Friends of Montclair Library

Soldiers wade through surf and Nazi gunfire to secure a beachhead during the Allied Invasion, June 6, 1944. Photo: U.S. Army via Flickr.

Tomorrow, June 6, 2014, is the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the date in 1944 when 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified coastline in Normandy, France. An unimaginable 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but the effort kick-started the final phase of World War II that ultimately ended with an Allied victory. You can learn more about D-Day on the Army’s website, or through materials like these at the Montclair library:

D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose (940.54214 AMBROSE) “Using eyewitness accounts from both sides of the battlefield, Ambrose reconstructs the invasion that turned the tables of WWII in favor of the allies.” — PW Reviews 1995 May #3

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre (940.54214 MACINTYRE) The story of the six double agents whose job was to weave a web of deception to protect the secret of the Allied invasion.

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 by Rick Atkinson (940.5421 ATKINSON) “Tells the dramatic story of the titanic battle for Western Europe from D-Day to the thrust to the heart of the Third Reich.” — Encore

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (940.54 BROKAW) Personal narratives of WWII soldiers.

Band of Brothers (videorecording) HBO miniseries based on true stories of “Easy” Company (part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division) as told in the book of the same name by Stephen Ambrose (available from the Main library)