I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 (I Survived #18) Read online

  JUNE 5, 4:00 A.M.: Plans Become Final

  The person in charge of the invasion was United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he had to make the final decision to say “go” to the invasion. The weather was stormy. But Eisenhower decided that the invasion would begin the next morning, during a short break in the bad weather. He wrote a letter that was read to all troops. He told them, “The eyes of the world are upon you.”

  JUNE 5, 6:00 A.M. TO 10:00 P.M.: Ships Gather in the Sea

  Nearly seven thousand ships, packed with troops, weapons, tanks, and supplies, all gather at Area Z, a huge meeting place in the middle of the English Channel.

  JUNE 5, 10:00 P.M.: Paratroopers Board Planes

  The night before the invasion, 13,100 American paratroopers board their transport planes at bases across England. They are members of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Each man is carrying more than a hundred pounds of equipment.

  JUNE 5, 1944, 11:15 P.M.: The Resistance Is Called

  A powerful radio station in London — the BBC — sends out a coded message to resistance groups across France. It is a line from a poem by a man named Paul Verlaine. The resistance groups begin blowing up trains and train tracks, cutting power and telephone cables, and destroying important roads. These missions were designed to keep more German soldiers and equipment away from the beaches at Normandy.

  JUNE 6, 1944, 12:02 A.M.: First Paratroopers Arrive

  The 13,100 men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions jumped into the darkness behind enemy lines. Their job was to block German soldiers and tanks from helping the Nazis push back the Allied invasion, to capture roads to the beaches, and to establish bridges over two important rivers. Men from the British 6th Airborne Division, along with some Canadian troops, had the job of trying to destroy bridges to stop Germans from getting to the beaches.

  JUNE 6, 3:00 A.M.: Hitler Sleeps

  German leader Adolf Hitler goes to bed in his mountain home. Even though the German military had already received reports of a possible Allied invasion at Normandy, Hitler was not told. His closest aides were too afraid of being wrong or displeasing him. This delay will cost the Germans dearly — Hitler would sleep on for nine hours!

  JUNE 6, 1944, 4:00 A.M.: Gliders Land

  Gliders were large, very light planes that could carry four thousand pounds of equipment and soldiers, but had no engines. To get up in the air, a glider had be tugged by a regular military transport plane. It was towed like a kite across the channel. When the plane neared its landing spot, the towrope was released, and the glider would silently swoop down to its secret landing zone.

  JUNE 6, 5:50 A.M.: Battleships Blast the Coast at Omaha Beach

  American and British gunships start blasting at the German guns on the cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach. Similar attacks take place at the other four D-Day landing beaches.

  JUNE 6, 6:30 A.M.: Allied Troops Hit the Beach

  During D-Day, Allied troops landed on the five Normandy beaches. Each beach had been given its own code name: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The Americans arrive first on Utah and Omaha at 6:30 A.M. Over the next ninety minutes, tens of thousands of British and Canadian soldiers land on Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches.

  The News Is Out

  England’s BBC now broadcasts a clear message to England and the world: “Allied naval forces … began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.” Millions of people from around the world had been hoping and praying this announcement would come.

  JUNE 6, 10:00 A.M. TO 12:00 NOON: Germany’s Generals Panic

  German military commanders panic as Hitler sleeps. Finally, at noon, he is awoken and told of the Normandy invasion. He seems happy because, in his mind, hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers are now in the range of German guns. He does not understand the size and power of the Allied invasion.

  JUNE 6, 12:00 NOON TO THE MORNING OF JUNE 7: D-Day Mission Is Complete

  The mission is a success, though the cost is high. Approximately 4,400 Allied soldiers died during the invasion. More than ten thousand were injured. Ninety-one percent of Allied troops make it off the beaches on June 6. Over the next two months, the Allies battle to sweep the Nazis from Normandy. On August 25, the Allies free Paris. More than one year later, on September 9, 1945, World War II finally ends.

  Some books you might enjoy about D-Day and the Resistance:

  D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, 1944 [The Young Readers Adaptation], by Rick Atkinson, Square Fish; First Square Fish Edition, 2015

  Ranger in Time: D-Day: Battle on the Beach, by Kate Messner, Scholastic Inc., 2018

  Resistance, by Carla Jablonski & Leland Purvis, First Second, 2010

  Resistance, by Jennifer Nielsen, Scholastic Press, 2018

  Other I Survived books set during the World War II era:

  Bailout Over Normandy: A Flyboy’s Adventures with the French Resistance and Other Escapades in Occupied France, by Ted Fahrenwald, Casemate Publishers, 2012

  Band of Brothers, by Stephen Ambrose, Simon & Schuster, 1992

  Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler’s Defeat, by Giles Milton, Picador, 2016

  D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, 1944 [The Young Readers Adaptation], by Rick Atkinson, Square Fish; First Square Fish Edition, 2015

  D-Day Through French Eyes: Normandy 1944, by Mary Louise Roberts, University of Chicago Press, 2014

  The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944, by Will Irwin, PublicAffairs, a member of The Perseus Group, 2005

  The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Day, by Cornelius Ryan, Simon & Schuster, 1994

  The Secret Agent’s Pocket Manual, by Stephen Bull, Osprey Publishing UK, 2017

  The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939–1945, by Jack Olsen, Harper Perennial; Reprint Edition, 2017

  As always, many people helped me bring this I Survived book into the world. First, I want to express my enormous gratitude for my editor, Katie Woehr, who offered me her truly unique blend of bracing encouragement, editorial wisdom, and kindness in the face of an unusually challenging writing journey.

  During my research trip through Normandy, I had the good fortune to connect with three people who enabled me to walk in the footsteps of my characters. Thank you to Sylvan Kast, guide extraordinaire, for leading my husband, David, and me on an unforgettable trip. His passion and insights informed every part of the story. In particular, Sylvan enabled us to meet Denise Voydie, who welcomed us into her home and shared her childhood memories of the Nazi occupation and D-Day. A third generous new friend, Corinne Le Moignic Capiten, embraced David and me like we were members of her family and guided us through the city of Falaise, which was leveled during the battles that followed D-Day. I am grateful to Bob Kern, who helped plan our research trip, which also included crossing the English Channel.

  As always, my husband, David Dreyfuss, was by my side at every step of researching and writing — planning trips, checking facts, reviewing drafts, and writing encouraging notes that greeted me each morning when I staggered out of bed at 4:30 A.M. to work on this book.

  And finally, thank you also to my I Survived family: Debra Dorfman, Ellie Berger, Heather Daugherty, Julie Amitie, Carmen Alvarez, Charisse Meloto, Scott Dawson, Colin Anderson, and many others who help these books get into readers’ hands.

  Text copyright © 2019 by Dreyfuss Tarshis Media, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Scholastic Inc.

  Photos ©: frontispiece: troops in landing craft: National Archives and Records Administration; “Writing About D-Day”: pigeon, author with French villagers: Author’s collection; “Some Questions”: Normandy people welcoming troops: Keystone-France/Getty Images; “A Timeline of D-Day”: Eisenhower and troops: National Archives and Records Administration; landing craft in English Channel: Universal History Archive/Getty Images; paratroopers on plane: National Archives and Records Administration; battl
eship: Military History Collection/Alamy Stock Photo; troops in water: Roger Viollet/Getty Images; injured troops: National Archives and Records Administration.

  Special thanks to Edgar F. Raines, Jr.

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  While inspired by real events and historical characters, this is a work of fiction and does not claim to be historically accurate or to portray factual events or relationships. Please keep in mind that references to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales may not be factually accurate, but rather fictionalized by the author.

  First printing 2019

  Cover art by Colin Anderson

  Cover design by Suzanne LaGasa

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-31740-4

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