D-Day: Omaha and Utah

by Will Fowler

In any military operation throughout history, few 24-hour periods have been as crucial as that of 6th June 1944. With the aid of specially commissioned maps, D-Day: The First 24 Hours series gives the dramatic history of the first 24 hours of the Normandy landings, and explains in detail the events that occurred in each landing zone. In this third volume of the series, the book describes the American landings on Omaha and Utah beaches. The fighting on Omaha was some of the most desperate fighting took place, but the beach was eventually secured. The book also includes the famous operation by the US Rangers to capture the gun position at Pointe du Hoc, successfully scaling a sheer cliff face in the teeth of the defenders' fire.

With colour and black & white photographs, the book is a guide to key events in the first 24 hours of the D-Day landings that saw the Allies successfully achieve a foothold in Northern Europe.

Genres: Nonfiction

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2014

About the author

Will Fowler is Professor of Spanish at the University of St Andrews, where he has taught since 1995. He earned his PhD at the University of Bristol and worked as a lecturer in Spanish at Leicester Polytechnic (subsequently renamed De Montfort University) for four years before joining the University of St Andrews.

Reviews

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will Fowler is the author of nearly 50 books. D-Day: Omaha and Utah was released early last month, though the original publication date was in 2014. It is the 57th book I completed reading in 2024.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book as G.

This book is a short but concise look at the first 24 hours after D-Day on Omaha and Utah beaches. The author looks at both the German and Allied units involved. He has included several photos and maps. Details are given of some of the German defensive positions. Men from both sides are quoted as to their experiences.

I enjoyed the 1.5 hours I spent reading this 74-page WWII history. I had the opportunity a few years ago to read one of Mr. Fowler’s other books, Stalingrad: Hitler’s Biggest Gamble October 1942. It was another good WWII history. Simple but appropriate cover art is. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first 24 hours of the landings of Utah and Omaha beach was violent, chaotic and full of courage, and heroism. I loved the book opened up with the level headness of Theradore Rooseavelt Jr when landing in the wrong spot of Utah Beach! This is a great short consice history of a very long first days of the allied landing on the french coast.

Thank you NetGalley and Amber Books for a copy.

[Ron Baumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and informative novel regarding the D-Day invasion. The author does a great job of presenting stories from both sides of the conflict. A great read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Mike Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much info it is hard for me to absorb all the detail. The book is an excellent primer that shows the heroic actions of US soldiers on D-day. Short read.