The film is shot in the style of a docudrama (with subtitles identifying the different participants), beginning in the days leading up to D-Day. It concentrates on events on both sides of the channel, such as the Allies waiting for a break in the poor weather and anticipating the reaction of the Axis forces defending northern France. The film pays particular attention to Gen. Eisenhower's decision to go, as Supreme Commander of SHAEF, after reviewing the initial reports of bad weather and reports about the divisions within the Oberkommando des Heeres as to where an invasion might happen or what their response should be.