Planning for Overlord

Symonds, Craig L.  Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings.  New York:
        Oxford University Press, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0-19-998611-8

Craig L. Symonds opens Neptune with President Roosevelt receiving word about Pearl Harbor.  He closes the book with the capture of Cherbourg and a summoning up of major personalities.  In between, he documents Operation Neptune which covers the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of continental Europe, specifically France.

Symonds provides the  documentation in this readable account of the planning that ended with Operation Overlord without overwhelming the reader.  He traces the evidence that shows how the "Germany First" objective was established.  He then demonstrates how the need to do something lead first to Operation Torch, and then the invasions of Sicily and Italy before Operation Overlord would take place.  He uses quotes, personal narratives, official documents and newly declassified material to provide the reader a sense of the decision making and planning at all levels that lead to the invasion of France on June 6, 1944.  He briefly covers the training for D-Day and the fiascoes that ensued.  He ends the book with a brief examination on how the planned operation compared to the actual operation (with more emphasis on events on Utah and Omaha than on Juno, Gold, or Sword).

In the final analysis, Symonds writes a very credible popular history of the back story of Operation Overlord.  Readers will appreciate the care Symonds used in crafting this book.