Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

"Planning and Preparing" examines the Allies' top-down planning. After Eisenhower decides where and when to hit, Bradley and Montgomery outline plans and pass them down through corps, division, regiment and battalion levels. Higher levels resist micromanaging, particularly after the first training rehearsal. Each assault section is allowed to solve the unique problems dictated by beach terrain and Rommel's defenses, which consist of channel mining and successive bands of obstacles set between the high- and low-water marks. Static positions produce killing zones from three directions, guaranteeing that anyone who reaches cover is wounded or paralyzed with fear. Omaha Beach is the most thoroughly defended, thanks to its bluffs. Exit roads are protected against tanks and trucks, and big guns inland can hit the warships. Behind Utah, Rommel floods fields and positions artillery units whose guns are pre-sighted on the "causeways." Thousands of...