6th June 1944 saw the largest seaborne assault in human history: D-Day. While much has been written about the operation as a whole, little detailed attention has been paid to the battle for Sword Beach itself, the easternmost of the amphibious attack areas.

For this episode, I am joined by Stephen Fisher.

Stephen is a historian and archaeologist who specializes in military history. He is also the author of Sword Beach: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Forgotten Victory.

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As the Allied forces prepared for the monumental invasion of Normandy, concealing the massive build-up of troops in Britain from the Germans became increasingly challenging. To mislead German intelligence about the timing and location of the invasion, the Allies devised a series of elaborate deception plans. The most audacious of these schemes aimed to convince the Germans that the Normandy landings were merely a diversion. This ruse featured a fictitious army led by General Patton, complete with hundreds of realistic dummy landing crafts, tanks, and aircraft.

Joining me to delve into the intricate web of D-Day deception is Taylor Downing, author of The Army That Never Was: D-Day and the Great Deception.

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On the morning of May 20, 1941, the Germans launched Operation Mercury. The invasion of Crete was the largest airborne operation yet attempted during the war, with thousands of Fallschirmjäger deployed.

Key to the operation's success would be the capture of the airfield at Maleme. Outnumbered and having suffered horrendous casualties, when the airborne troops secured Hill 107, overlooking the airfield, it opened the door for reinforcements and, ultimately, the Allied withdrawal from the island.

For this episode, I'm joined by Robert Kershaw, a now-regular show participant who was last with us to discuss Dunkirk. He has a new book available, The Hill: The Brutal Fight for Hill 107 in the Battle of Crete.

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