's star frogman, was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's character, James Bond ? Is it known that the Germans' favourite song Lili Marlene, was also very popular with the allied soldiers ? These are some of the surprising revelations contained in this book which is both original and informative, based on over half a century of research undertaken by Philippe Bauduin and which casts a new light on D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. Fascinated by new technology that he discovered during the summer of 1944, a time when he was still a teenager, Philippe Bauduin went on to undertake a scientific career which notably led him to set up the GANIL in Caen (Large Heavy Ion National Accelerator). He is the author of seventeen books and numerous articles on various aspects of the Landings. Jean-Charles Stasi has worked as a journalist since 1985 and is the author of twenty books, most of which deal with the Second World War. He was awarded the Prix Grand Temoin 2007 and the Grand Prix de la Legion d'Honneur 2008 for his book L'Epopee du Normandie-Niemen, co-written with Roland de la Poype.

A major event of the Second World War, the landing of June 6, 1944 has been, for more than seventy years, the subject of countless books, films, surveys, reportages and TV series. Nowadays many are aware of the unprecedented technological achievements implied in the planning and construction of two artificial harbours, or of the heroic sacrifice of the Rangers under Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder's command, who stormed the Pointe du Hoc; or again of the martyrdom the of GIs of the 29th and 1st Divisions of the American infantry on Omaha Beach, which went down in history by the sad name of "Bloody Ohama ". But did you know that the D Day was preceded in late April 1944 by a similar event that took place off the Slapton Sands coast, in Devon, and that caused the death of more than seven hundred soldiers, yet remaining a secret for decades? Did you know that the beautiful Lily Sergeyev, artist and traveller, was considered by the Allies one of their best agents... and by the Germans as one of their most effective spies in Britain? Did you know that Lionel Crabb, sentinel diver of the Royal Navy on the Normandy coast, inspired Ian Fleming to create the character of James Jump? Did you know that the US troops, when completely surrounded in Mortain, were supplied with penicillin, morphine and plasma by dropping empty bomb shells stuffed with chocolate bars used as a cushion to avoid damages? Did you know that Lili Marlene, the Germans' favourite song, was also popular among Allied soldiers? These are only some of the original and instructive revelations you will find in this book, which is based on the rigorous research carried out in over half a century by Philippe Bauduin, who is passionate about the Landing and the Battle of Normandy since his childhood, and is author of a dozen books on the subject as well as numerous articles.

More than seventy years after the end of World War II, many grey areas still surround this period. By launching Juvincourt, August 2, 1944, the first aerial reconnaissance mission for the Arado 234 jet, the eye of the V-2, Hitler played his last card. These striking aerial photographs, taken that day, showed the entire allied positions and lead to the decision to counterattack at Mortain. Curiously, these pictures disappeared from U.S. official archives for half a century. After a long process of research and investigation, Philippe Bauduin, former director of Anvar Lower Normandy, and Eric Charon, journalist, demonstrate, with supporting evidence, that the Battle of Normandy proved an extraordinary challenge for the Allies and the Germans. This new edition of a book also includes the personal photographic archives of two Arado pilots, Sommer and Goetz. French Language