Duration: 58 minutes
More than 60 years ago, the fate of World War Two turned on five Normandy beaches. D-Day was the greatest amphibious invasion ever attempted and is remembered as a great victory. On Omaha Beach, however, it was nearly a disaster. History records that within hours 2,000 men were cut down, but Richard Hammond shows how new research has revealed that the actual casualty figures were more than double.
The story of D-Day has been retold in dramas such as The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan, but what really happened on Omaha Beach in June 1944? What was it like for the men who had to fight their way ashore, and how did they manage to win when so much seemed to go so wrong?
The re-emergence of an entire German battery, hidden under the Normandy soil for over 60 years, the discovery of a captured German map and the latest historical research reveals the startling turning point in a battle thought to be well-understood. A small group of men, in the wrong place at the right time, helped transform disaster into victory.
BBC TwoSun 6 Jan 2008 21:00 BBC Two except Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland (Analogue)
BBC OneTue 22 Jan 2008 02:50 BBC One except Channel Islands, HD, Northern Ireland, Oxfordshire, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire
BBC TwoSun 27 Jan 2008 23:25 BBC Two except Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland (Analogue)
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