T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed Sterling Point Books: Invasion: The Story of D-Day (Sterling Point Books) on + 273 more book reviews
"To us is given the honor of striking a blow for freedom which will live in history, and in the better days ahead, men will speak with pride of our doings." These were the words of General Bernard Law Montgomery, composed even before the events occurred - such was the realization of the momentous nature of the undertaking on which they were about to embark. But, for the events, and the sacrifices of the men who died striking that blow for freedom, several of which are featured in this book, to live on, people must first learn of and remember them, and then pass them on to posterity.
This is what this entire book series is about, and this edition is a perfect example of why they are so vital to the education of present and future generations of Americans.
As this short book describes, the Invasion of Normandy was one of the most momentous events in the history of human civilization - it remains the largest amphibious assault in history. All told, more than 150,000 soldiers from the US, Britain and Canada stormed the beaches of Normandy, which turned the tide of the war. The book also does an admirable job of describing what was nearly an unmitigated catastrophe: as many others have noted, it is miraculous that the day ended as it did, with the allies successfully landing, breaking through what Hitler believed was the impenetrable "Atlantic Wall."
Most of the difficulty was due to bad weather, as the book notes. Cloud cover resulted in a chaotic scattering of the paratroopers, who often ended up miles from their intended drop zones. Shelling and bombing meant to clear the area of enemy troops prior to the invasion, meant to minimize Allied casualties, were utterly inaccurate and ineffective due to poor visibility, meaning that many of the German defensive positions along the shore which were supposed to have been destroyed in advance of the troops' landing on the beaches, weren't, resulting in mass casualties far more devastating than even top brass had initially estimated. Much equipment, which would have made the landing much less costly in terms of lives, including critical tanks and artillery, were lost due to rough seas.
In short, everything that could go wrong, did: yet still, the Allies, largely due to the efforts and sacrifices of the individual men on the ground, without the large-scale weapons of war which could have protected them, won the day. Despite devastating losses, ALL FIVE BEACHES HAD BEEN TAKEN by nightfall on that same day, June 6, 1945.
Perhaps the most poignant aspect of this particular volume is the inclusion of stories of the individuals who made all the difference, and the very American notion, proven time and again, that one person can turn the tide, with singularly heroic acts above and beyond the call of duty. In this case, these efforts not infrequently resulted in their untimely deaths. These moving portraits of the brave men whose ultimate sacrifices carried the day should live on, and continue to inspire generations of young people who should honor and appreciate the deeds which cut their young lives tragically short.
Even in the planning stages of the mass invasion, military strategists acknowledged that the number of casualties was likely to be staggeringly high, but they saw no other option to establish a foothold on the continent, from whence an all-out push toward Berlin could begin. Reportedly only days before the invasion, then-General (and later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower was informed that that casualties among the paratroopers, who were to be sent in in advance of the attack on the beach, could reach as high as 75 percent.
Some of those who made the ultimate sacrifice: Private Ingram E. Lambert, of a C Company infantry outfit, took up a bangalore torpedo used to blast a path through minefields and barbed wire, crawled over a sea wall where he and his compatriots were pinned down, and attempted to set off the charge. In doing so, he was cut down by machine gun fire - but his platoon leader then took up the effort, which was successful. This allowed his entire company to advance and make it to safety. His newspaper obituary states that he was the son of mother Emily and late father Lorenzo. He entered the army on July 22, 1943, and went overseas in Jan., 1944. He posthumously received a purple heart and a Presidential citation. Ingram is laid to rest alongside his mother, who died in 1974. It appears that he may have been an only child.
Another featured in the book who made the ultimate sacrifice was Lieutenant Colonel Thornton L. Mullins, Commanding Officer of the 29th Infantry Division, 111th Field Artillery Battalion, US Army, who was hit twice before a third, fatal abdominal gunshot wound took his life, at age 31. He marshaled a ragtag company of confused and exhausted troops who were similarly pinned down behind a sea wall to take up rifles and fight their way to higher ground. He then began directing the men to safety, and reportedly gained immortality by telling his troops "To Hell with our artillery mission - we're infantrymen now!" Leading a tank forward, he directed its fire against a German emplacement, successfully taking it out, but as he started toward another tank across an open stretch, he was shot and killed by a sniper.
Impromptu leadership was critical to the success of the day, due to the complete chaos of the unintentional mis-landings and disorganized confusion of battle. Another unidentified lieutenant reportedly rallied his troops with the words, "are you going to lay there and get killed, or are you going to get up and do something about it?" In the end, of course, it was the efforts of all which led to unlikely success: the men who bailed water out of their landing vessels with their helmets when swamped by rough seas; the men whose ingenuity and quick thinking saved a single piece of artillery, which made a tremendous difference and in turn saved untold American lives once it made landfall; and those who did whatever was necessary to get the job done, like the two above examples and countless more like them, often at the cost of their own lives.
The book likewise notes that "each member of each first-wave assault section had countless assistance backing him up. These were not only the service men in the assault, the reinforcements in England, the troops on their way overseas and those in training in all the Allied countries, but also millions of civilians who were engaged in war work and war production. So each man in the first-wave assault section represented everything that those 'behind him' - as the phrase went - had accomplished." This reminds me of the old saying, "a soldier fights not because of what's in front of him, but on account of what's behind him."
If you want to visit young P.F.C. Ingram Eastabrook Lambert today, you can go to his final resting place in Union Cemetery, in Ramsey, New Jersey. A member of Company C, 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division, Maryland Army National Guard, Lambert's story was published in "National Guard Magazine," June, 2014 (Vol. 68, No. 6). You can also read more about him on FindAGrave (Memorial ID# 36730817). LTC Mullins received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism. He is interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Henrico County, Virginia. You can also read more about him on FindAGrave (Memorial ID# 31884280). He left behind a wife, Edna Brock, whom he had married in 1936. She died in 2002, at the age of 87. You can also leave a virtual flower and a note in gratitude for these and other men of The Greatest Generation who fell in defense of freedom, in what many have called "The Last Just War."
It's also important to remember, however, that many who fell that day NEVER made it home. The first Allied cemetery in Europe was dedicated just two days after the D-Day invasion, on June 8, 1945. Thousands of Americans, Canadians and other Allied troops are still interred there, far from their homelands, where they rest eternally alongside those with whom they fought and died. A memorial site in Bedford, Virginia, similar to the Vietnam Memorial, features bronze plaques representing every Allied troop who fell that day: the figure stands at 4,414, 2,501 of whom were Americans, for that 24-hour period known as D-Day. Many more died of their injuries in the days following, of course. The highest casualties occurred at Omaha Beach, where more than 2,000 US troops were killed, wounded or were listed as missing. The site of Bedford, Virginia was chosen by the US Congress, in fact, on account of the so-called "Bedford Boys," 19 young locals who were among the first to land on Omaha Beach, who perished that day, representing the highest per capita loss of any community in the nation.
This volume is also unique among many of the others in the series, in that the author actually lived the events he writes about: Bruce Bliven, Jr. was one of those who took part in the D-Day invasions, serving as a second lieutenant in the 29th Division Artillery. This volume was originally published in 1956, so the events were probably quite fresh in his memory. I don't want to rehash the confusing array of events which occurred that day, and the many subsequent days, but this book does a good job of providing an overview of the first wave of the assault. It represents an age-appropriate description of the triumphs and many, many tragedies which occurred on that fateful day, and subsequent days, 335, to be precise, as the allies pushed on toward ultimate victory and the unconditional surrender of Germany and one of the most terrible, but great armies ever assembled. Highly recommended - indeed, essential - reading for children and adults alike. Let us never forget the sacrifices of the men who fought and died nearly 80 years ago, and to always remember that freedom ain't free.
This is what this entire book series is about, and this edition is a perfect example of why they are so vital to the education of present and future generations of Americans.
As this short book describes, the Invasion of Normandy was one of the most momentous events in the history of human civilization - it remains the largest amphibious assault in history. All told, more than 150,000 soldiers from the US, Britain and Canada stormed the beaches of Normandy, which turned the tide of the war. The book also does an admirable job of describing what was nearly an unmitigated catastrophe: as many others have noted, it is miraculous that the day ended as it did, with the allies successfully landing, breaking through what Hitler believed was the impenetrable "Atlantic Wall."
Most of the difficulty was due to bad weather, as the book notes. Cloud cover resulted in a chaotic scattering of the paratroopers, who often ended up miles from their intended drop zones. Shelling and bombing meant to clear the area of enemy troops prior to the invasion, meant to minimize Allied casualties, were utterly inaccurate and ineffective due to poor visibility, meaning that many of the German defensive positions along the shore which were supposed to have been destroyed in advance of the troops' landing on the beaches, weren't, resulting in mass casualties far more devastating than even top brass had initially estimated. Much equipment, which would have made the landing much less costly in terms of lives, including critical tanks and artillery, were lost due to rough seas.
In short, everything that could go wrong, did: yet still, the Allies, largely due to the efforts and sacrifices of the individual men on the ground, without the large-scale weapons of war which could have protected them, won the day. Despite devastating losses, ALL FIVE BEACHES HAD BEEN TAKEN by nightfall on that same day, June 6, 1945.
Perhaps the most poignant aspect of this particular volume is the inclusion of stories of the individuals who made all the difference, and the very American notion, proven time and again, that one person can turn the tide, with singularly heroic acts above and beyond the call of duty. In this case, these efforts not infrequently resulted in their untimely deaths. These moving portraits of the brave men whose ultimate sacrifices carried the day should live on, and continue to inspire generations of young people who should honor and appreciate the deeds which cut their young lives tragically short.
Even in the planning stages of the mass invasion, military strategists acknowledged that the number of casualties was likely to be staggeringly high, but they saw no other option to establish a foothold on the continent, from whence an all-out push toward Berlin could begin. Reportedly only days before the invasion, then-General (and later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower was informed that that casualties among the paratroopers, who were to be sent in in advance of the attack on the beach, could reach as high as 75 percent.
Some of those who made the ultimate sacrifice: Private Ingram E. Lambert, of a C Company infantry outfit, took up a bangalore torpedo used to blast a path through minefields and barbed wire, crawled over a sea wall where he and his compatriots were pinned down, and attempted to set off the charge. In doing so, he was cut down by machine gun fire - but his platoon leader then took up the effort, which was successful. This allowed his entire company to advance and make it to safety. His newspaper obituary states that he was the son of mother Emily and late father Lorenzo. He entered the army on July 22, 1943, and went overseas in Jan., 1944. He posthumously received a purple heart and a Presidential citation. Ingram is laid to rest alongside his mother, who died in 1974. It appears that he may have been an only child.
Another featured in the book who made the ultimate sacrifice was Lieutenant Colonel Thornton L. Mullins, Commanding Officer of the 29th Infantry Division, 111th Field Artillery Battalion, US Army, who was hit twice before a third, fatal abdominal gunshot wound took his life, at age 31. He marshaled a ragtag company of confused and exhausted troops who were similarly pinned down behind a sea wall to take up rifles and fight their way to higher ground. He then began directing the men to safety, and reportedly gained immortality by telling his troops "To Hell with our artillery mission - we're infantrymen now!" Leading a tank forward, he directed its fire against a German emplacement, successfully taking it out, but as he started toward another tank across an open stretch, he was shot and killed by a sniper.
Impromptu leadership was critical to the success of the day, due to the complete chaos of the unintentional mis-landings and disorganized confusion of battle. Another unidentified lieutenant reportedly rallied his troops with the words, "are you going to lay there and get killed, or are you going to get up and do something about it?" In the end, of course, it was the efforts of all which led to unlikely success: the men who bailed water out of their landing vessels with their helmets when swamped by rough seas; the men whose ingenuity and quick thinking saved a single piece of artillery, which made a tremendous difference and in turn saved untold American lives once it made landfall; and those who did whatever was necessary to get the job done, like the two above examples and countless more like them, often at the cost of their own lives.
The book likewise notes that "each member of each first-wave assault section had countless assistance backing him up. These were not only the service men in the assault, the reinforcements in England, the troops on their way overseas and those in training in all the Allied countries, but also millions of civilians who were engaged in war work and war production. So each man in the first-wave assault section represented everything that those 'behind him' - as the phrase went - had accomplished." This reminds me of the old saying, "a soldier fights not because of what's in front of him, but on account of what's behind him."
If you want to visit young P.F.C. Ingram Eastabrook Lambert today, you can go to his final resting place in Union Cemetery, in Ramsey, New Jersey. A member of Company C, 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division, Maryland Army National Guard, Lambert's story was published in "National Guard Magazine," June, 2014 (Vol. 68, No. 6). You can also read more about him on FindAGrave (Memorial ID# 36730817). LTC Mullins received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism. He is interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Henrico County, Virginia. You can also read more about him on FindAGrave (Memorial ID# 31884280). He left behind a wife, Edna Brock, whom he had married in 1936. She died in 2002, at the age of 87. You can also leave a virtual flower and a note in gratitude for these and other men of The Greatest Generation who fell in defense of freedom, in what many have called "The Last Just War."
It's also important to remember, however, that many who fell that day NEVER made it home. The first Allied cemetery in Europe was dedicated just two days after the D-Day invasion, on June 8, 1945. Thousands of Americans, Canadians and other Allied troops are still interred there, far from their homelands, where they rest eternally alongside those with whom they fought and died. A memorial site in Bedford, Virginia, similar to the Vietnam Memorial, features bronze plaques representing every Allied troop who fell that day: the figure stands at 4,414, 2,501 of whom were Americans, for that 24-hour period known as D-Day. Many more died of their injuries in the days following, of course. The highest casualties occurred at Omaha Beach, where more than 2,000 US troops were killed, wounded or were listed as missing. The site of Bedford, Virginia was chosen by the US Congress, in fact, on account of the so-called "Bedford Boys," 19 young locals who were among the first to land on Omaha Beach, who perished that day, representing the highest per capita loss of any community in the nation.
This volume is also unique among many of the others in the series, in that the author actually lived the events he writes about: Bruce Bliven, Jr. was one of those who took part in the D-Day invasions, serving as a second lieutenant in the 29th Division Artillery. This volume was originally published in 1956, so the events were probably quite fresh in his memory. I don't want to rehash the confusing array of events which occurred that day, and the many subsequent days, but this book does a good job of providing an overview of the first wave of the assault. It represents an age-appropriate description of the triumphs and many, many tragedies which occurred on that fateful day, and subsequent days, 335, to be precise, as the allies pushed on toward ultimate victory and the unconditional surrender of Germany and one of the most terrible, but great armies ever assembled. Highly recommended - indeed, essential - reading for children and adults alike. Let us never forget the sacrifices of the men who fought and died nearly 80 years ago, and to always remember that freedom ain't free.
