Operation NEPTUNE was the codeword for the naval side of the OVERLORD plan for the historic June 1944 landings in Normandy. Massive in its scale, its tasks were wide-ranging and varied, from beach reconnaissance, minesweeping, shore bombardment as well as the organisation of loading, assembly and disembarkation; it was also responsible for positioning two Mulberry artificial harbours and Pluto: the laying of the cross-channel fuel pipeline under the sea. Operation NEPTUNE may not have been a naval battle in the traditional sense, but it ranks as one of the greatest naval exploits in history. In this timeless book, Vice Admiral Schofield describes the great events of June 1944 which, as Captain of HMS Dryad, the Royal Naval shore establishment which housed General Dwight Eisenhowers Supreme Allied Headquarters before the landing, he witnessed at first hand.

VICE-ADMIRAL BRIAN BETHAM SCHOFIELD, CB, CBE served in the Royal Navy for 42 years rising to the rank of Vice-Admiral before retiring in 1950. In retirement he wrote numerous works of naval history including The Rescue Ships and the Convoys and Stringbags in Action (both in print with Pen & Sword Books) as well as the highly acclaimed The Russian Convoys and Navigation and Direction, the story of HMS Dryad. VICTORIA SCHOFIELD, who has written the Foreword for this 80th Anniversary edition, is Vice- Admiral Schofield’s daughter; her biography Wavell: Soldier and Statesman is in print with Pen & Sword Books. She has also written the two-volume official history of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) as well as works on South Asia, including Kashmir in Conflict and Afghan Frontier: at the Crossroads of Conflict.