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

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-Dayis 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.

Stephen E. Ambrose, the Boyd Professor of History at the University of New Orleans, is Director of the Eisenhower Center and President of the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans. He is the author of numerous works of history, including Band of Brothers and Pegasus Bridge, as well as of a two-volume biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower. He lives in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Contents

Prologue

1 The Defenders
2 The Attackers
3 The Commanders
4 Where And When?
5 Utilizing Assets
6 Planning and Preparing
7 Training
8 Marshaling and Briefing
9 Loading
10 Decision to Go
11 Cracking the Atlantic Wall
The Airborne into Normandy
12 "Let's Get Those Bastards"
The Airborne Night Attack
13 "The Greatest Show Ever Staged"
The Air Bombardment
14 A Long, Endless Column of Ships
The Naval Crossing and Bombardment
15 "We'll Start the War from Right Here"
The 4th Division at Utah Beach
16 "Nous Restons Ici"
The Airborne in the Cotentin
17 Visitors to Hell
The 116th Regiment at Omaha
18 Utter Chaos Reigned
The 16th Regiment at Omaha
19 Traffic Jam
Tanks, Artillery, and Engineers at Omaha
20 "I Am A Destroyer Man"
The Navy at Omaha Beach
21 "Will You Tell Me How We Did This?"
The 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day Morning
22 Up the Bluff at Vierville
The 116th Regiment and 5th Ranger Battalion
23 Catastrophe Contained
Easy Red Sector, Omaha Beach
24 Struggle for the High Ground
Vierville, St.-Laurent, and Colleville
25 "It Was Just Fantastic"
Afternoon on Omaha Beach
26 The World Holds Its Breath
D-Day on the Home Fronts
27 "Fairly Stuffed With Gadgets"
The British Opening Moves
28 "Everything Was Well Ordered"
The 50th Division at Gold Beach
29 Payback
The Canadians at Juno Beach
30 "An Unforgettable Sight"
The British at Sword Beach
31 "My God, We've Done It"
The British Airborne on D-Day
32 "When Can Their Glory Fade?"
The End of the Day

Glossary
Endnotes
Bibliography
Appendix A: Veterans who contributed oral histories or written memoirs to the Eisenhower Center
Index

Maps
The Final Overlord Invasion Plan
German Strength in Western Europe
Landing Diagram, Omaha Beach
Utah Beach Airborne Assault on D-Day
The Allied Assault Routes on D-Day
Utah Beach Infantry Assault on D-Day
Omaha Beach First Wave Landings on D-Day
Omaha Beach Eastern Sector
Omaha Beach Evening of D-Day

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

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials