D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II

Prologue 19 1 The Defenders 27 2 The Attackers 39 3 The Commanders 58 4 Where and When? 71 5 Utilizing Assets 90 6 Planning and Preparing 107 7 Training 130 8 Marshaling and Briefing 151 9 Loading 166 10 Decision to Go 178 11 Cracking the Atlantic Wall 196 The Airborne into Normandy 12 “Let’s Get Those Bastards” 225 The Airborne Night Attack 13 “The Greatest Show Ever Staged” 239 The Air Bombardment 14 A Long, Endless Column of Ships 254 The Naval Crossing and Bombardment ‪15 “We’ll Start the War from Right Here”‬ ‪275‬ The 4th Division at Utah Beach ‪16 “Nous Restons Ici”‬ ‪294‬ The Airborne in the Cotentin ‪17 Visitors to Hell‬ 320‬ The 116th Regiment at Omaha ‪18 Utter Chaos Reigned 346‬ ‪ The 16th Regiment at Omaha‬ ‪19 Traffic Jam 361‬ ‪ Tanks, Artillery, and Engineers at Omaha‬ ‪20 “I Am a Destroyer Man” 381‬ ‪ The Navy at Omaha Beach‬ ‪21 ”Will You Tell Me How We Did This?” 398‬ ‪ The 2nd Ranger Battalion on D-Day Morning‬ ‪22 Up the Bluff at Vierville 418‬ ‪ The 116th Regiment and 5th Ranger Battalion‬ ‪23 Catastrophe Contained 434‬ ‪ Easy Red Sector, Omaha Beach‬ ‪24 Struggle for the High Ground 451‬ ‪ Vierville, St.-Laurent, and Colleville‬ ‪25 “It Was Just Fantastic” 472‬ ‪ Afternoon on Omaha Beach‬ ‪26 The World Holds Its Breath‬ ‪486‬ D-Day on the Home Fronts ‪27 “Fairly Stuffed with Gadgets”‬ ‪509‬ The British Opening Moves ‪28 “Everything Was Well Ordered”‬ ‪519‬ The 50th Division at Gold Beach ‪29 Payback‬ ‪531‬ The Canadians at Juno Beach ‪30 “An Unforgettable Sight”‬ ‪549‬ The British at Sword Beach ‪31 “My God, We’ve Done It”‬ ‪567‬ The British Airborne on D-Day ‪32 “When Can Their Glory Fade?”‬ ‪576‬ The End of the Day ‪Glossary‬ ‪585‬ Endnotes 587 ‪Bibliography‬ ‪613‬ Appendix A: Veterans who contributed oral histories or written memoirs to the Eisenhower Center 617 ‪Index‬ ‪633‬ Maps The Final Overlord Invasion Plan 78 German Strength in Western Europe 87 Landing Diagram, Omaha Beach 122 Utah Beach Airborne Assault on D-Day 208 The Allied Assault Routes on D-Day 255 Utah Beach Infantry Assault on D-Day 288 Omaha Beach First Wave Landings on D-Day 332 Omaha Beach Eastern Sector 441 Omaha Beach Evening of D-Day 464