Remembering D-Day, 80 Years Later
June 6, 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. This operation concentrated the land, sea, and air forces of twelve allied nations in a high-stakes invasion of Nazi-occupied France.
Soldiers Coming Ashore on Normandy Day. (Image: National Archives and Record Administration, 111-SC-320902)
American Nightingale by
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.
Call Number: D807 .U6 W4 2004ISBN: 0743477588Publication Date: 2004-06-01
The Americans at D-Day by
June 6, 1944 was a pivotal moment in the history of World War II in Europe. On that day the climactic and decisive phase of the war began. Those who survived the intense fighting on the Normandy beaches found their lives irreversibly changed. The day ushered in a great change for the United States as well becuse, on D-Day, America began its march to the forefront of the Western world.By the end of the Battle of Normandy, almost one of every two soldiers involved was an American, and without American weapons, supplies, and leadership, the outcome of the invasion and ensuing battle could have been very different.In the first of two volumes on the American contribution to the Allied victory at Normandy, John C. McManus (Deadly Brotherhood, Deadly Sky) examines, with great intensity and thoroughness, the American experience in the weeks leading up to D-Day and on the great day itself. From the build up in England to the night drops of airborne forces behind German lines and the landings on the beaches at dawn, from the famed figures of Eisenhower, Bradley, and Lightin' Joe Collins to the courageous, but little-known privates who fouhgt so bravely, and under terrifying conditions, this is the story of the American experience at D-Day. What were the battles really like for the Americans at Utah and Omaha? What drove them to fight despite all adversity? How and why did they triumph? Thanks to extensive archival research, and the use of hundreds of first hand accounts, McManus answers these questions and many more.In The Americans at D-Day, a gripping narrative history reminiscent of Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day, McManus takes readers into the minds of American strategists, into the hearts of the infantry, into hell on earth.Impressively researched, engrossing, lightning quick, and filled with human sorrow and elation, The Americans at D-Day honors those Americans who lost their lives on D-Day, as well as those who were fortunate enough to survive.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 M36 2004ISBN: 9780765307439Publication Date: 2004-06-01
Beyond the Beach by
An important rethinking of the Normandy war narrative Beyond the Beach examines the Allied air war against France in 1944. During this period, General Dwight David Eisenhower, as Supreme Allied Commander, took control of all American, British, and Canadian air units and employed them for tactical and operational purposes over France rather than as a strategic force to attack targets deep in Germany. Using bombers as his long-range artillery, he directed the destruction of bridges, rail centers, ports, military installations, and even French towns with the intent of preventing German reinforcements from interfering with Operation Neptune, the Allied landings on the Normandy beaches. Ultimately, this air offensive resulted in the death of over 60,000 French civilians and an immense amount of damage to towns, churches, buildings, and works of art. This intense bombing operation, conducted against a friendly occupied state, resulted in a swath of physical and human destruction across northwest France that is rarely discussed as part of the D-Day landings. This book explores the relationship between ground and air operations and its effects on the French population. It examines the three broad groups that the air operations involved, the doctrine and equipment used by Allied air force leaders to implement Eisenhower's plans, and each of the eight major operations, called lines of effort, that coordinated the employment of the thousands of fighters, medium bombers, and heavy bombers that prowled the French skies that spring and summer of 1944. Each of these sections discusses the operation's purpose, conduct, and effects upon both the military and the civilian targets. Finally, the book explores the short and long-term effects of these operations and argues that this ignored narrative should be part of any history of the D-Day landings.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 B617 2018ISBN: 9781612518732Publication Date: 2018-04-15
The Boys of Pointe du Hoc by
"These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. Theseare the men who took the cliffs. These are thechampions who helped free a continent. Theseare the heroes who helped end a war."--Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984,Normandy, France Acclaimed historian and author of the "New York Times" bestselling Tour of Duty Douglas Brinkley tells the riveting account of the brave U.S. Army Rangers who stormed the coast of Normandy on D-Day and the President, forty years later, who paid them homage. The importance of Pointe du Hoc to Allied planners like General Dwight Eisenhower cannot be overstated. The heavy U.S. and British warships poised in the English Channel had eighteen targets on their bombardment list for D-Day morning. The 100-foot promontory known as Pointe du Hoc -- where six big German guns were ensconced -- was number one. General Omar Bradley, in fact, called knocking out the Nazi defenses at the Pointe the toughest of any task assigned on June 6, 1944. Under the bulldoggish command of Colonel James E. Rudder of Texas, who is profiled here, these elite forces "Rudder's Rangers" -- took control of the fortified cliff. The liberation of Europe was under way. Based upon recently released documents from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the Eisenhower Center, Texas A & M University, and the U.S. Army Military History Institute, The Boys of Pointe du Hoc is the first in-depth, anecdotal remembrance of these fearless Army Rangers. With brilliant deftness, Brinkley moves between two events four decades apart to tell the dual story of the making of Reagan's two uplifting 1984 speeches, considered by many to be among the best orations the Great Communicator ever gave, and the actual heroic event, which was indelibly captured as well in the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan".Just as compellingly, Brinkley tells the story of how Lisa Zanatta Henn, the daughter of a D-Day veteran, forged a special friendship with President Reagan that changed public perceptions of World War II veterans forever. Two White House speechwriters -- Peggy Noonan and Tony Dolan -- emerge in the narrative as the master scribes whose ethereal prose helped Reagan become the spokesperson for the entire World War II generation.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 B748 2005ISBN: 0060565276Publication Date: 2005-05-31
Citizen Soldiers by
From the Number One bestselling author of BAND OF BROTHERS comes the story of the ordinary soldiers in Northwest Europe from the day after D-Day until the triumphant end of the war.
Call Number: D756 .A52 1997ISBN: 0684815257Publication Date: 1997-11-03
Clash of Arms by
This volume examines how the Western Allies learned - on the battlefield - how to defeat the Nazi war machine. Beginning with an investigation of the interwar neglect that left the Allied militaries incapable of defeating Nazi aggression at the start of World War II, Russell Hart examines the wartime paths the Allies took toward improved military effectiveness. Central to his comparative study is the complex interplay of personalities, military culture, and wartime realities that determined how accurately the combatants learned the lessons of war, and how effectively they enhanced their battle capabilities.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 H345 2001ISBN: 1555879470Publication Date: 2000-11-30
The Conquest of the Reich by
The defeat of Nazi Germany in the words of those who were there. New Year's Day 1945 was not a day for rest or rejoicing on the embattled continent of Europe. Hard winter gripped the land, from the Channel coast to the distant Urals. Only the thought of victory warmed the frozen soldiers huddled in tanks and foxholes as the New Year dawned and they faced the prospect of battling onwards toward Berlin. This is the story of the last five months of Hitler's Thousand Year Reich, from New Year's Day to VE Day, May 8, 1945. It is a story told not in the words of historians or scholars, but in the words of the people who lived through it, who fought and endured: soldier and civilian, American infantryman and British paratrooper, Canadian gunner and Australian pilot, New Zealand POW and German civilian. With his unrivalled gift for popular history, Robin Neillands, in his follow-up to the enormously successful D-Day 1944, recreates in engaging narrative fashion the most dramatic and bloody months of the war. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, letters, and inside eyewitness testimony from veterans about such subjects as the esprit de corps in the Allied and Axis armies, the discovery of the concentration camps, the dissension in the Allied command, and the meeting of Russians and Americans at the Elbe, the book recounts the effects of many of the most crucial events of the conflict on soldier and citizen alike. The Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of Auschwitz, the Malmedy Massacres, the fall of Warsaw to the Red Army, the destruction of Dresden, the lynching of Allied aircrews, Yalta, Hitler's Scorched Earth directive, the massive parachutes drops by the Allied forces, the death of Roosevelt, the last days of Hitler, and, finally, the surrender of Germany--it's all here, rendered in engrossing and rich detail in this example of military history at its finest. For a comprehensive and thrilling account of the end of World War II, The Conquest of the Reich will stand as the definitive people's history for years to come.
Call Number: D755.7 .C58 1995ISBN: 0814757812Publication Date: 1995-02-01
Cornelius Ryan: the Longest Day (d-Day June 6, 1944), a Bridge Too Far (LOA #318) by
For the 75th anniversary of D-Day, a deluxe collector's edition gathering two gripping masterpieces of military history. Library of America presents two of the best books ever written about World War II in a deluxe collector's edition featuring 88 pages of photographs, full-color endpaper maps, rare archival material revealing how the books were written, and a new introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and historian Rick Atkinson (The Liberation Trilogy). The Longest Day tells the story of the Allies' greatest success, the Normandy invasions of June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord; A Bridge Too Far recounts perhaps their greatest failure, the catastrophic airborne invasion of Holland in September 1944, known as Operation Market Garden. Together, they reveal not only the twisting fortunes of war and the grand sweep and scale of the largest amphibious and airborne invasions ever mounted, but also the very real human experience of combat, the small but momentous individual acts that can change the course of history. No one has told these stories more powerfully than Cornelius Ryan. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Call Number: D756.3 .R93 2019ISBN: 9781598536119Publication Date: 2019-05-07
D-Day Remembered by
D-Day, the Allied invasion of northwestern France in June 1944, has remained in the forefront of American memories of the Second World War to this day. Depictions in books, news stories, documentaries, museums, monuments, memorial celebrations, speeches, games, and Hollywood spectaculars have overwhelmingly romanticized the assault as an event in which citizen-soldiers--the everyday heroes of democracy--engaged evil foes in a decisive clash fought for liberty, national redemption, and world salvation. In D-Day Remembered, Michael R. Dolski explores the evolution of American D-Day tales over the course of the past seven decades. He shows the ways in which that particular episode came to overshadow so many others in portraying the twentieth century's most devastating cataclysm as "the Good War." With depth and insight, he analyzes how depictions in various media, such as the popular histories of Stephen Ambrose and films like The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan, have time and again reaffirmed cherished American notions of democracy, fair play, moral order, and the militant, yet non-militaristic, use of power for divinely sanctioned purposes. Only during the Vietnam era, when Americans had to confront an especially stark challenge to their pietistic sense of nationhood, did memories of D-Day momentarily fade. They soon reemerged, however, as the country sought to move beyond the lamentable conflict in Southeast Asia. Even as portrayals of D-Day have gone from sanitized early versions to more realistic acknowledgments of tactical mistakes and the horrific costs of the battle, the overarching story continues to be, for many, a powerful reminder of moral rectitude, military skill, and world mission. While the time to historicize this morality tale more fully and honestly has long since come, Dolski observes, the lingering positive connotations of D-Day indicate that the story is not yet finished.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 D65 2016ISBN: 9781621902188Publication Date: 2016-04-15
D-Day Through French Eyes by
A gripping account of what it was like to be in the midst of the Norman Invasion on D-Day and immediately afterward. Silent parachutes dotting the night sky--that's how one woman in Normandy in June 1944 learned that the D-Day invasion was underway. Though they yearned for liberation, the people of Normandy steeled themselves for further warfare, knowing that their homes, land, and fellow citizens would have to bear the brunt of the attack. In D-Day through French Eyes, Mary Louise Roberts resets our view of the usual stories of that momentous operation, taking readers across the Channel to view the invasion anew. Roberts builds her history from an impressive range of gripping first-person accounts from French citizens, reinvigorating a story we thought we knew. The result is a fresh perspective on the heroism, sacrifice, and achievement of D-Day.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 R595 2014ISBN: 9780226136998Publication Date: 2014-05-21
Day of Destiny by
Experience the triumph and the tragedy of the battle upon the beaches of Normandy through photographs taken by combat photographers and servicemen. Day of Destiny includes more than one hundred rare photographs never before assembled to provide a visual narrative of one of the century's most pivotal events.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 K45 1998ISBN: 0688168825Publication Date: 1998-10-07
Double Cross by
In Double Cross, New York Times bestselling author Ben Macintyre returns with the untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II, and of the extraordinary spies who achieved it. On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and suffered an astonishingly low rate of casualties. D-Day was a stunning military accomplishment, but it was also a masterpiece of trickery. Operation Fortitude, which protected and enabled the invasion, and the Double Cross system, which specialized in turning German spies into double agents, deceived the Nazis into believing that the Allies would attack at Calais and Norway rather than Normandy. It was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever carried out, ensuring Allied victory at the most pivotal point in the war. This epic event has never before been told from the perspective of the key individuals in the Double Cross system, until now. These include its director (a brilliant, urbane intelligence officer), a colorful assortment of MI5 handlers (as well as their counterparts in Nazi intelligence), and the five spies who formed Double Cross's nucleus: a dashing Serbian playboy, a Polish fighter-pilot, a bisexual Peruvian party girl, a deeply eccentric Spaniard, and a volatile Frenchwoman. The D-Day spies were, without question, one of the oddest military units ever assembled, and their success depended on the delicate, dubious relationship between spy and spymaster, both German and British. Their enterprise was saved from catastrophe by a shadowy sixth spy whose heroic sacrifice is revealed here for the first time. With the same depth of research, eye for the absurd and masterful storytelling that have made Ben Macintyre an international bestseller, Double Cross is a captivating narrative of the spies who wove a web so intricate it ensnared Hitler's army and carried thousands of D-Day troops across the Channel in safety.
Call Number: D810.S8 M237 2012ISBN: 9780307888754Publication Date: 2012-07-31
The first wave : the D-Day warriors who led the way to victory in the Second World War by
Beginning in the pre-dawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows ten men attempting to carry out D-Day's most critical missions. Their actions would determine the fate of the invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe. The ten make a charismatic, unforgettable cast. They include the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the only British soldier that day to earn a Victoria's Cross; the Canadian brothers who led their decimated troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; the colonel who faced the powerful 150mm guns of the Merville Battery; as well as a French commando who helped destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach. The book will give authentic voice to the invaders' enemies, the German enlisted men and officers tasked with destroying the Allies as they hit the beaches. The result is an utterly immersive, adrenaline-driven drama, an epic of close combat and extraordinary heroism. It is the capstone Alex Kershaw's remarkable career, built on his close friendships with D-Day survivors and his intimate understanding of the Normandy battlefield. For the seventy-fifth anniversary, here is a fresh take on the Second World War's longest day.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 K47 2019ISBN: 9781471185915Publication Date: 2019
Forgotten : the untold story of D-Day's Black heroes, at home and at war by
The injustices of 1940s Jim Crow America are brought to life in this extraordinary blend of military and social history--a story that pays tribute to the valor of an all-black battalion whose crucial contributions at D-Day have gone unrecognized to this day. In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit of African-American soldiers, landed on the beaches of France. Their orders were to man a curtain of armed balloons meant to deter enemy aircraft. One member of the 320th would be nominated for the Medal of Honor, an award he would never receive. The nation's highest decoration was not given to black soldiers in World War II. Drawing on newly uncovered military records and dozens of original interviews with surviving members of the 320th and their families, Linda Hervieux tells the story of these heroic men charged with an extraordinary mission, whose contributions to one of the most celebrated events in modern history have been overlooked. Members of the 320th--Wilson Monk, a jack-of-all-trades from Atlantic City; Henry Parham, the son of sharecroppers from rural Virginia; William Dabney, an eager 17-year-old from Roanoke, Virginia; Samuel Mattison, a charming romantic from Columbus, Ohio--and thousands of other African Americans were sent abroad to fight for liberties denied them at home. In England and Europe, these soldiers discovered freedom they had not known in a homeland that treated them as second-class citizens--experiences they carried back to America, fueling the budding civil rights movement. In telling the story of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, Hervieux offers a vivid account of the tension between racial politics and national service in wartime America, and a moving narrative of human bravery and perseverance in the face of injustice.
Call Number: D769.343 320th .H467 2015ISBN: 9780062313799Publication Date: 2015-10-27
The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy by
The fateful days and weeks surrounding 6 June 1944 have been extensively documented in histories of the Second World War, but less attention has been paid to the tremendous impact of these events on the populations nearby. The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy tells the inspiring yet heartbreaking story of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in defense of liberty and freedom. On D-Day, when transport planes dropped paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions hopelessly off-target into marshy waters in northwestern France, the 900 villagers of Graignes welcomed them with open arms. These villagers - predominantly women - provided food, gathered intelligence, and navigated the floods to retrieve the paratroopers' equipment at great risk to themselves. When the attack by German forces on 11 June forced the overwhelmed paratroopers to withdraw, many made it to safety thanks to the help and resistance of the villagers. In this moving book, historian Stephen G. Rabe, son of one of the paratroopers, meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history. meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history. meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history. meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history.
Call Number: D769.347 .R33 2023ISBN: 9781009206372Publication Date: 2022-11-10
The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944 by
This engrossing and meticulously researched volume reexamines the decisions made by Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff in the crucial months leading up to the Battle of the Bulge. In late August 1944 defeat of the Wehrmacht seemed assured. On December 16, however, the Germans counterattacked. Received wisdom says that Eisenhower's Broad Front strategy caused his armies to stall in early September, and his subsequent failure to concentrate his forces brought about deadlock and opened the way for the German attack. Arguing to the contrary, John A. Adams demonstrates that Eisenhower and his staff at SHAEF had a good campaign strategy, refined to reflect developments on the ground, which had an excellent chance of destroying the Germans west of the Rhine.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 0253004195Publication Date: 2010-04-09
From the Normandy Beaches to the Baltic Sea by
A brief, yet complete history of the Allied campaign for the liberation of Europe from the Normandy invasion to the surrender of Germany, this study describes not only what happened, but why it happened. While an enormous amount has been written about this campaign, most of it focuses upon a single army or an individual battle. This book stresses a true inter-Allied and all arms approach with a balance of both strategy and tactics; accounts of effort by land, sea, air forces; as well as the strong influence of logistics. Levine deals extensively with the German side, particularly morale issues, and he includes the role played by Canadian forces--a topic usually neglected in American accounts.Rapid changes in warfare rendered the character of the battles of 1944-1945 quite different from battles earlier in the war, and Levine finds that old-fashioned fortifications often had an unexpected and formidable impact on the fighting. Logistics played a central role in the struggle, and supply problems would continuously plague the U.S. Army during this campaign. Levine considers whether the war could have been won in 1944, and he discusses the lost opportunities on both sides. Casting new light on some familiar subjects and recounting many neglected issues, this book places the campaign within the larger context of European events in both the east and the Mediterranean.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 0313001707Publication Date: 2000
From Omaha Beach to Dawson's Ridge by
An infantry company commander in the U.S. Army's heralded 1st Infantry Division, Capt. Joseph Turner Dawson led his men through some of the most brutal battles of World War II. From the invasion of North Africa in late 1942 through Sicily and the assault on Normandy to the push toward the German frontier late in 1944, his length of service on the frontlines was extraordinary, and his heroism while holding off the Germans on a ridge near Aachen, Germany, is legendary. Based on Dawson's own combat journal, this book focuses on leadership in combat during the greatest human drama of the twentieth century. Dawson is at the heart of the drama as he describes the strain of constant combat and its effect on the combat infantryman. His writings have been edited by the former chief military historian at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Col. Cole C. Kingseed, who succeeds masterfully in capturing the essence of combat leadership through the actions of this citizen-warrior. Although Dawson was an Army officer, the lessons his journal offer cut across service lines to help readers understand what makes a good frontline commander. The book is published in cooperation with the Association of the U. S. Army.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1612515231Publication Date: 2013-09-23
Sabers Through the Reich by
In Sabers through the Reich, William Stuart Nance provides the first comprehensive operational history of American corps cavalry in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II. The corps cavalry had a substantive and direct impact on Allied success in almost every campaign, and served as offensive guards for armies across Europe, conducting reconnaissance, economy of force, and security missions, as well as prisoner of war rescues. From D-Day and Operation Cobra to the Battle of the Bulge and the drive to the Rhine, these groups had the mobility, flexibility, and firepower to move quickly across the battlefield, enabling them to aid communications and intelligence gathering, reducing the Clausewitzian "friction of war."
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780813169613Publication Date: 2017-05-08
Bletchley Park and D-Day by
The untold story of Bletchley Park's key role in the success of the Normandy campaign
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780300244809Publication Date: 2019-07-16
Geopolitical Constructs by
This innovative book tells a unique story about D-Day, one that does not concentrate on the soldiers who hit the beaches or the admirals and generals who commanded them. Instead, Colin Flint brings engineers, businessmen, and bureaucrats to center stage. Through them, he offers a different way of thinking about war, one that sees war as an ongoing set of processes in which seemingly isolated acts are part of broader historical developments. Developing the concept ofgeopolitical constructs to understand wars, the author connects specific events to long-term and global geopolitical arrangements. Focusing on the construction of the Mulberry Harbours--massive artificial structures dragged across the English Channel in the immediate wake of the invading force--Flint illustrates how the process of making war links a vast array of people, institutions, and places, as well as past events and future outcomes. He argues that the people who designed and built the Harbours became geopolitical subjects by producing pieces of engineering that helped shape the course of World War Two and the Cold War that followed, which created a militarized trans-Atlantic that remains today. Using previously unpublished archival material to give voice to those who made the Mulberry Harbours and wartime strategy, this original study broadens the historical and geographical scope of how we understand war, showing how the everyday actions of individuals made, and were made by, geopolitical settings.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1442266678Publication Date: 2016-09-19
Operation Neptune by
D-Day--June 6, 1944--is seared into popular consciousness: 160,000 Allied troops landed along 50 miles of French coastline to battle German forces on the beaches of Normandy, suffering devastating losses in an invasion that would eventually lead to the liberation of Western Europe. Though it has been studied, discussed, and debated extensively, histories of D-Day have typically overlooked the incredible naval operation necessary for the invasion to succeed: Operation Neptune. Involving over five thousand ships and nearly half a million personnel, Neptune was the largest seaborne assault in human history, without which the battles at Normandy never could have takenplace. In Neptune, renowned historian Craig L. Symonds brilliantly traces the central thread of this Olympian event from the first tentative conversations by British and American officers in Washington in the winter of 1941 to the storming of the beaches in the summer of 1944. With characteristically vivid narration, he uncovers the various components of the operation, including the strategic unity, industrial productivity, sea control, and organizational execution on which the Allied armies in Normandy depended. Symonds follows key personalities, both British and American, from the well-known--Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, George Marshall, and
Call Number: D756.5.N6 S96 2014 & OnlineISBN: 0199986118Publication Date: 2014-05-08
Omaha Beach: A Flawed Victory by
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.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 L435 2001 & OnlineISBN: 0807862584Publication Date: 2003-11-20
Normandy to Victory by
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.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780813126425Publication Date: 2008-09-26
Juno Beach by
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 them were 14,500 Canadians, who were to land on a five-mile-long stretch of rocky ledges fronted by a dangerously exposed beach. Drawing on personal diaries as well as military records, Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory - June 6, 1944 dramatically depicts Canada's pivotal contribution to the critical Allied battle of World War II.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 1553650506Publication Date: 2005-09-01
D-Day by
Adapted for young readers from the #1New York Times-bestsellingThe Guns at Last Light,D-Day captures the events and the spirit of that day--June 6, 1944--the day that led to the liberation of western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. They came by sea and by sky to reclaim freedom from the occupying Germans, turning the tide of World War II. Atkinson skillfully guides his younger audience through the events leading up to, and of, the momentous day in this photo-illustrated adaptation. Perfect for history buffs and newcomers to the topic alike! This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 A75 2014ISBN: 9781627791113Publication Date: 2014-05-06
D-Day by
It was the greatest invasion of all time. Early on the morning of June 6, 1944, thousands of Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy-not only streaming from the sea but also sweeping in from the air-and launched a massive assault on Nazi-occupied France. In sixteen unforgettable hours, these heroic men succeeded in breaching the Third Reich's impregnable defenses, leading the way to the liberation of Europe. As the sixtieth anniversary approaches, those who remember that epic invasion are rapidly dwindling in number. Now, their gripping eyewitness accounts-most of them never before published-are woven into an authoritative new look at that unforgettable "longest day" by distinguished military historian Dan van der Vat. This book captures and preserves for a new generation all the human drama and heroism that marked D-Day. Richly illustrated with hundreds of historical photographs-many from private photo albums-as well as personal artifacts, dramatic paintings by the many war artists on the scene, and modern color photographs, this is the definitive history of one of the most important dates of the twentieth century.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 V36 2003ISBN: 1582343144Publication Date: 2003-11-15
Remember D-Day by
Remember D-Day combines compelling narrative, dramatic archival photographs and memorabilia, detailed maps, and a timeline to bring readers the exciting story of one of the world's most daring invasions. This landmark book will provide children with valuable insight into the significance of the invasion and help them understand D-Day in the overall context of the war.
Call Number: D756.5.N6 D74 2004ISBN: 0792266668Publication Date: 2004-05-01
Allies by
A New York Times bestseller!Alan Gratz, bestselling author of Refugee, weaves a stunning array of voices and stories into an epic tale of teamwork in the face of tyranny -- and how just one day can change the world.June 6, 1944: The Nazis are terrorizing Europe, on their evil quest to conquer the world. The only way to stop them? The biggest, most top-secret operation ever, with the Allied nations coming together to storm German-occupied France.Welcome to D-Day.Dee, a young U.S. soldier, is on a boat racing toward the French coast. And Dee -- along with his brothers-in-arms -- is terrified. He feels the weight of World War II on his shoulders.But Dee is not alone. Behind enemy lines in France, a girl named Samira works as a spy, trying to sabotage the German army. Meanwhile, paratrooper James leaps from his plane to join a daring midnight raid. And in the thick of battle, Henry, a medic, searches for lives to save.In a breathtaking race against time, they all must fight to complete their high-stakes missions. But with betrayals and deadly risks at every turn, can the Allies do what it takes to win?
Call Number: PZ7.G77224 Al 2019ISBN: 9781338245721Publication Date: 2019-10-15
Invasion by
Walter Dean Myers brilliantly renders the realities of World War II.Josiah Wedgewood and Marcus Perry are on their way to an uncertain future. Their whole lives are ahead of them, yet at the same time, death's whisper is everywhere. One white, one black, these young men have nothing in common and everything in common as they approach an experience that will change them forever. It's May 1944. World War II is ramping up, and so are these young recruits, ready and eager. In small towns and big cities all over the globe, people are filled with fear. When Josiah and Marcus come together in what will be the greatest test of their lives, they learn hard lessons about race, friendship, and what it really means to fight. Set on the front lines of the Normandy invasion, this novel, rendered with heart-in-the-throat precision, is a cinematic masterpiece. Here we see the bold terror of war, and also the nuanced havoc that affects a young person's psyche while living in a barrack, not knowing if today he will end up dead or alive.
Call Number: Curriculum Collection (6th Floor) ; PZ7.M992 Inv 2013ISBN: 9780545384285Publication Date: 2013-09-24
D-Day in HD. 1 by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2014"D-Day in HD" presents this iconic World War II battle using newly discovered, never-before-seen color footage. For the first time, viewers can see the largest amphibious assault in history entirely in newly transferred color HD: 5,000 Allied ships landing over 160,000 soldiers across a 50-mile stretch of Normandy beaches. For the 70th Anniversary of the Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe, History tells the story of D-Day in HD. Rare footage is rendered in High Definition, then combined with interviews from the men who lived through it.
D-Day : hidden traces by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2014D-DAY - June 6th, 1944: personal and daily items from the Normandy landings, such as helmets, badges, bullets, weapons, cans have been uncovered by recent archeological digs. These traces left behind by soldiers and civilians on the battle ground, together with findings of underground passages and blockhouses kept secret, provide new insights into WW2 History. Personal stories, experts' interviews and 3D reconstitution shed a new light on the Normandy landings and World War II.
Where were you. D-Day landings by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2011There are some global events of such impact that they stay with us forever. They are so important that we sit up and pay attention as they are happening: we sit glued to the television we pour over newspapers we frantically search out more information to understand. This series looks at some of the most shocking events of the 20th and early 21st Century analysing how the news of their occurrence spread across the globe and what impact they had on the modern world. This episode focuses on the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, called the operation a crusade in which we will accept nothing less than full victory. The D-Day cost was high. By nightfall, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were either dead or wounded, but more than 100,000 had made it ashore and began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.
Overlord. by Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 1975Seamlessly interweaving archival war footage with a fictional narrative, this immersive account of one twenty-year-old's journey from basic training to the front lines of D-day brings to life all the terrors and isolation of war with jolting authenticity. OVERLORD, directed by Stuart Cooper and impressionistically shot by Stanley Kubrick's longtime cinematographer John Alcott, is both a document of World War II and a dreamlike meditation on human smallness in a large, incomprehensible machine. Winner of two prizes at the **Berlin International Film Festival**. *"Narratively, Cooper manages to give a moving, elegiac quality to this soldier's chronicle of a death foretold; and aesthetically... he brings out the strange, emotive beauty contained in these images of an economy of death." - Wally Hammond, **Time Out***