An Introduction to the History of D-Day

One of the most overused essay topics is as follows: “If you could go back in history and meet one person, who would it be?” Typically, the answer is one of the famous presidents such as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Why? Historians have examined the lives of these men, wrote about their failures and triumphs; people read them and most have derived that Washington or Lincoln were superior men and should be revered forever. However, let us dwell on a topic that is not typical but sounds like it should be: “If you could go back in history and relive one day, what day would that be?” One historian, Stephen Ambrose, has created an extraordinary account of the long-forgotten June 6, 1944, known to all as D-Day, that allows readers to jump into the past and become part of one of the most tragic days in history.

D-Day actively identifies and describes the roles of the individuals involved not only from a “soldier’s viewpoint” but also from a humane aspect. Even before the official commencement of the book in Chapter 1, Ambrose examines the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of the men during possibly the most demanding moment of their lives. His prologue is filled with actual descriptions and actions of honorable people at both an individual and team level. Ambrose emphasizes throughout the book how men as a collective were able to overcome not only the military challenges but personal challenges as well. He wrote D-Day as if the reader were reading the diary of the men themselves. And his account isn’t solely of the Allied men; the depictions of Nazi soldiers and other “Axis men” are just as accurately described as those of the Allies. One might stereotypically think of the lives of these men as perverted and brainwashed when in reality, they aren’t so different from the lives of their opposition. Throughout the book, the lives of the men and women involved are interwoven into the history of the day, bringing past events vividly to life.

It’s accurate to say that Ambrose is a superb historian. With every chapter, he chronologically delves deeply into each aspect of the reasonings, makings, doings, and after-effects of D-Day. Ambrose retrieves his information from a multitude of resources, including confidential documents (now privately released) and hundreds of personal interviews from both sides of the war. He’s created a document that is incredibly unbiased. What sets D-Day apart is the reader’s ability to experience the day through the lives of the individuals and events of both the Allies and the Axis. Contrary to reading a historical reference—which often tends to be tedious—Ambrose has organized D-Day in a way that it functions as both a history textbook and an engrossing story. D-Day definitely gets two thumbs up!

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