crusade, one of the greatest of all times. their mission is the story of an epic battle and the ferocious eternal struggle between good and evil. on the 6th of june 1944 they joined a liberation force of awesome power and breathtaking scale. after months of planning, the allies had chosen this ancient coastline to mount their campaign to vanquish the wicked tyranny of the nazi empire from the face of the earth. the battle began in the skies above us in the first tense midnight hours 1,000 aircraft roared overhead with 17,000 allied airborne troops preparing to leap into the darkness beyond these trees. then came dawn.