Histories concentrate on the landings in Normandy and subsequent operations. The massive effort involved in planning and preparing for the landings is often ignored. Most of the preparations took place in just five months, an incredible achievement. One wonders if we could manage this today! The talk includes the selection of the invasion area, planning, asseembling the forces, command and control, logistics, security, deception, training, the movement plans, fire planning, Mulberry harbours, Pluto pipeline and many other aspects of this fascinating subject.