El día D de Churchill

by Allen Packwood, Richard Dannatt, Gonzalo García (translator)

 “Do you realize that by the time you wake up in the morning twenty thousand men may have been killed?” – Winston Churchill to Clementine Churchill, 5 June 1944  From the world’s greatest collection of his personal papers comes the genesis, execution, and aftermath of D-Day through the eyes of Winston Churchill himself. In Churchill’s D-Day, Allen Packwood, one of the world’s foremost Churchill experts, and Richard Dannatt, former leader of the entire British Army, narrate and analyze Sir Winston Churchill’s emotional turmoil and epic decision-making before, during, and after the world-defining action of D-Day. Culled from the official Churchill Papers at the Churchill Archives Centre, the book features historical documents, photographs, letters, and more, for a documentary, hour-by-hour, Churchillian experience of D-Day leadership, military strategy, and humanity.   

As dawn breaks on June 6th, 1944, the landings from the greatest armada of ships ever assembled begins at 0630hrs. Overnight paratroopers from the British 6th Airborne Division secure the eastern flank of the landing zone with the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Division securing the western flank to reduce the risk of German counter attacks.  

The Allied battle, codenamed Operation Overlord, has begun to take shape.  

When Great Britain awakes to the news of the landings on their radios, the expectation to make a formal statement to the House of Commons lands on the shoulders of their Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. While Churchill is aware of the huge responsibility he bears for the British soldiers and French civilians, and while he knows his political opponents will question his leadership, no one else in the world is aware of the conversations, innermost thoughts, deliberations, and decisions he’s been making and will continue to make on this day. Everything hangs in the balance. 

Churchill’s D-Day provides exactly that living history, an unprecedented opportunity for readers to experience the Invasion of Normandy as the British Bulldog experienced it himself.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War II

384 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book to be informative and interesting

[R J Mckay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by Goodreads for my honest opinion.
This book recreates and explains the most important battle in modern history; D-Day. It shows Churchill’s internal conflict as well as his powerful resolve to make this invasion succeed. I was drawn in by his internal comparisons to past failures and his overwhelming appeal to the British citizens to stand strong and fight. I found it odd that some of the facts given were dramatically different from other books I’ve read on World War II, but this may be a case of the truth evolving from the eyes of the beholder. Regardless, I enjoyed reading this book. It presented many new stories and events from other viewpoints that I will continue to research.

[DAB-E · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this book shortly after finishing the Splendid and the Vile. As a result, many of the names of the top British players were familiar to me.

It is obvious that the author did a tremendous amount of research to put this book together. It is not an easy read. I found that I could only read a few pages at a time and often needed to reread sections to keep all of the names of the people and the codenames of the military plans straight. Having said that, if you are interested in WWII history, this makes a good history book.

There were several things that I did not know that I learned reading this and I thank the author and goodreads for that.

[Laura Camacho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winston Churchill, una figura omnipresente en la historia, parece no tener secretos a estas alturas. Sin embargo, El día D de Churchill nos sorprende al apartar al político para mostrarnos al hombre que carga con el peso de decisiones bélicas que afectan miles de vidas. No obstante, a pesar de su riqueza narrativa, la estructura con tantos subcapítulos interrumpe el ritmo, haciendo que la lectura pierda fluidez. Aunque no alcanza las cinco estrellas, sigue siendo una lectura digna de explorar para quienes buscan conocer a Churchill desde otro ángulo.

[David Tice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable overview of Churchill’s roles in, and options about, Overlord and D-Day. Draws primarily from other sources. Also throws in a couple of seemingly random personal experiences in an attempt to, I guess, make D-Day more relatable - but they just add short random diversions from their overall story. Other than that, recommended for anyone with an interest in D-Day, Overlord, or Winston.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always good to revisit history to give one perspective. While not perfect Churchill was a true leader we needed at such a time at which he led. Worthwhile read for all history buffs.

[Celso Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro que aborda de maneira profunda toda a abordagem de Churchill com relação ao dia D. Mostra desde a sua visão estratégica da guerra na Europa e sua preferência pelo ataque pelo Sul, principalmente para resguardar os interesses imperialistas britânicos, como seu receio da reação dos franceses frente à destruição provocada pela preparação e execução da invasão via Normandia, além da questão do risco de alta letalidade do lado dos invasores. Livro ótimo para compreender mais sobre as relações dos Aliados no planejamento e preparação da operação Overlord.