D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches

Tony

Rating: really liked it
May 8, 1994

Dear Prof. Ambrose:

I have read most of your books and enjoyed them immensely. I was therefore eagerly awaiting the publication of your new book about D-Day. It finally arrived at our bookstore and I immediately began, greedily, to devour it.

As it turns out, last Tuesday, I journeyed to Altoona, one-hundred miles east of here, to take my father to a hospital for some exploratory surgery. My father was an army medic, helping to chase Rommel through North Africa. He made it to Sicily where he suffered shrapnel wounds. Even now, when I read your histories of brave young men, I hear my father's stories of horror, joy, friendship and courage.

I was obviously very concerned about the surgery my father faced and the possible results of the concurrent tests. I knew I would have a long, lonely wait in the hospital waiting room. I brought your book. It helped. For long stretches of time the worry surrounding me abated as I turned the pages of that day on the beaches of Normandy.

Hours passed and the room filled with patients and their families. An old man came in, alone, and sat next to me. He smelled seasoned. I did not look up from my (your) book.

Finally the old man shouted at me, "What's that book about?"

I showed him the cover and said, "D-Day."

"I was there," he said.

I looked from his ice-blue eyes, down his unshaven face, to his windbreaker. There, over his heart, was a Screaming Eagle.

It happens that this man, George Adams, was a paratrooper in C Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne. I showed him your book and he began slowly looking through the pictures. After awhile I began to wonder if he would ever give me the book back without a fight. If so, I didn't like my chances.

I asked him if he was still close to the men he jumped with that day and his jaw set in a way that I've never seen before and cannot adequately describe. He says he goes to the reunions annually. He's thinking about going back this June to jump on the anniversary.

I gave him the address for The Eisenhower Center and urged him to write to you. I hope he does. Anyhow, he said he was going to buy your book.

I wanted to buy him a hundred beers and ask him a thousand questions. I wish my own reasons for being in that waiting room were not hanging like a cloud. But my concerns kept me there and George Adams was called out next.

We shook hands and I thanked him. He thanked me. I wanted him to know that there are many of my generation who appreciate what he did. I think we both felt our coincidental meeting was more special than odd.

He left and I sat there holding your book, full of heroes like George Adams and the man I was waiting for.

My Dad was all right: just some hemorrhoids. I pried him loose from the nurses and drove him home.

I wanted to share this story with you and to thank you for the gift you share with readers like me.

Sincerely

Tim

Rating: really liked it
As a brit this book really annoyed me. It’s not about the Normandy landings; it’s about the American landing on Omaha Beach. At every opportunity Ambrose trivialises and criticises the British, Canadian and other allied forces while giving us a chest thumping partisan view of the unequalled bravery of the Americans. The bias is embarrassing and a colossal show of disrespect to the soldiers of every other nation in the allied forces.

Jill Hutchinson

Rating: really liked it
Winston Churchill said "We have to prepare for the invasion of Europe.....unless we go and land and fight against Hitler and his forces on land, we shall never win the war". Although that wasn't quite the case, without a cross-Channel attack, the war might not have ended until 1946. So there had to be an assault since the Allies had the edge; control of the air and sea and the mass production of landing craft. They had only to pick the time and place and it became Operation Overlord, commonly known as D-Day.

This history is extremely detailed and is a slow read but certainly not a dry one. The author follows individual men and platoons, as well as the larger picture and relates the mistakes made by both the Allies and the Nazis and the victories won. The Nazis from Hitler to every key German commander believed that the landing at Normandy was a invasion, not the invasion. So, even with the Atlantic Wall that had been built, they were unprepared as far as troop and Panzer positions were concerned.

I do have one complaint about the author's approach. He barely touches on the forces of Britain, her colonies/territories and the Free French landings on D-Day, focusing strictly on the Americans. This makes the book's title somewhat misleading and I was disappointed and surprised at the exclusion.

Even with this glaring omission, the book is an interesting look at the largest invasion in the history of warfare and I would recommend it to the WWII buff.

Rhonda

Rating: really liked it
My father (Warner Hamlett -D-Day vet and still doing well) was interviewed and quoted in this book. He is 93 years old and relives WWII every night in his dreams. He still goes out to his homemade bomb cellar during thunderstorms and screams in his sleep.

Stephen Ambrose is an excellent author. He double checks his details and sources, using first-hand accounts of events. My father was in the 29 infantry out of South Boston, VA when they stormed Normandy Beach. The book tells the story of D-Day soldiers through their own words.

I can tell you myself, Daddy’s stories have never changed over the years and Mr. Ambrose (who interviewed my father personally) did an excellent job of telling his story and quoting him verbatim.

David

Rating: really liked it
D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches by Stephen E. Ambrose Looks at the planning and execution of the largest invasion force ever put together up to that time. The logistics alone were mind boggling to coordinate the invasion itself; the false information to throw off the Germans about where they would be landing; as well as all of the support activities to bring in supplies and equipment to support the advancing troops in the liberation of France and the low countries. As is the case with this author's other books it has been thoroughly researched including first-hand accounts where possible.

It is the young men born into the false prosperity of the 1920s and brought up in the bitter realities of the Depression of the 1930s that this book is about. The literature they read as youngsters was anti-war and cynical, portraying patriots as suckers, slackers and heroes. None of them wanted to be part of another war. They wanted to be throwing baseballs, not hand grenades; shooting .22s at rabbits, not M-1s at other young men. But when the test came, when freedom had to be fought for or abandoned, they fought (from the Prologue).

Henry

Rating: really liked it
The definitive account of D-Day written by one of the best historian-writers in America. The facts upon which Ambrose bases this epic are gathered not only from the historical record, but also from over a thousand oral histories and interviews of the men who were there on June 6, 1944, from General Eisenhower to the soldiers and sailors on the beaches and in the airborne divisions. It is no wonder that they are considered to be the greatest generation. In the words of Dwight Eisenhower with which this books concludes: "But they did it so that the world could be free. It just shows what free men will do rather than be slaves."

Deacon Tom F

Rating: really liked it
This book is an absolute masterpiece about D-Day. It's a combination of in In-depth Statistics; Oral History; & lots of fantastic interviews.

Kinda long but highly recommended.

Checkman

Rating: really liked it
Stephen Ambrose enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1990's with his WWII books about the fighting in Northwestern Europe. The books were massive bestsellers and made him a household name. Of course a historian enjoying such popularity means that other historians and history buffs will be examing his/her's work with a fine tooth comb. Late in his life ,and continuing since his death, reports surfaced documenting/alleging longtime patterns of plagiarism and inaccuracies in many of his published writings and other work. Additionally Ambrose has come under not unjustified criticism for his unabashed flag-waving and concentration on the men who made up the "elite" units rather than the poor kid who was drafted and thrown into the meat grinder with just a few weeks of training. Though ground combat is ground combat there is a difference between a highly trained paratrooper who had to be motivated just to get through the training and the eighteen year old who was assigned to the infantry with no say in the matter. That will shape perceptions and there are many who feel that Ambrose ignored the grunt because the grunt wasn't going to give a more rah rah account.

Well as I wrote at the beginning this is a not unjustified critique of Ambrose. However I feel that it should be pointed out that "D-Day:June 6, 1944" is a little different. There is flagwaving and you can hear the stirring music in the background (albeit faintly), but in all fairness to Ambrose many of the vets who were interviewed were average soldiers - not paratroopers and Rangers and commandos. As a result I think "D-Day" presents a more balanced account of the fighting and the soldiers. No there is not the anger or cycnicsm that one will find with other writers such as Paul Fussell, but there is also not so much chest thumping as was in "Band of Brothers". This isn't a bad book. It didn't present anything new to me. This day has been covered by hundreds of writers in the past seventy years, but it's still a readable account. He does especially fine work covering Omaha Beach.

If you're determined to hate Ambrose then you won't like this book . But if you're not very familiar with the war ,or don't have any strong academic opinions, then "D-Day: June 6, 1944" will prove to be informative and an involving read. It's popular history and sometimes that's enough.

Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~

Rating: really liked it
I really enjoyed this. It's my first by Ambrose (who wrote Band of Brothers, which HBO turned into a miniseries) and I don't think it'll be my last. I really liked his approach here. He goes over all the events leading up to and during D-Day, on both the Allied and German sides. He manages to provide a comprehensive history that's clear and concise.

In between all the big events, he also examines the human side of the war. This isn't glamorized history, but the accounts of the actual men who lived through it, their fear, their bravery. Many had tragic endings, many were lucky to see the end of the war. Some found ways not to fight, others found themselves fighting when they didn't expect to. He does mostly focus on American forces, with British and German after, but there's also accounts of Canadians, Polish and others. Ambrose also touches on something that I personally haven't seen acknowledged in other histories I've read or seen (admittedly, that's a small number) about why some of Hitler's forces weren't that eager to fight: he used a lot of conscripted soldiers from countries he'd conquered. Of course, those soldiers won't exactly want to kill the people coming in to hopefully liberate their home countries.

There's a lot of info here, but it's never overwhelming, and it's laid out well so it's easy to follow how events unfolded like they did.

I did have some issues with the narrator, though that's not the narrator's fault. He's very clear in his narration, and he doesn't "act" out any of the accounts. But he does have a timbre of voice that was soothing - a little too soothing, since I had trouble listening to him at first, lol. If you don't think that would be an issue for you, I recommend this audiobook.

Simon

Rating: really liked it
Reading this you'd be forgiven for thinking that the US was alone at Normandy. One-eyed puffery and tabloid in its execution, as is Ambrose's way.

There are vastly better books on D-Day (Beevor and Hastings for a start).

RJ - Slayer of Trolls

Rating: really liked it
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

- General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, Order of the Day, June 6, 1944

D-Day, the Allied assault of the German-occupied French coastline in WWII, may be the single most important day in not only military history but in the 20th Century as well. Stephen E. "Band of Brothers" Ambrose details all of the meticulous planning that paved the way for the invasion and he documents the occurrences of the day from every perspective. Some of the details presented can be dry at times, and much of the information could have been more thoroughly explained for those who are not well-versed in military terminology, but the first-hand accounts from survivors as well as the anecdotes from behind the scenes are fascinating for even the casual reader.

Carol Storm

Rating: really liked it
Compelling, suspenseful, inspiring and heartbreaking. The pace of the narrative never flags. Absolutely the finest popular history ever written about the D Day Invasion. Ambrose has the right mix, combining an endless series of fascinating personal accounts from English, German, and American troops, plus balancing out the strategic overview with detailed analysis.

Jim

Rating: really liked it
This book is based on the oral histories of 1,400 men who were involved in D-Day. The majority of the book deals with one 24 hour period. Midnight, June 5/6 until midnight June 6/7. I learned about D-Day growing up. Mostly this was facts and figures. I have seen several movies about D-Day. Some were good. With the exception of a few names such as Roosevelt, Churchill, Eisenhower, and Montgomery I didn't know the people involved in one of the most historic events of the 20th century. In this book you get to meet and know some of the men who were there. Citizen soldiers as Ambrose refers to them. They were the children of the Great Depression. For many of these men it was their first time in combat. I call them men but many were teenagers. In this book you meet a 15 year old (he lied about his age in order to enlist) and a 16 year old. No matter their age they were men. This is not an easy read. It is full of military terms and acronyms. I often had to flip to a map in order to try an orient myself to the events taking place. I am glad I was reading the hardback version so that I could do this easily. There were many times in the book when the horrors of war were vividly brought home. Many of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who were involved suffered grievous wounds and continued to fight. Even those who did not suffer a physical injury saw things that stayed with them and can only be described as a living hell. They did not come as invaders. They were there to liberate. There have been many movies about D-Day and they can be entertaining but to really learn about this day in history and appreciate the men who made this happen I would recommend reading this book.

Beanbrenner

Rating: really liked it
Extraordinarily interesting anecdotes? Check. Chest-thumping patriotism? Check. Unbiased, carefully vetted history? Ehhhhhh.

Peter Schmeltzer

Rating: really liked it
The greatest generation.