Historic build-up
10 Days to D-Day

ABC, June 6 at 8.30pm

Reviewer :: Cpl Cameron Jamieson



This is a brilliant documentary, but don't expect to see the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan.
Instead, you will be guided through the 10 days leading up to D-Day and the events of the day itself with amazing clarity and detail.

10 Days to D-Day dramatises the story of the lead-up to the invasion through a series of interviews, historical footage and re-enactments.

It features the experiences of 10 very different people whose lives were interwoven with events of that fateful day.

One of these characters is Dacre Smyth, an Australian serving as Gunnery Control Officer on HMS Danae.

Other characters include a spy, a double agent and a French resistance fighter.

Without a doubt, 10 Days to D-Day must surely be at the forefront of war documentary excellence.

The extraordinary attention to detail in the re-enactment sequences is typical of that which you would find in a British-made period drama.

This year is the 60th anniversary of D-Day and as the ranks of those who fought grow thinner, it is important to learn of the greatest invasion operation in modern history. After all, who will remember if we forget?