Operation Neptune' was the codename for the naval component of 'Operation Overlord', the Allied invasion of France in June 1944. The task, to land safely 160,000 troops and ancillary equipment along a 50-mile stretch of coastline, was arguably the most formidable undertaking in military history. 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel were involved, in over 5,000 ships, with air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire support. The planning required for such a mammoth undertaking was inconceivably vast, and made all the more difficult by the demand for absolute secrecy. Success in this respect alone was an inordinate achievement. Operation Neptune: The Normandy Landings, 1944, written by a senior British naval officer only one year after the invasion, provides a unique and gripping insight into the conception, planning and successful execution of the largest amphibious invasion in history. It is illustrated throughout with over 130 photographs from the author's private collection