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    Turning Point: The Story of the D-Day Landings
    Turning Point: The Story of the D-Day Landings
    Turning Point: The Story of the D-Day Landings
    Ebook104 pages49 minutes

    Turning Point: The Story of the D-Day Landings

    By Michael Burgan

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    About this ebook

    In an immersive, exciting narrative nonfiction format, this powerful book follows a selection of people who experienced the D-Day invasion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCapstone Young Readers
    Release dateJan 1, 2017
    ISBN9781515736394
    Author

    Michael Burgan

    Michael Burgan has written more than 250 books for children and young adults. His specialty is history, with an emphasis on biography. A graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in history, Burgan is also a produced playwright and the editor of The Biographer’s Craft, the newsletter for Biographers International Organization. He first started writing for children as an editor at Weekly Reader before beginning his freelance career in 1994. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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      Book preview

      Turning Point - Michael Burgan

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Cover

      Title Page

      Foreword

      1: WHEN WILL THE ATTACK COME?

      2: ASSAULT FROM THE AIR

      3: HITTING THE GROUND

      4: THE BIG INVASION

      5: 10,000 SHIPS

      6: COMING ASHORE

      7: ON THE BEACHES

      8: IN THE VILLAGES

      9: THE BATTLES CONTINUE

      10: SURVEYING THE SCENE

      11: SURROUNDED

      12: DAY’S END

      13: D-DAY PLUS ONE

      Epilogue

      Timeline

      Glossary

      Critical Thinking Using the Common Core

      Internet Sites

      Further Reading

      Selected Bibliography

      Index

      About the Author

      Copyright

      Back Cover

      FOREWORD

      With the blast of naval guns and the roar of tanks and planes, Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This surprise attack marked the start of World War II. Germany, under its dictator, Adolf Hitler, wanted to expand its control over large parts of Europe. As Hitler won more territory, he ordered the killing of millions of people he considered inferior to Germans. Jewish residents of Europe were his top target, but Hitler slaughtered Slavs, Gypsies, and others as well.

      When the war began, the United States did not join the conflict. Many Americans still remembered the horrors of World War I. They did not want to take part in another war when the United States did not face a direct threat. But after Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. That nation and Germany, along with Italy, were allies, and Germany and Italy soon declared war on the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt believed Hitler posed a huge threat to democracy and world peace. FDR welcomed the chance to fight Germany as well as Japan.

      When the United States entered the war, Germany controlled a large part of Western Europe, including France. The main fighting on the continent was in the east. In June 1941, Germany had invaded the Soviet Union, which stretched from Europe across the northern part of Asia. The United States helped the Soviets by sending supplies, but Soviet leader Joseph Stalin wanted something more. He wanted the United States and Great Britain to open a second front by attacking the Germans in France. That would force Hitler to move troops there from the Eastern Front, where the Soviets battled the Germans.

      British leader Winston Churchill wanted to attack the Germans in Europe, but he differed with U.S. leaders on where and when the major assault should come. Finally, the Allies agreed to build a huge military force in Great Britain, have it cross the English Channel in the spring of 1944, and fight the Germans in northwestern France. From there, the plan was to march eastward, pushing back the German military and destroying its ability to fight. The planned attack was called Operation Overlord. The day picked for the attack was called D-Day.

      The USS Shaw was destroyed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, when raging fires reached the ship’s forward magazine.

      1

      WHEN WILL THE ATTACK COME?

      Dwight D. Eisenhower

      Dwight D. Eisenhower

      June 4, 1944, Southwick, England

      General Dwight D. Eisenhower woke early as usual. He and his military advisors met daily at 4:00 a.m. to go over the weather forecast for Normandy, the Allies’ target in Operation Overlord. Eisenhower knew that he had only a few days during which he could give the order to begin the Allied landing on the French coast. Only June 4 through 7 would provide the low tides and full moon his troops needed to begin safely coming ashore.

      Eisenhower’s official title was supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces. Among friends, he was called Ike. He came to London in June 1942 to lead the U.S. troops that would fight in North Africa and Europe. After Allied successes in Africa and Italy, he was chosen to command the Overlord invasion.

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