June 6, 1944
The Voices of D-Day
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
In ships and planes, they crossed the English Channel.
On the other side Hitler’s army waited.
And the longest day was about to begin....
In the spring of 1944, 120,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel in the most ambitious invasion force ever assembled. Rangers, paratroopers, infantry, and armored personnel, these soldiers--some who had just cut their teeth in Africa and Sicily and some who were brand-new to war--joined a force aimed at the heart of Europe and Hitler’s defenses. On the morning of June 6, D-Day began. And in the hours that followed, thousands lost their lives, while those who survived would be changed forever
No other chronicle of D-Day can match Gerald Astor's extraordinary work--a vivid first-person account told with stunning immediacy by the men who were there. From soldiers who waded through the bullet-riddled water to those who dropped behind enemy lines, from moments of terror and confusion to acts of incredible camaraderie and heroism, June 6, 1944 plunges us into history in the making--and the most pivotal battle ever waged.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Astor ( The Blood-Dimmed Tide: The Battle of the Bulge By the Men Who Fought It ) here recreates the biggest amphibious assault in history, told in large part by the soldiers, sailors and airmen who survived the ordeal 50 years ago. Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of German-occupied France, was staggering in its scope: on June 6, 175,000 troops and their equipment--which included 50,000 vehicles--crossed the English Channel in a 5000-vessel armada to do battle with well-entrenched German troops in Normandy. Despite horrific losses, the Allies succeeded in gaining a precarious foothold by nightfall on D-Day. Astor's mosaic portrait of the fighting--the Canadians at Juno Beach, the British at Sword Beach, the Americans at Omaha Beach, plus supporting air and naval units--vividly demonstrates how the victory was accomplished. His account of the U.S. Ranger assault on the German artillery positions atop Pointe du Hoc is especially memorable. Astor's narrative is noteworthy for its immediacy and for the way he presents his spokesmen in the context of their families, schools, hometowns, nations and finally of their military training. Photos.
