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Bedford Boys : One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice June 6, 1944: Nineteen boys from Bedford, Virginia--population just 3,000 in 1944--died in the first bloody minutes of D-Day. They were part of Company A of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division, and the first wave of American soldiers to hit the beaches in Normandy. Later in the campaign, three more boys from this small Virginia town died of gunshot wounds. Twenty-two sons of Bedford lost--it is a story one cannot easily forget and one that the families of Bedford will never forget.
Juno Beach : Canada's D-Day Victory On June 6, 1944 the greatest armada in history stood off Normandy and the largest amphibious invasion ever began as 107,000 men aboard 6,000 ships pressed toward the coast. Among this number were 18,000 Canadians, who were to land on a five-mile long stretch of rocky ledges fronted by a wide expanse of sand. Code named Juno Beach. Here, sheltered inside concrete bunkers and deep trenches, hundreds of German soldiers waited to strike the first assault wave with some ninety 88-millimetre guns, fifty mortars, and four hundred machineguns. A four-foot-high sea wall ran across the breadth of the beach and extending from it into the surf itself were ranks of tangled barbed wire, tank and vessel obstacles, and a maze of mines. Of the five Allied forces landing that day, they were scheduled to be the last to reach the sand. Juno was also the most exposed beach, their day’s objectives eleven miles inland were farther away than any others, and the opposition awaiting them was believed greater than that facing any other force. At battle's end one out of every six Canadians in the invasion force was either dead or wounded. Yet their grip on Juno Beach was firm.
Montgomery As Military Commander During the last century and a half, in fact, there has been no one in the British Army to surpass him for sheer professionalism or sustained success in the field: and that is why, in spite of all his weaknesses and limitations, he has every claim to be accepted, without cavil, as Wellington's heir.Wartime friction with American commanders has led to considerable diminution of Montgomery's reputation in the United States since the end of World War II. This is a pity since many of his ideas have once again become relevant; indeed, the progress and final outcome of Desert Storm held few surprises for those who had studied El Alamein. Montgomery's careful husbanding of his available manpower in the war's last campaign also strikes a familiar chord at a time when, at least in the Western democracies, the domestic political impact of battlefield casualties frequently outweighs military considerations.El Alamein and the final campaign in Europe after D-Day are the foundations of Montgomery's military reputation, and Ronald Lewin effectively cuts through much of the confusion generated by Montgomery's own personality quirks to arrive at a balanced appreciation of the man and the commander. From his days as a junior officer in World War I to the German surrender in 1945, Lewin examines the life experiences that shaped Montgomery, both as a battlefield tactician and as a trainer and inspirer of troops.
Normandy to Victory During World War II, U.S. Army generals often maintained diaries of their activities and the day-to-day operations of their command. These diaries have proven to be invaluable historical resources for World War II scholars and enthusiasts alike. Until now, one of the most historically significant of these diaries, the one kept for General Courtney H. Hodges of the First U.S. Army, has not been widely available to the public. Maintained by two of Hodges's aides, Major William C. Sylvan and Captain Francis G. Smith Jr., this unique military journal offers a vivid, firsthand account detailing the actions, decisions, and daily activities of General Hodges and the First Army throughout the war. The diary opens on June 2, 1944, as Hodges and the First Army prepare for the Allied invasion of France. In the weeks and months that follow, the diary highlights the crucial role that Hodges's often undervalued command -- the first to cross the German border, the first to cross the Rhine, the first to close to the Elbe -- played in the Allied operations in northwest Europe. The diary recounts the First Army's involvement in the fight for France, the Siegfried Line campaign, the Battle of the Bulge, the drive to the Roer River, and the crossing of the Rhine, following Hodges and his men through savage European combat until the German surrender in May 1945. Popularly referred to as the "Sylvan Diary," after its primary writer, the diary has previously been available only to military historians and researchers, who were permitted to use it at only the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, the U.S. Army Center for Military History, or the U.S. Army Military History Institute. Retired U.S. Army historian John T. Greenwood has now edited this text in its entirety and added a biography of General Hodges as well as extensive notes that clarify the diary's historical details. Normandy to Victory provides military history enthusiasts with valuable insights into the thoughts and actions of a leading American commander whose army played a crucial role in the Allied successes of World War II.
Omaha Beach The Allied victory at Omaha Beach was a costly one. A direct infantry assault against a defense that was years in the making, undertaken in daylight following a mere thirty-minute bombardment, the attack had neither the advantage of tactical surprise nor that of overwhelming firepower. American forces were forced to improvise under enemy fire, and although they were ultimately victorious, they suffered devastating casualties. Why did the Allies embark on an attack with so many disadvantages? Making extensive use of primary sources, Adrian Lewis traces the development of the doctrine behind the plan for the invasion of Normandy to explain why the battles for the beaches were fought as they were. Although blame for the Omaha Beach disaster has traditionally been placed on tactical leaders at the battle site, Lewis argues that the real responsibility lay at the higher levels of operations and strategy planning. Ignoring lessons learned in the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters, British and American military leaders employed a hybrid doctrine of amphibious warfare at Normandy, one that failed to maximize the advantages of either British or U.S. doctrine. Had Allied forces at the other landing sites faced German forces of the quality and quantity of those at Omaha Beach, Lewis says, they too would have suffered heavy casualties and faced the prospect of defeat.
Voices of D-Day In 1983 the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans began a project to record the recollections of as many people as possible -- civilians as well as soldiers -- who were involved in one of the most pivotal events of the century. Skillfully edited by Ronald J. Drez and first published on the fifty-year anniversary of D-Day, the award-winning Voices of D-Day tells the story of that momentous operation almost entirely through the words of the people who were there.

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America at D-Day "On radio station KNX in Los Angeles the tune of the moment was "I'll Always Remember the Forget-Me-Nots in Your Eyes." In New York's Times Square the clock read 12:37 A.M. America was about to learn the news: D-Day had begun." "Fifty years after history's most ambitious amphibious landing, this gripping chronicle captures not only the blow-by-blow fighting in Normandy, but how the fighting affected those at home...and how a long, secretive season of planning had kept everyone, including the Germans, in the dark." "Drawing on the actual words of the soldiers, journalists, sailors, and medics who were cast up on the beaches of France, America at D-Day presents a heroic panorama of courage and loss, confusion and coordinated military brilliance. From the difficult crossing of a storm-swept English Channel to the chaotic landing of U.S. soldiers...from the siege of Pointe du Hoc to the savage fighting on Omaha Beach - "Bloody Omaha" - this is the electrifying story of the battle that would be won only by "the slimmest of margins," but that would change the world forever."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
American Nightingale : The Story of Frances Slanger, Forgotten Heroine of Normandy Of the 350,000 American women in uniform during World War II, none instilled more hope in American GIs than Frances Slanger. In Army fatigues and helmet she splashed ashore with the first nurses to hit the Normandy beach in June 1944. Later, from a storm-whipped tent amid the thud of artillery shells, she wrote a letter toStars and Stripesnewspaper that would stir the souls of thousands of weary soldiers. Hundreds wrote heartfelt responses, praising Slanger and her fellow nurses and honoring her humility and patriotism. But Frances Slanger never got to read such praise. She was dead, killed the very next day when German troops shelled her field hospital, the first American nurse to die in Europe after the landing at Normandy. Frances Slanger was a Jewish fruit-peddler's daughter who survived a chilling childhood in World War I-torn Poland and immigrated to America at age seven. Inspired by memories of her bitter past and a Nazi-threatened future, she defied her parents' wishes by becoming a nurse and joining the military. A woman of great integrity and courage, she was also a passionate writer and keeper of chapbooks. This is the story of her too brief life.
D-Day A preeminent historian examines World War II's turning point On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed at five Normandy beaches, preceded by massive naval and air bombardments and paratroop drops inland. For the troops who landed, it was a hard struggle as German defenders tried, and failed, to drive them back into the sea. The intricate planning and many individual acts of valor that made the Normandy landings a success ultimately paid off: less than a year later, Hitler was dead, and Germany had surrendered. In this incisive and dramatic account, historian Martin Gilbert brings this epic invasion to life. Drawing on an incredible range of materials and with the help of 28 maps prepared especially for this book, he provides new information on the intricate preparations for Operation Overlord, especially the setbacks, squabbles, and the high level of secrecy surrounding elaborate deceptions designed to convince the Germans that the landings would be somewhere far from Normandy. He provides new details of how the Allies penetrated German planning to defend against the invasion. For D-Day itself, he captures the confusion, horror, and heroism through new vivid firsthand accounts. Takin
D-Day - June 6, 1944 The preeminent chronicle of the most important day in the twentieth century.
D-Day Girls NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The dramatic, untold true story of the extraordinary women recruited by Britain's elite spy agency to help pave the way for Allied victory in World War II "Gripping. Spies, romance, Gestapo thugs, blown-up trains, courage, and treachery (lots of treachery)--and all of it true."--Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake In 1942, the Allies were losing, Germany seemed unstoppable, and every able man in England was on the front lines. To "set Europe ablaze," in the words of Winston Churchill, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) was forced to do something unprecedented: recruit women as spies. Thirty-nine answered the call, leaving their lives and families to become saboteurs in France. In D-Day Girls, Sarah Rose draws on recently declassified files, diaries, and oral histories to tell the thrilling story of three of these remarkable women. There's Andrée Borrel, a scrappy and streetwise Parisian who blew up power lines with the Gestapo hot on her heels; Odette Sansom, an unhappily married suburban mother who saw the SOE as her ticket out of domestic life and into a meaningful adventure; and Lise de Baissac, a fiercely independent member of French colonial high society and the SOE's unflappable "queen." Together, they destroyed train lines, ambushed Nazis, plotted prison breaks, and gathered crucial intelligence--laying the groundwork for the D-Day invasion that proved to be the turning point in the war. Rigorously researched and written with razor-sharp wit, D-Day Girls is an inspiring story for our own moment of resistance: a reminder of what courage--and the energy of politically animated women--can accomplish when the stakes seem incalculably high. Praise for D-Day Girls "Rigorously researched . . . [a] thriller in the form of a non-fiction book."--Refinery29 "Equal parts espionage-romance thriller and historical narrative, D-Day Girls traces the lives and secret activities of the 39 women who answered the call to infiltrate France. . . . While chronicling the James Bond-worthy missions and love affairs of these women, Rose vividly captures the broken landscape of war."--The Washington Post "Gripping history . . . thoroughly researched and written as smoothly as a good thriller, this is a mesmerizing story of creativity, perseverance, and astonishing heroism."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
D-Day Through French Eyes "Like big black umbrellas, they rain down on the fields across the way, and then disappear behind the black line of the hedges." Silent parachutes dotting the night sky--that's how one woman in Normandy in June of 1944 learned that the D-Day invasion was under way. Though they yearned for liberation, the French in Normandy nonetheless had to steel themselves for war, knowing that their homes and land and fellow citizens would have to bear the brunt of the attack. Already battered by years of Nazi occupation, they knew they had one more trial to undergo even as freedom beckoned. With D-Day through French Eyes, Mary Louise Roberts turns the usual stories of D-Day around, taking readers across the Channel to view the invasion anew. Roberts builds her history from an impressive range of gripping first-person accounts of the invasion as seen by French citizens throughout the region. A farm family notices that cabbage is missing from their garden--then discovers that the guilty culprits are American paratroopers hiding in the cowshed. Fishermen rescue pilots from the wreck of their B-17, only to struggle to find clothes big enough to disguise them as civilians. A young man learns how to estimate the altitude of bombers and to determine whether a bomb was whistling overhead or silently headed straight for them. In small towns across Normandy, civilians hid wounded paratroopers, often at the risk of their own lives. When the allied infantry arrived, they guided soldiers to hidden paths and little-known bridges, giving them crucial advantages over the German occupiers. Through story after story, Roberts builds up an unprecedented picture of the face of battle as seen by grateful, if worried, civilians. As she did in her acclaimed account of GIs in postwar France, What Soldiers Do, Roberts here reinvigorates and reinvents a story we thought we knew. The result is a fresh perspective on the heroism, sacrifice, and achievement of D-Day.
Eyewitness D-Day "I looked down and there were ships and ships and ships forever. I thought about how big this was and reality was beginning to come to me. This is the biggest thing that's ever happened. And now what? What really are we getting into?" --Sergeant Tom McCarthy, 82d Airborne Division The Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy in World War II is perhaps the most important offensive ever launched. And Eyewitness D-Day, by award-winning author D.M. Giangreco in conjunction with Kathryn Moore, and edited and with a foreword by eminent military historian Norman Polmar, is the most personal portrayal of that event ever written. Featuring interviews with more than 50 survivors, it presents the harrowing inside story of June 6th, 1944, through the eyes of the courageous men and women who actually witnessed the fighting. Hundreds of contemporary photos, including wartime pictures of the veterans, and a detailed foldout map of the Normandy beaches, create a visually impressive record of the day. To bring the full force of the intimate recollections home, the volume comes with a full-length compact disc of interviews produced by Emmy Award-winning historical documentarians Rob Lihani and Rob Kirk--so you can listen directly to the dramatic accounts of the Allied soldiers, sailors, airmen, and medical personnel themselves.
Neptune : The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings On June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along 50 miles of French coastline to battle German forces on the beaches of Normandy. D-Day, as it would come to be known, would eventually lead to the liberation of Western Europe, and was a critical step in the road to victory in World War II.Yet the story begins long before the Higgins landing craft opened their doors and men spilled out onto the beaches to face a storm of German bullets. The invasion, and the victories that followed, would not have been possible without the massive naval operation that led up to it: NEPTUNE. From the moment British forces evacuated the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940, Allied planners began to consider how, when, and where they would re-enter the European continent. Once in the war, the Americans, led by George Marshall, wanted to invade in a year's time. The British were convinced this wouldbe a tragic mistake. Allied forces would be decimated by the Wehrmacht. When Operation Overlord - the name given to the cross-Channel invasion of Northern France - was finally planned, it was done so only in concert with the seaborne assault that would bring the men and equipment to the Normandycoast. Symonds traces the central thread of this Olympian event - involving over five thousand ships and nearly half a million personnel - from the first talks between British and American officials in the winter of 1941 to the storming of the beaches in the late spring of 1944. He considersNeptune's various components, including the strategic unity, industrial productivity, organizational execution, and cross-cultural exchange on which the Allies depended. Portraits of key American and British figures, from Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Eisenhower to Admiral Ernest J.King and his British counterpart, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, combine with an intimate look at men up and down the chain of command. Neptune was the pinnacle of Allied organization and cooperation. From the suppressing of the U-boat menace in the Battle of the Atlantic, to the establishing of camps and training facilities near the English coast, to the gearing up of the American industrial machine to produce the ships, tanks, andtools of war that would make an invasion possible, Symonds' riveting narrative uncovers the means by which Neptune was brought to fruition, and presents the first comprehensive account of the greatest naval operation in history.
Normandy : The Landings to the Liberation of Paris The Allied landings on the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944, have assumed legendary status in the annals of World War II. But in overly romanticizing D-Day, argues Olivier Wieviorka, we have lost sight of the full picture. 'Normandy' aims to offer a more balanced and complete account, revealing the successes and failures.