WAR WOUNDS

Part of the reason for historian Marty Morgan being such a stickler for the details when assisting Sledgehammer’s teams is that he spends a lot of his time on tour correcting popular misunderstandings. “Saving Private Ryan increased the amount of work I do leading tours in Normandy, but I spend almost as much time talking about it, and Band Of Brothers, as I do the things that actually happened.” Top of the list is the movie’s opening scene, which shows the lowest ebb of the D-Day landings on Omaha Beach – which, in reality, lasted for barely an hour of a day-long battle. “Saving Private Ryan has left this lingering impression that the battle of Omaha Beach was one big long slaughter from start to finish; that US troops were in exposed positions for hours upon hours being killed by enemy fire. But it’s not what happened.” Morgan also regularly disappoints tourists who ask when they’re visiting Ramelle, the French town that plays host to the film’s final battle. It doesn’t exist.

Concept art shows a guiding principle for COD: WWII’s visual style, which seeks to acknowledge that beauty exists in the darkest corners WWII historian Marty Morgan played a vital role in steering the drive for authenticity