'A superb account of the invasion that deserves immense praise. To convey the human drama of Normandy requires great knowledge and sensitivity. Holland has both in spades' - THE TIMES
‘A devastating new account..Holland knows his stuff when it comes to military matters. The reader is in safe hands navigating each aspect of this complex campaign’ - DAILY MAIL Book of the Week
Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history, unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign.
D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge.
In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. The sheer size and scale of the Allies’ war machine ultimately dominates the strategic, operational and tactical limitations of the German forces.
This was a brutal campaign. In terms of daily casualties, the numbers were worse than for any one battle during the First World War.
Author(s): James Holland
Publisher: Bantam Press
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 720
Tags: History;WWII;War;Conflict;SS;Nazis;Weapons;Germany;Hitler;World War;America;USA;Europe;Pacific;Nazism;Normandy;D-Day;France;Invasion;
List of Maps
Maps
Principal Personalities
Gallery of Portraits
Foreword
Prologue
Part I: The Battle Before D-Day
1 The Atlantic Wall
2 Command of the Skies
3 Understanding Montgomery and the Master Plan
4 Countdown
5 The Winds of War
6 Big War
7 Air Power
Part II: Invasion
8 D-Day Minus One
9 D-Day: The First Hours
10 D-Day: Dawn
11 D-Day: The American Landings
12 D-Day: The British and Canadian Landings
13 D-Day: The Turning of the Battle
14 D-Day: Foothold
Part III: Attrition
15 Bridgehead
16 Fighter-Bomber Racecourse
17 Linking Up
18 The Constraints of Wealth and the Freedom of Poverty
19 Behind the Lines
20 The Grinding Battle
21 The Great Storm
22 EPSOM
23 Cherbourg and the Scottish Corridor
24 Trouble at the Top
25 Bloody Bocage
26 Living Like Foxes
Part IV: Breakout
27 A Brief Discourse On Weapons And the Operational Level of War
28 Crisis of Command
29 GOODWOOD
30 Saint-Lô
31 COBRA
32 BLUECOAT
33 LÜTTICH
34 Tank Battle At Saint-Aignan
35 The Corridor of Death
Postscript