Normandy

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Normandy D-DAY
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On the morning of June 6, 1944, the greatest land
invasion in the history of military operations
occurred on the beaches of France in a place
called... Normandy. American and British forces
crossed the English channel to gain a foothold
that would lead to the liberation of Europe and
the ultimate surrender of Germany.
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The most heavily defended of the beaches
was known as OMAHA. Bombing raids
pre-dawn paratrooper drops had failed to knock
out the German 88s machine gun pillboxes in
this sector and the American G.Is faced a
merciless hail of fire
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I gained the impression that our forces had
suffered an irreversible catastrophe, that there
was little hope we could force the beach.
Privately, I considered evacuating the
beachheadI agonized over the withdrawal
decision, praying that our men could hang
on General Omar Bradley, Commander of
Operations
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Despite heavy losses, the Americans kept
cominggetting off the beach and to the bluffs
and cliffs
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The fighting was fierce, but the United States
and their allies finally broke through and
captured the day. But the hedge-rows and fields
of France and Germany still lay aheadas well as
a determined and desperate Nazi army.
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As darkness fell on Normandy, nearly 175,000
allied troops had entered France. Over 6,000 from
the day would never leave
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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 antiwar, cynical,
portraying patriots as suckers, slackers as
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 abandonedthey fought. They were the soldiers
of democracy. They were the men of D-Day.
Stephen Ambrose, author of D-Day
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THE END
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Learn More About D-Day WWII
INDEX LINKS
Operation Overlord
National D-Day Memorial Foundation
Normandy Invasion Information Site
From D-Day to Surrender of Germany
D-Day Replica Re-enactment
D-Day Website
Saving Private Ryan Gallery
Saving Private Ryan Information Site