Does it seem to anyone else that this figure seems a little high? I'm not sure if he's quoting total casualties on both sides, or just US forces. I seem to recall a figure of something like 2,000-3,000 total US KIAs for the Omaha Beach operation, less at other venues. Given that the landings started at dawn and were pretty much over by early evening, that would be about 16 hrs. of fighting, or 57,600 seconds. Using the author's fatality rate about, that would be a little less than 600,000 KIA the first day. Seems a bit high, since our total KIA for WWII was in the range of 400,000 or so. Could it be for all combatants? Still seems a little high. Maybe it's a peak kill rate at the height of the fighting?
Still, I understand the gist of what he's saying. We've been somewhat spoiled by the relatively low total casualities for Gulf War I, the Balkans operation, and Afghanistan. This one figured to be a lot messier. Someone much smarter than me once said that an army that can't take casualties can't fight, one that takes too many can't win. Its a matter of taking your licks and hopefully having enough to win out in the end (that doesn't make it any easier for those who've lost loved ones, I know).