Table of Contents
Some of the Voices from Omaha ix
Abbreviations and Glossary xv
Maps xvii
Introduction xxiii
Prologue: 1:00 A.M. June 6, 1944 xxix
1 The Far Shore 1:00 A.M. to 4:30 A.M.
The Plage d'Or 1:00 A.M. to 4:00 A.M. 1
Where the German Soldier Stands Nobody Gets In! 3:00 A.M. to 4:30 A.M. 21
2 Force "O" Midnight to 3:30 A.M.
The Funnel Midnight to 3:00 A.M. 40
GIs: Government Issue. 1:30 A.M. to 3:00 A.M. 53
"Strictly Power." The Plan. 2:30 A.M. to 3:30 A.M. 64
3 The Storm Breaks 2:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M.
"Whole World Against Us" 2:00 A.M. to 4:55 A.M. 79
"Bacon and Eggs on the Edge of Eternity" 2:30 A.M. to 4:30 A.M. 88
"A Series of Flashes on the Horizon." The Bombardment 5:50 A.M. to 6:20 A.M. 103
4 Death Ride 4:15 A.M. to 6:30 A.M.
A Wild Death Ride 4:15 A.M. to 6:15 A.M. 113
Sie Kommen! 5:00 A.M. to 6:30 A.M. 125
France Looked Sordid and Uninviting 6:15 A.M. to 6:30 A.M. 132
5 First Wave Floundered 6:30 A.M. to 7:30 A.M.
Vierville Cliff Shoulder, Right 6:30 A.M. to 7:20 A.M. 140
Colleville Cliff Shoulder, Left 6:30 A.M. to 7:30 A.M. 162
6 Pointe du Hoc, "The Jib" 6:40 A.M. to 11:10 A.M.
The Cliff 6:40 A.M. to 7:30 A.M. 183
The Plateau 7:30 A.M. to 11:10 A.M. 195
7 Win or Lose! 6:45 A.M. to 8:30 A.M.
The Center. Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer 6:45 A.M. to 8:00 A.M. 203
Leaders 7:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M. 217
Stop the Boats 8:30 A.M. 231
8 The Crisis 8:30 A.M. to Midday
Dilemmas 8:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. 241
More Infantry 9:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. 258
9 Village Fighting 11:30 A.M. to Dusk
Colleville, East 11:30 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. 269
Vierville, West 10:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. 284
Saint-Laurent, Center 11:30 A.M. to Dusk 294
10 Tenuous Foothold 4:00 P.M. to Midnight
Kampfgruppe Meyer 4:00 P.M. to 11:55 P.M. 301
Pointe du Hoc. The Angle Midday to Midnight 308
Dusk to Darkness 5:00 P.M. to Beyond Midnight 316
Beyond 24 Hours 331
Bibliography 349
Endnotes 353
Index 366
Acknowledgments 376