Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944

Joseph Balkoski has crafted an amazing piece of literary history with "Omaha Beach". "Omaha Beach" delivers on two major counts: First, this is one of the only books to tackle in such a scholarly fashion the critical events of June 6, 1944 that took place on that surprisingly well defended strip of Norman coast. Second, Balkoski does his scholarly work with literary flair oft missing in such serious works. This book is plain fun to read. Balkoski doesn't write like C. Ryan, J. Toland, or S. Ambrose, but his writes in a readable style that quickly endears him to the reader. I found his use of replicated first-hand accounts (after action reports, personal letters, and diary entries) - and to a lesser extent, second-hand after-action Army Historical Division interviews - to supplement his own story-telling quite effective. It is clear upon reading this book that Balkoski has put his heart and soul into this work, and has done so not with speculation, but by sifting through literally thousands of pieces official historical documents and personal recollections of survivors who were there. If the aforementioned properties of "Omaha Beach" were not enough, Balkoski's book is also steeped with amazingly detailed and useful maps of action - these have been generated from the research undertaken and present the reader with a very nice picture of where units were over the 24 hour period that was the 6th of June. I found these maps (there are 27 in total) indispensible! The Appendices of the book are also to be cherished by the reader. Not simply long lists of references, but also: descriptions of the actions of Medal of Honor awardees on Omaha Beach and names of all the Distinguished Service Cross awardees; lists of total casualties suffered (by unit); a listing of first wave units and commanders to hit Omaha Beach; composition (personnel), uniform and equipments of average units serving on Omaha; detailed notes about the Balkoski's approach to writing "Omaha Beach"; and finally the appropriate citations of the many works used to produce this wonderful text. Of particular note in the Appendices is Balkoski's plea to have the US Military to re-review the actions of Gen. N. Cota and Col. G. Taylor on Omaha that were deemed valorous enough for the DSC but not for the Medal of Honor. Balkoski makes a VERY compelling case that both Cota and Taylor performed in a fashion consistent with that expected of Medal of Honor awardee's. This reader sincerely hopes that members of the US Army in a position to rattle appropriate chains read "Omaha Beach" and in fact re-consider these DSC's for MH's. In the end I can't recommend "Omaha Beach" highly enough. This book is an important addition to the D-Day historical literature - one not previously out there, that should be read by armchair and professional hostorians alike.

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).

Easy to read, amply illustrated with a good combination of first-personal accounts and contextual narrative by the author. This book will both broaden your knowledge of the first day's fighting on Omaha Beach as well as give you great insight into how the men involved, from all perspectives, viewed history being made before their eyes. The opening scenes from from the film "Saving Private Ryan" only give a small glimpse of the enormity of the task and the obstacles to success on that first day. This book fills in the missing pieces of the picture from Omaha Beach, and does so in a coherent, interesting fashion.If you are remotely interested in the D-Day landings, you will enjoy this book and not regret the purchase.

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

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