Initiative

Throughout D-Day, Stephen E. Ambrose counter poses the static German command structure with the ability of the Western Allies to be innovative and work around problems. It begins when the Navy prefers to build capital ships rather than landing craft, so Andrew Higgins and other inventors and entrepreneurs take up the slack. It continues when the supreme commander, General Eisenhower, decides when the invasion will take place and where but leaves the details to commanders down through the chain of command to individual squads. When the intricate plans, as thick as a phone book, fail across the board before a single GI or Tommie reaches Europe, everyone is able to analyze the current situation and adjust the plans to work towards the objectives with which everyone has been made familiar.

Airborne troops are scattered across Normandy by green pilots experiencing nighttime clouds and flak for the first time...