THE Basingstoke Gazette will this week launch a commemorative look at the south’s role in one of the most significant developments of World War II.

Operation Overlord, the allied assault on the German forces in northern France, changed the complexion of the war.

It was masterminded in Hampshire and launched 75 years ago on June 6 1944 from along the south coast.

On Friday, the Gazette will publish a special D-Day 75 commemorative book examining the region’s pivotal role in the operation. It will focus on first-hand accounts from some of the troops who stormed the beaches as well as some of the stories behind one of the most important ever military operations.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Pilots and other military personnel also tell of their involvement and there is a look at how Churchill, Eisenhower and Montgomery galvanised a force that changed history.

The book goes on sale in newsagents across Hampshire and Wiltshire.

It can also be ordered online by clicking

here

or over the phone at 0800 731 4900.

Priced at just £1.50, 15p from each sale will be donated to an armed forced charity.