D-Day : June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II

D-Day is the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their lives ... [The author] reveals how the original plans for the invasion had to be abandoned, and how enlisted men and junior officers acted on their own initiative when they realized that nothing was as they were told it would be.;Defenders -- Attackers -- Commanders -- Where and when? -- Utilizing assets -- Planning and preparing -- Training -- Marshaling and briefing -- Loading -- Decision to go -- Cracking the Atlantic wall, the Airborne into Normandy -- "Let's get those bastards", the Airborne night attack -- "Greatest show ever staged", the air bombardment -- Long, endless column of ships, the Naval crossing and bombardment -- "We'll start the war from right here". the 4th Division at Utah Beach -- "Nous restons ici", the Airborne in the Cotentin -- Visitors to hell, the 116th Regiment at Omaha -- Utter chaos reigned, the 16th Regiment at Omaha -- Traffic jam, tanks, artillery, and engineers at Omaha -- "I am a destroyer man", the Navy at Omaha Beach -- "Will you tell me how we did this?", the 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day morning -- Up the bluff at Vierville, the 116th Regiment and 5th Ranger Battalion -- Catastrophe contained, easy red sector, Omaha Beach -- Struggle for the high ground, Vierville, St.-Laurent, and Colleville -- "It was just fantastic", afternoon on Omaha Beach -- World holds its breath, D-Day on the home fronts -- "Fairly stuffed with gadgets", the British opening moves -- "Everything was well ordered", the 50th Division at Gold Beach -- Payback, the Canadians at Juno Beach -- "Unforgettable sight", the British at Sword Beach -- "My God, we've done it", the British Airborne on D-Day -- "When can their glory fade?", the end of the day -- Glossary -- Appendix: Veterans who contributed oral histories or written memoirs to the Eisenhower Center. On the basis of 1,400 oral histories from the men who were there, Eisenhower biographer and World War II historian Stephen E. Ambrose reveals for the first time anywhere that the intricate plan for the invasion of France in June 1944, had to be abandoned before the first shot was fired. The true story of D-Day, as Ambrose relates it, is about the citizen soldiers - junior officers and enlisted men - taking the initiative to act on their own to break through Hitler's Atlantic Wall when they realized that nothing was as they had been told it would be. This is a brilliant telling of the battles of Omaha and Utah beaches, based on information only now available, from American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, from government and private archives, from never before utilized sources on the home front, gathered and analyzed by the author, who has made D-Day his life work. Ambrose's first interview was with General Eisenhower in 1964, his last with paratroopers from the 101st Airborne in 1993. Called the premier American narrative and military historian, Ambrose explains the most important day of the twentieth century. The action begins at midnight, June 5/6, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France to launch the invasion. It ends at midnight, June 6/7. Focusing on those pivotal twenty-four hours, this is the story of individuals rather than units. It moves from the level of Supreme Commander to that of a French child, from General Omar Bradley to an American paratrooper, from Field Marshal Montgomery to a British private, from Field Marshal Rommel to a German sergeant. Ambrose covers the politics of D-Day, from Churchill's resistance to the operation to Stalin's impatience and Roosevelt's concern. On the other side were Hitler's command structure, German policy, and the plot against the Fuhrer. This is the epic victory of democracy in winner-take-all combat. When Hitler declared war on the United States, he bet that the young men brought up in the Hitler Youth would outfight the Boy Scouts. Ambrose shows how wrong he was Stephen E. Ambrose's D-Day is the definitive history of World War II's most pivotal battle, a day that changed the course of history.D-Day is the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their lives, when the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of life are laid bare. Distinguished historian Stephen E. Ambrose portrays the faces of courage and heroism, fear and determination—what Eisenhower called “the fury of an aroused democracy”—that shaped the victory of the citizen soldiers whom Hitler had disparaged. Drawing on more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, Ambrose reveals how the original plans for the invasion had to be abandoned, and how enlisted men and junior officers acted on their own initiative when they realized that nothing was as they were told it would be. The action begins at midnight, June 5/6, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France. It ends at midnight June 6/7. Focusing on those pivotal twenty-four hours, it moves from the level of Supreme Commander to that of a French child, from General Omar Bradley to an American paratrooper, from Field Marshal Montgomery to a German sergeant. Ambrose's D-Day is the finest account of one of our history's most important days.

Stephen E. Ambrose draws from more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans to create the preeminent chronicle of the most important day in the twentieth century. Ambrose reveals how the original plans for the invasion were abandoned, and how ordinary soldiers and officers acted on their own initiative.

D-Day is above all the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their existence, when the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of life are laid bare. Ambrose portrays the faces of courage and heroism, fear and determination - what Eisenhower called the fury of an aroused democracy - that shaped the victory of the citizen soldiers whom Hitler had disparaged.

This monumental narrative provides a compelling portrait of the strategic dimesnions of the invasion that changed the course of the World War II, skillfully melding eyewitness accounts of American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, materials from government and private archives, and never-before-utilized sources from the homefront.

"AT THE BEGINNING of 1944, Nazi Germany's fundamental problem was that she had conquered more territory than she could defend, but Hitler had a conqueror's mentality and he insisted on defending every inch of occupied soil." See work: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL478604W