Being there . . . . in the heart of hell, the heroical “Bloody Omaha”, a beach of valor and gallantry, on that D-Day, 6 June 1944, 78 years ago today, when so many Allied troops wept and died crossing the five Normandy Beaches that were stormed. Lest we forget, grieve, perhaps offering a prayer or two, for those who were mowed down by German guns as they struggled through the surf, American navy doctors unable to distinguish between the living and dead when our boys were pulled from the “murky pink waters” . . . . .
Commemorating the 78th Anniversary
THANK YOU, OSPREY PUBLISHING AND AUTHOR ZALOGA FOR ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT BOOKS YET TO APPEAR ON THE D–DAY INVASION
Looming large over the cliffs of D-Day, as well as in the minds of Allied planners, was the German gun battery of Pointe du Hoc. Could these massive guns derail our amphibious operation on D-Day? It was decided that a new kind of American military unit was required to scale the cliffs and take out the dreaded enemy guns before the main beach landings. Controversial from its inception, this new Ranger Force A was uncertain whether it would succeed in scaling the cliffs under heavy, fiery fire. Its amazing, nay, incredible, victory is one of the core legends of all American military history.
Reviewed and Highly Recommended by Don DeNevi
“SMASHING HITLER’S GUNS – – The Rangers at Pointe du Hoc – – D-Day, 1944”
Steven J. Zaloga, Osprey Publishing, 368 pages, hc, $35
Oh, no question about it, buff, whether you’re an amateur, serious enthusiast, or professional historian! Zaloga’s masterful narration, coupled with his well-told masterly reenactments of miracle battles, is the real stuff, especially when based upon new evidence, including the original, unedited U.S. Army reports long buried in the deepest recesses of U.S. historical archives.
Although it is still early June, “Smashing Hitler’s Guns” is destined to be one of the three best World War II books of 2022, as author Steven J. Zaloga whirls into the world’s, not just America’s, select echelon of nonfiction military writers. This book is highly recommended, especially if you’ve believed all along or you fully understand what happened on D-Day when Force A of the Rangers scaled the 35-meter cliffs at Pointe du Hoc overlooking the English Channel and its historic Bloody Omaha.
To be continued tomorrow…
Along comes Osprey again, this time with some of its amazing summer collections
. . . see for yourself, www.ospreypublishing.com
