Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 [Hardcover]

Joseph Balkoski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2004

Omaha Beach saw the greatest drama and loss of life on D-Day and was critically important to subsequent Allied total victory in World War II. In this gripping new book, historian Joseph Balkoski tells the story of June 6, 1944, when largely untested American troops assaulted the German army's Atlantic wall. Equal parts oral history and meticulous reconstruction, including the invasion's diplomatic and strategic context, Omaha Beach is the closest the modern reader can get to experiencing the Normandy landings firsthand. A fitting tribute to the veterans as well as an engaging narrative, it promises to become a classic on one of America's, and indeed, the world's, most important days in history. This brilliantly researched and engagingly written comprehensive history of this momentous battle includes many never before published first-person accounts by the men who were there, many given within days of the invasion! Also included are comprehensive lists of all Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross winners at Omaha Beach as well as: ù the Order of Battle ù casualty list for the first twenty-four hours ù organization of a 30man assault boat ù weapons and equipment carried in the assault by a typical soldier and a series of detailed maps allowing the reader unparalleled insight into the minute-by-minute combat on Omaha Beach.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Balkoski (Beyond the Beachhead: The 29th Division in Normandy) makes officer and enlisted-men's first-person testimony the center of this account, with light contextualization in between, along with 34 b&w photos and 27 maps.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

An amazing book. -- Joe Scarborough, MSNBC

Balkoski's depiction of "Bloody Omaha" is the literary accompaniment to the white-knuckle Omaha Beach scene that opens Saving Private Ryan. -- John Hillen, New York Post

Riveting. -- Fred Barnes, The Weekly Standard

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 410 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811700798
• ISBN-13: 978-0811700795
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in NYC and graduated from Vassar College in 1975. I also gained an M.A. in history at New York University. I moved to Baltimore in 1981 and have been here ever since. As soon as I moved here I became fascinated with the US Army's 29th Infantry Division because so many of my neighbors served in it. I have been very honored not only to know past members of the division well, but also its current members, since I serve as Historian for the Maryland National Guard. Both the old and young soldiers are fabulous people and always keep my life interesting. In my spare time, I play the piano and participate in various sports activities as much as I can.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best account of Omaha Beach I've ever read, honest., March 20, 2004

By 

A. Zejori (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 (Hardcover)

I haven't read every single book on D-Day and Omaha Beach so I suppose calling this one THE ONE is a bit of an overextension, but I feel comfortable doing it and here's why. Joseph Balkoski has got to be the single best historian on D-Day alive today. His research is absolutely amazing. He has found after-action reports that no other historian has used, some of these reports taken just days after the invasion. He's walked the beach, lived in Normandy and focuses almost exclusively on original, primary sources as close to the action as possible. Now that is research.

First, the maps. I don't know how many times I have read a book and tried to piece together where and what was happening. I think there are 30 crystal clear maps in this book spread out where they are needed providing an almost minute by minute account of the action. They really helped me visualize what was going on.

Second, the research. For the first time I finally understand what happened with the DD Tanks, why some were launched far out from the beaches while others virtually rolled off the LCTs and right onto the beach. And guess what, it wasn't the Navy's fault. Add to that the first real look at the role played by the Royal Navy at Omaha Beach and the incredible detail Balkoski provides of the assault teams as they clawed their forward and that is just a slice of his mastery of this subject. (And his piece at the end about the differences in medals awarded to the 1st division and 29th is almost worth a book in itself.)

Third, his writing style. Actually, part of his style is to let the soldiers speak for themselves by quoting the after-action reports and mixing them in with the text. I've seen this done before, but never this well or with this much detail. Honestly, this book is like reading the first 20 minutes of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. The first few chapters are just a tad slow as he explains the whole overview, but after that it starts to fly as fast as the action in Private Ryan.

Other than his previous book, Beyond the Beachhead, I don't really know if he has published anything else, but I hope he does more. This is military history at its finest, better than Ambrose, D'este or even Keegan (who I think is actually past his prime, but Face of Battle is an all time favorite of mine.) I can't recommend this book enough, but I'll try. Read it, check it out at your library or grab a coffee at B&N and relax with it, you'll see what I mean.

A. Zejori

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid account of one of the most crucial battles in WW2, July 30, 2004

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 (Hardcover)

Joseph Balkoski's book on Omaha Beach may not be able to lay claim to quite the same literary grace of Cornelius Ryan's classic "The Longest Day" nor perhaps even Stephen Ambrose's later book on D-Day, but it does provide a sharper focus than either of those books on what was probably the most crucial one-day battle in the European theater that the US engaged in World War Two. Balkoski's preference is for primary sources as nearly contemporaneous with the events themselves, using later veterans' reminiscences only when corroborated by other evidence. He has constructed a narrative that is broken at regular intervals for excerpts, sometimes quite lengthy, sometimes not, from primary sources. Although this does not make for the smoothest narrative style, it does allow the men who were there speak for themselves. Almost of these accounts are from Americans -- it was, after all, American ground forces who landed on Omaha Beach -- but are supplemented by some from Royal Navy personnel who operated some of the landing craft used to ferry the Americans ashore. Balkoski explains, however, that very few German accounts are available because, first, relatively few Germans fought there and survived and, second, those who did survive had little reason to recount their experiences in later years.

I do not believe that there is a clearer, more detailed study of the Omaha Beach events available anywhere. Balkoski's text is supplemented by numerous maps, albeit maps somewhat sterile in style. I regretted the lack of a handy key relating the maps of quite small actions to the larger geography of Omaha Beach, and I found it useful to turn to another source (Steven Zaloga's Osprey book on Omaha Beach) for maps that helped place the small events in a larger context, but that is only a small quibble.

There were many heroes on Omaha Beach that day, but it is clear that Balkoski particularly admires Brigadier General Norman D. Cota, assistant commander of the 29th Division, whose actions under fire were an important factor in moving the invasion force off the beach and across the bluffs into the interior. In an appendix, Balkoski advocates a reconsideration of the Distinguished Service Cross awarded to Cota and upgrading it to a Medal of Honor in recognition of Cota's conduct on Omaha Beach (he also suggests the same for Colonel George Taylor, commanding officer of the 16th Infantry Regiment, whose actions paralled those of Cota).

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, March 20, 2004

By 

Tyler (Almost always Upstate NY!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944 (Hardcover)

Hi,
I'm a music major but have always loved history and read it for pleasure. Both my grandfathers served in WWII, one was wounded, the other killed. As a result I am keenly interested in D-Day and Omaha Beach in particular as both grandfathers served in the European Theater. I saw this book in my Barnes and Noble and started reading it there. I couldn't put it down! I think my favorite part are all the interviews spaced throughout the book. It really brings it home listening to the soldiers talk about what it was like in their very own words. The author, Jospeh Balkoski, ties it altogether nicely so that everything flows and you keep getting pulled deeper and deeper into the terror and exhiliration of going ashore that morning.

Tyler