Marc Laurenceau
Historian of the Normandy landings and battle
- Genesis of the D-Day Overlord site
I have visited, and continue to visit, the Normandy Historical Center, where I have met veterans who have taught me an essential value: passing on the flame of remembrance. This is why, in 2001, I had the idea of creating a website to share what I learned in the field and from books, and especially to pay tribute to the D-Day veterans. In July 2003, the first version of the D-Day Overlord website was launched.
In February 2005, a second version of the site was published to meet the many expectations of Internet users: a new design was launched, more than 1,800 historical and explanatory pages, new sections, veteran testimonies, and more detailed and corrected information. That same year, in July, the D-Day Overlord forum was launched: more than 100,000 messages have been exchanged by enthusiasts of this historical period.
Today, D-Day-Overlord has become a reference and represents the most visited website dedicated to the Battle of Normandy.
For several years, I have been conducting extensive research in archives across different countries to obtain as many documents as possible relating to Operation Overlord.
In May 2004, I participated in the creation of the book « Paroles du Jour J » by Jean-Pierre Guéno, director of Radio France publishing, who had already published the famous « Paroles de Poilus« . This book is composed of letters written by soldiers during Operation Overlord and the Battle of Normandy. Managing this website has given me the opportunity to participate in numerous projects related to the Battle of Normandy. In December 2003, the French National Center for Educational Documentation (CNDP, now the CANOPE network) of the French Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sports, contacted me to produce an educational DVD on the Normandy landings. In June 2004, the DVD « Marc Laurenceau Presents D-Day » was released through the CNDP network.
I regularly write articles for history magazines, such as Patrimoine-Normand and the Spanish magazine « Desperta Ferro ».
I participate in television shows as a D-Day specialist, such as:
– Eric Brunet’s show « Grains de sable de l’histoire » (regularly broadcast on RMC Découverte since June 2016);
– Serge Tignères’ series « Vestige de Guerre » (2020);
– coverage of the international ceremony on June 6, 2023, live from the sets of BFM Normandie;
– the special program « La Nuit la plus Longue » (The Longest Night), broadcast on France 2 on the evening of June 5, 2024, as if news channels had existed at the time.
– coverage for France 2 of the commemoration day on June 6, 2024, live from Utah Beach.
Several radio stations also invited me to appear on live broadcasts during the commemorations: in 2004 in Sainte-Mère-Eglise (France Bleu), in 2009 in Ranville (Europe 1), as well as in 2019 (Europe 1).
In August 2018, my first book, D-Day, Hour by Hour, was published by OREP. This bestseller, translated into English, German, and Dutch, was reissued just one year after its release.
A second book of over 1,100 pages, Historial du Jour J et de la bataille de Normandie, was published in May 2024 to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord. Awarded the Dumanoir Prize by the Rouen Academy of Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts, it represents the largest work describing in a single volume all the fighting from June 6 to August 25, 1944.
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