Term paper on Invasion of Normandy (D-day)

Invasion of Normandy (D-Day)

RESOURCE GUIDE

Allied preparations to invade Europe via France began in early 1942. In January 1944 General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in Great Britain to take command of this gargantuan effort, Operation Overlord. Having decoyed the Germans into believing that they would invade at Calais some 200 miles northward, the Allies on June 6, 1944, launched the greatest amphibious assault in history on the still very heavily defended beaches of Normandy . Over 5,000 ships ferried and supported more than 150,000 Allied troops who secured the beachheads after fierce fighting that cost them 5,000 casualties. Paris fell to the Allies two months later.
Suggestions for Term Papers

1. Discuss why General Eisenhower was chosen to command Operation Overlord.

2. Discuss the preparations for Operation Overlord.

3. Analyze why Operation Overlord was successful.

4. Discuss the contributions of a prominent American military leader during World War II.

5. Discuss how the Allies deceived the Germans as to where the invasion of France would take place.

Suggested Sources : See entry 48 for related items.

REFERENCE SOURCES

The D-Day Atlas . John Man. New York : Facts on File, 1994. Examines the campaign from both Allied and German perspectives. Clear and comprehensive maps, graphs, and charts, with more than 60 color maps.

The D-Day Encyclopedia . David G. Chandler and James Lawton, Jr., eds. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1994. Comprehensive, objective treatment of engagements, strategies, officers, statesmen, weapons, treaties, and other topics.

Oxford Companion to World War II . New York : Oxford University Press, 1995. Contains more than 1,700 entries and 300 photographs, diagrams, and maps.

World War II: A Statistical Survey . John Ellis. New York : Facts on File, 1993. Compendium of facts and figures with hundreds of maps, charts, and graphs, including ones for D-Day.

GENERAL SOURCES

Ambrose, Stephen. Citizen Soldier: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany , June 7, 1944–May 7, 1945 . New York : Simon&Schuster, 1997. Draws on interviews and oral histories from both sides on the last battles of the war. The sequel to Ambrose’s D-Day (see below).

SPECIALIZED SOURCES

Ambrose, Stephen. D-Day, June 6, 1944 . New York: Simon&Schuster, 1994. An excellent and well-written detailed history and memorial tribute; examines individual ordeals on the Normandy beaches.

Astor, Gerald. June 6, 1944 : The Voices of D-Day . New York: St. Martin’s, 1994. Vivid accounts of veterans regarding action on D-Day.

D’Este, Carlo. Decision in Normandy . (1983). Reprint. New York: HarperPerennial Books, 1994. An outstanding military history that offers a new perspective on the Allied campaign.

Drez, Ronald, J., ed. Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. Distinctive work recording the interviews with 150 surviving veterans.

Eisenhower, Dwight D. Crusade in Europe . Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1997. The account of the Allied war plans and the execution of the Normandy invasion and its aftermath by the commander of the Allied forces.

Goldstein, Richard. America at D-Day: A Book of Remembrance . New York: Dell, 1994. Recalls the ferocity of the invasion, beginning with the planning by the Allied command for the invasion two years before the landings.

Hastings, Max. Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy . New York: Simon&Schuster, 1984. Excellent treatment by a noted World War II historian.

Kemp, Anthony. D-Day and the Invasion of Normandy . New York: Abrams, 1994. An illustrated account of the Allied invasion from both the Allied and German points of view.

Lewis, John, ed. Eye-Witness D-Day: The Story of the Battle by Those Who Were There . New York: Carroll&Graf, 1994. Real-life accounts by soldiers and civilians on both sides.

Miller, Russell. Nothing Less Than Victory: An Oral History of D-Day . New York: Morrow, 1993. A compilation of personal commentaries about D-Day collected from letters, diaries, memoranda, official reports, and interviews with veterans on both sides.

Omaha Beachhead (6 June–13 June 1944) . Washington, DC: Center for Military History, 1984. Official U.S. Army history of the first days of the Normandy invasions, with detailed accounts on the landings and detailed maps.

Wilson, Theodore A. D-Day, 1944 . Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1994. Essays by leading scholars on the invasion of France, covering all aspects of the largest amphibious assault in history.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

D’Este, Carlo. Patton: A Genius for War . New York: HarperCollins, 1995. A detailed biography of Patton’s life, with an emphasis on his leadership abilities in war, as well as his assessment of Eisenhower. Osmont, Marie Louise. The Normandy Diary of Marie-Louise Osmont, 1940–1944 . New York: Random House, 1994. The author’s experiences living in Normandy during World War II.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

D-Day: The Battle That Liberated the World . Wynewood, PA: Schlessinger/ Library Video, 1998. Discusses the most significant military operation of its time, from the Luftwaffe bombardment of the United Kingdom to the mobilization of the American war industry. 52 minutes.

WORLD WIDE WEB

The 50th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy—Operation Overlord. 1994. http://www.nando.net/sproject/dday/dday.html Informative web site treating the planning and execution, equipment, and casualty toll. Links to collection of documents and additional photographs.