Utah Beach: Normandy

The fortunes of war and clear-headed decisions by commanders on the scene combined to make Utah Beach the most successful and least costly of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. Strong ocean currents and the confusion of battle placed the landing force a mile south of its target, but further away from German artillery and in a sector that was less heavily defended because the land inland was flooded. The first craft ashore happened to contain Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. who immediately brought order to what might have been a chaotic situation. The U.S. 8th Infantry Regiment quickly began to move inland for a crucial linkup with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, all of whose landing zones were behind Utah Beach.The personalities, units and individual actions of this dramatic D-Day landing are all covered in the usual Battlegroud Europe fashion, with numerous illustrations, maps and a guide to the area as it is today.