Omaha Beach D-Day June 6, 1944

by Balkoski, Joseph

• ISBN13: 9780811700795
• ISBN10: 0811700798
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Stackpole Books

Summary

Omaha Beach witnessed the greatest drama and loss of life on D-Day. Across a four-and-a-half-mile front consisting of sand, stones, and cliffs, largely untested American troops assaulted Germany's Atlantic Wall head-on, encountering fierce resistance but eventually securing the beachhead. Their actions paved the way for Allied victory in World War II, yet until now, a truly comprehensive history of the momentous battle for Omaha Beach has not been written. In Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944, Joseph Balkoski picks up where other historians left off and weaves personal recollections and historical analysis into a gripping, unforgettable narrative of one of the U.S. Army's most costly days of World War II. After placing the D-Day preparations firmly within their diplomatic and strategic context -- from Gen. George Marshall's early enthusiasm for a Normandy landing to the Tehran conference, where Stalin's support moved the plan into its final stages -- Balkoski describes the minute-by-minute combat on Omaha Beach. Using a series of detailed maps to illustrate the progress of the invasion, as well as a broad selection of first-person accounts -- many given mere weeks after the fighting -- Balkoski crafts a seamless story of the action as it unfolded. He allows both officers and enlisted men to speak for themselves, as they vividly recount their attempts to maneuver bombers through heavy cloud cover, the claustrophobic terror of manning a tank aboard a landing vessel, and the relentless fire that greeted them as they inched their way across the beach.

Author Biography

Joseph Balkoski is a historian specializing in the history of D-Day and the Normandy campaign. He resided in Normandy during the summer of 2001 to study the D-Day beaches and Normandy battlefields, and he has conducted several "battlefield staff rides" there for current U.S. Army soldiers as part of their military training. He is a native of New York City and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
The End of the Beginning	p. 1
Realism, Not Pessimism	p. 15
Festung Europa	p. 33
Fortune Favors the Bold	p. 52
The Greatest Show on Earth	p. 71
Forlorn Hope	p. 97
The Momentous Now	p. 110
Clear the Way	p. 140
Bullets like Rain	p. 157
Move or Die	p. 191
Everyone an Infantryman	p. 237
Beyond the Beach	p. 267
A Full Measure of Devotion	p. 307
To Rest or to Die	p. 329
Allied Casualties on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944	p. 350
Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross Awards for Valor on Omaha Beach	p. 353
U.S. Army and U.S. Navy First-Wave Units on Omaha Beach	p. 362
Composition of Typical Assault Boat Team, 16th and 116th Infantry	p. 367
Uniform and Equipment of Boat Team Leader, 16th and 116th Infantry	p. 370
Notes	p. 372
Bibliography	p. 393
Acknowledgments	p. 398
Index	p. 404
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