D-Day was arguably one of the most important days of the 20th century.  On June 6th, 1944, 156,000 allied troops stormed the beaches of France in the largest amphibious invasion the world has ever seen.  They went to face Hitler's 'impenetrable' Atlantic Wall, a series of defenses designed by General Erwin Rommel, a man respected by both sides as a brilliant solider.  Thousands of men would die in the attack, but the successful landing was the beginning of the end of Hitler's "Thousand-year Reich."  In 1994, to honor the 50th anniversary of the invasion, the History Channel broadcast a three part series on this historic event, D-Day:  The Total Story.

The three episodes in this series present a very complete picture of what occurred before, during, and after the troops landed on the coast of France.  The show does not focus on one area or country's actions, but gives a good overview of the entire operation.  Told through interviews with men and women who were there (on both sides of the conflict,) as well as talks with historians, the show is illustrated with a massive amount of archive footage.  The episodes are:

D-1:  The actual code name for the invasion of France was Operation Overlord.  The term D-Day doesn't actually stand for anything.  It was just a military term for the day that an operation would commence, and the hour it would start was designated by H-Hour.  So every operation had a D-day and an H-Hour.  But after June 6th, the term fell into disuse.  The invasion of France was so huge, that D-Day come to mean June 6th, 1944, and nothing else.

Before the boats were launched and the planes took off, the troops, American, British, Canadian, Free French forces and even some Poles, trained for years preparing for the invasion.  This show covers the training that the soldiers went through, and the logistics of assembling so many men and so much material.  It had good coverage of the glider planes that were used for the invasion.  These silent planes were nicknamed "flying coffins" because of their lack of engines, but played a vital roll in the operation.  The show talks about the tight time table and why June 6th was picked to launch the attack.

H-Hour:  With an operation as big as this one, some things were bound to go wrong, and many did.  But many key factors worked in the Allies favor.  The biggest was that they kept the element of surprise.  Rommel, who was to oversee the defenses, was back in Germany celebrating his wife's 50th birthday, and the German officers had been trained to never use their own initiative and not to move unless given direct orders.  But there were other things that didn't go as well.  Many of the paratroopers who were dropped behind enemy lines were in the wrong place and couldn't support the troops landing on the beaches.   (This actually turned out to work in the Allies favor, slightly.  The German command was getting reports of Allied soldiers parachuting in all over the region, and wasn't sure where the main force of troops were.)  The pre-landing bombing of the bunkers on Omaha beach was fouled up, with the bombers dropping their bombs inland and missing the bunker completely.  What has become known as 'the longest day' was a successful, though costly invasion.  (There were over 2000 causalities on Omaha beach alone, the scene of the fiercest fighting.)

Breakout:  After the invasion, there was still a danger that German troops could force the Allies back into the sea.  Pushing the Germans back as quickly as possible was a high priority.  But after the German troops recovered from their initial defeat, they were to put up heavy resistance.  The fighting through the hedgerows of France from field to field was very slow and bloody.  Also, the German tanks were a very formidable weapon.  They had a much bigger gun that would easily punch a hole in the side of a Sherman tank, and thicker armor that could withstand much more punishment.   But with the coordinated maneuverings of the British and American troops, the Allies managed to encircle the Germans in France, and capture a large part of their army.  The series ends after the victory of the Battle of Normandy, weeks after the actual invasion.

This series was very informative.  The entire operation was examined and many aspects were gone into with some detail.  The thing that really made this show special was the reminiscing of the people who were there.  They were able to fill in the details that history books often miss.  More than one person talked about the stench on the battlefields after an engagement; the smell of cordite and burned flesh.  Another interesting thing that I noticed is that none of the men referred to themselves as heroes.   They all called themselves 'survivors.'  Many people played up the fact that they were just performing their jobs and doing what had to be done.

The Germans that were interviewed had an interesting perspective on the invasion and the war, and I wish more time had been given to them.  Even though only one spoke English, I thought their comments really put things in perspective.

The program takes a decided antiwar turn at the very end.  They show clips with the old men remembering friends who had died nearly half a century ago.  They talk about how these young guys, many who had never been in combat before, had their lives cut short.  They never had children or grandchildren, and all their hopes and dreams just ended abruptly on foreign soil.  This was a very striking and poignant way to end this excellent series.
 

Audio:

The stereo sound was adequate, but not outstanding.  Since all of the archival footage that they presented was filmed without a soundtrack, the sounds of howitzers firing and planes diving were added in.  These were not very dynamic or earth shattering.  But seeing as this was made for television and first aired in 1994, I can see why they didn't put more emphasis on the audio portion, when the series was being made.  The dialog was clear and crisp, and there was no hiss or other common imperfections.

Video:

Since this series was created for television, its original aspect ration is 1.33:1.  The full frame video was adequate.  The archival footage shot during WWII looked very good considering the age and conditions under which the film was taken.  It actually looked better than I was expecting.  There are some print defects and some of it is lacking contrast or other common imperfections that effect old film, but these were minimal.  The contemporary interviews and video segments were a little on the soft side.  They were not as crisp and clear as I would have liked, but the set still looks decent.

The Extras:

This set is full of extras.  In addition to the three part series, there are four other hour-long (when telecast with commercials) programs presented in this set.

Biography:  Eisenhower:  Supreme Commander in Chief:  This episode of the award winning series Biography looks at the general in charge of planning the D-Day invasion.  It starts with his childhood in the Midwest, but soon progresses to his mediocre performance at West Point, and his life as an officer.  His military career up until WWII is covered fairly quickly, but a good deal is spent on his actions in Africa, Italy, and France.   They end up spending the most time on his post-war activities: the founding of NATO, his life in the private sector, and his two terms as President.  Hearing about his political philosophy and his actions as a leader during the Cold War were very interesting, especially when you compare it to the current administrations actions.  This was a nice overview of his life, even if they had to gloss over parts of it.

The True Story of the Screaming Eagles:  101st Airborne:  A history of this famous military unit.  Their first action as a unit was to parachute behind enemy lines before the D-Day invasion, and they have been taking tough assignments ever since.  It talks aobut the unit's actions in Vietnam, and the Gulf War.  The program is very comprehensive, and examining the commanders, the unit's utilization of helicopters, and the soldiers training.

Dear Home:  Letters from World War II:  This was my favorite extra, a very touching look at what the common soldiers were thinking and feeling.  Told in a style similar to the work of Ken Burns, they creators used vintage photographs and footage with voiceover narration to illustrate the life of the enlisted man.  Often very poignant, these letters give a face to the thousands of men that fought and often died in the war against Fascism.  It is an excellent show.

Battle Stations:  Sherman Assault:  Program traces the history of the Sherman tank.  From its design and fabrication on a Chrysler assembly line, to its duties in France, this show examines how this tank help turn the tide of the war.  One of the most interesting parts of this documentary was the short history of the tank before WW II.  It explained how the WWI tanks were large and bulky, but very slow and prone to breakdown.  So countries, including the US, invested in small, fast, mobile armored machines with smaller guns.  But when Germany come out with their tanks that had larger guns, the older models were rendered useless.   The program looks at the tanks used on D-Day and in the battle of Normandy afterwards, and the success of Patton's 3rd armored division.  There are interviews with men who manned the Shermans in France, and their recollections.   They mention the Sherman's shortcomings, but gloss over them to a large extent.  The thinner armor plating is mentioned, but the fact that Panzer had nearly twice the range of a Sherman wasn't.  Filled with archival footage and contemporary reenactments with a functioning Sherman, this was both informative and very interesting.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed watching this series.  With the entire set running over six hours long, there is a lot of information here, this is a very complete package..  The creators did a wonderful job coming up with the right mix of archival footage, interviews from survivors and talks with historians.  They show never got bogged down in detail, but was informative enough so you could understand the planning and reasons for the decisions that were made.  The extras enhanced the value of this set immensely.  I can't imagine a more thorough package about this part of the war.  Highly Recommended.