"Originally published in the UK as D-Day: The Soldier's Story by Hodder & Stoughton in 2018"--Title page verso. Includes bibliographical references (pages 461-467) and index.
Contents:
Part I: Know thy enemy. Behind enemy lines ; Atlantic wall ; The weather report ; Codebreaking -- Part II: Midnight. The midnight hour ; At German headquarters ; Landing by moonlight -- Part III: The night. Sainte-Mère-Église ; Night assault ; First light -- Part IV: Dawn. On Utah beach ; In coastal waters ; Omaha ; Easy red -- Part V: Foothold. Gold ; Juno ; Cliff-top guns ; The mad bastard -- Part VI: Towards noon. Deadlock on Omaha ; Cracks in the wall ; Race to the bridge -- Part VII: Afternoon. The bombing of Caen ; Counter-attack ; Victory at Omaha -- Part VIII: Win or lose. Frontier fighting ; Panzer attack ; Twilight ; Night.
Summary:
"An epic battle that involved 156,000 Allied men, 7,000 ships, and 20,000 armored vehicles fighting against the might of the German war machine, D-Day was, above all, a tale of individual heroics--of men who were driven to keep fighting until the German defenses were smashed and the precarious beachheads secured. This authentic human story--Allied, French, German--has never been fully told. Giles Milton's bold new history narrates the events of June 6, 1944, through the tales of survivors from all sides: the teenage Allied conscript, the crack German defender, the French resistance fighter. From the military architects at Supreme Headquarters to the young schoolboy in the Wehrmacht's bunkers, [this book] lays bare the absolute terror of those trapped on the front line of D-Day. It also gives voice to those who have hitherto remained unheard--the French butcher's daughter, the panzer commander's wife, the chauffeur to the general staff. This vast canvas of human bravado reveals 'the longest day' as never before--less as a masterpiece of strategic planning than a day on which thousands of scared young men found themselves staring death in the face. It is drawn in its entirety from the raw, unvarnished experiences of those who were there."--Dust jacket.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.