• One-of-a-kind retelling of the Normandy campaign • Places the 1944 battle for France in its social, economic, scientific, and technological context GI Ingenuity is in large part an old-fashioned combat narrative, with mayhem and mass slaughter at center stage. But the book goes farther, combining military history with the history of science, technology, and culture to show how the American soldier improvised, innovated, and adapted on the battlefield. Among the improvisations and technologies covered are tanks equipped with hedgerow cutters, the coordination of air and ground attacks, and the use of radios and aircraft to direct artillery fire—all of which contributed to American success on D-Day and afterwards.