D-Day Turning Points in History

by Martin Gilbert

"The Allied landings in 1944 had all the prospects for disaster. Churchill thought he would be woken up to be told of massive casualties. Eisenhower prepared a somber broadcast announcing that the enterprise had failed.The specter of failure was always present. After a failed landing the Nazi regime would have regained the ascendant. New, terrifying bombs and rockets were ready to be launched. Long-distance submarines were in the final stage of development. The last million Jews of Europe were listed for deportation and death.Failure at Normandy could have given Hitler the chance of continuing to rule western Europe, particularly if the United States, bloodied and defeated in Normandy, had decided-after two and a half years of focusing on Europe-to turn all its energies to the ever-growing demands of the Pacific, leaving Europe to its own devices. Had that happened, I doubt if I would have been alive to write this book, or free to express my opinions without fear of arrest."--Martin Gilbert

Genres: History, World War II, War, Military History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

The official biographer of Winston Churchill and a leading historian on the Twentieth Century, Sir Martin Gilbert was a scholar and an historian who, though his 88 books, has shown there is such a thing as “true history”

Born in London in 1936, Martin Gilbert was educated at Highgate School, and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours. He was a Research Scholar at St Anthony's College, and became a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford in 1962, and an Honorary Fellow in 1994. After working as a researcher for Randolph Churchill, Gilbert was chosen to take over the writing of the Churchill biography upon Randolph's death in 1968, writing six of the eight volumes of biography and editing twelve volumes of documents. In addition, Gilbert has written pioneering and classic works on the First and Second World Wars, the Twentieth Century, the Holocaust, and Jewish history.
Gilbert drove every aspect of his books, from finding archives to corresponding with eyewitnesses and participants that gave his work veracity and meaning, to finding and choosing illustrations, drawing maps that mention each place in the text, and compiling the indexes. He travelled widely lecturing and researching, advised political figures and filmmakers, and gave a voice and a name “to those who fought and those who fell.”

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Reviews

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This account of D-Day by eminent British historian Martin Gilbert is a fantastic survey of the D-Day preparations. His purpose in writing this brief history is to give the general public a sense of the undertaking, its men, its successes and its failures. So many have eloquently described what was at risk. Gilbert adds something new, however, to the account so often treated briefly - the criticality and successes of Allied misinformation.

Whether talking about the early deceptions such as Operation Bodyguard, the training operations and Operation Tiger, Operation Titanic, and the turning of German agents, Gilbert ably prioritizes these accomplishments against the backdrop of what it meant to the actual invasion force. So successful was the deception that weeks after D-Day, Hitler still would not mobilize his full force, caught up in the misinformation of a second invasion force that did not exist.

D-Day was a turning point in history – one in which the forces of civilization rescued the future from barbarism. Everyone should remember it. This book does it justice.

[Carson Deer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very informative and easy to follow piece on the events of, and leading up to D-Day. Respected British historian, Martin Gilbert, goes in depth in describing the American and British preparations for D-Day, including their elaborate deception plan to disguise the real sight and date of the D-Day landings. Gilbert describes the rigorous training endured by everyone involved in what would end up being one of the most important days in World War II. Overall, this a very informative and fairly easy read, especially if you are interested in learning more about World War II.

[Christopher Eidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a great book

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more an overview of the planning and deception efforts before June 6, 1944. The fighting is covered sparsely. The prose is jumpy. On the brighter side, there are some good maps in the back.

[The F]

It's hard to read a book all about one event- and spending 2/3rds of the book leading up to it. It had nice info, though.

[Paul R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A

[Nathan Gann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very well written and clear. It expanded one's view of the events leading up to and during the invasion of Normandy beach. Martin Gilbert was very thorough in his research of this topic and it is clearly shown in the amount of detail, quotes, and personal accounts. This attention to detail was somewhat detrimental to the overall flow of the book. I did not personally enjoy reading the book because the abundance of details caused the reading to be rather slow. If one were writing a report upon the D-Day invasion or severely interested in the subject of it, then this book would be a helpful resource for those people.

[Matthew Barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pleasantly surprising read from such an unassuming little book. Gilbert's account of the build up to D-Day is one of the best I have come across, especially his analysis of the deception plans that were being laid out to confuse the Germans. As Churchill's biographer Gilbert has had direct access to the PM's personal notes, as well as having witnessed some of the build up himself. This puts him in the perfect position to describe and analyze the great undertaking that the allied forces worked towards in the spring of 44.

I would strongly recommend this book for anyone looking for a quick, but in-depth analysis of D-Day and the events leading up to it.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilbert's brief overview of D-Day is superb. This short book (less than 200 pages in paperback) gives a great summary of the preparations for and execution of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

Over half the book is dedicated to the preparations made on both sides, including the impressive amount of deception by the Allies. The landings are described in broad strokes, usually with one personal account per landing beach. The end result is an easy-to-read overview that is highly accessible and worth reading.

[Damián · Rating 3 out of 5]

Empieza con un resumen de los preparativos para el día D como las misiones de espionaje, los sabotajes a lineas férreas e industrias armamentistas y de producción de bienes de guerra, las misiones de engaño, etc. La descripción del día D es excelente aunque le falta un poco más de relato y testimonios de protagonistas así como mapas mejor elaborados. Aun así es un buen libro como para empezar a saber sobre este día que cambio al historia del mundo.

[Jeroen Berndsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, has some interesting descriptions, but overall I'd recommend Anthony Beevor's 'D-Day'. Although that one's longer, it's a more interesting read than this one. Somehow Gilbert doesn't quite catch my attention en fails to bring the subject matter to live like Beevor does.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about the preparation for the Normandy invasion. Mostly and overview but still good information and background.

[Charles Chin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very abbreviated

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

another amazing WWII book. really easy read.