Summary of Joseph Balkoski's Omaha Beach

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The American army was ready for its big test in May 1944. The top soldier, Gen. George C. Marshall, had made sure of that. Every GI, from the greenest private to Marshall himself, was passionate about the clear-cut military principle that the fastest way home was to pummel the enemy into extinction. #2 The American economy was finally in full swing by 1944, and the army was ready. Marshall knew where the decisive campaign must take place: Japan. The possibilities were not overdrawn, because American soldiers were already fighting in the Pacific, Burma, China, and India. #3 The American military was unprepared and inexperienced in 1941 and 1942, which forced Marshall to conduct the war against Germany and Italy in a manner that was contrary to the war of annihilation he wanted to execute. #4 The American landing on the coastal strip between the Norman villages of Vierville-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer, a beach forever since known as Omaha, is a case in point. Although the Omaha Beach invasion was just one of many D-Day battles, it was in itself larger in scale than most World War II engagements that had preceded it.