D-Day, 6 June 1944, saw the largest amphibious landing operation in history. From ports and harbours on the southern coast of England, an armada of troopships and landing craft launched the Allied return to mainland Europe. Stephen Badsey provides a concise account of the Normandy campaign, from the fiercely contested landings, to the struggle to capture Caen, the 'Cobra' offensive and the dramatic pursuit of the Germans to the River Seine. This was the crucial campaign of the Western theatre: after the Battle of Normandy the only question was how soon the war would end, not who would win it.
Una buona visione generale di quanto accadde in Normandia. A tratti un pò caotico da seguire, perchè troppo compresso. Discreto come punto di partenza per ulteriori approfondimenti. Belle le mappe.
A really good little edition in Osprey's Campaign Series, this book is unusual in that if follows the Normandy Campaign all the way through to the end of the Falaise Pocket- so we can see the entire pace- one that for all the complaints of various factions, was completed in 80 days - about ten days ahead of the "Schedule". This book gives you the tenterhooks of D-Day- -but we know the Germans are outmanned and very out-teched. But then it goes into the "stalemate" of the Hedgegrows and the Clash of Titans around Caen- the Americans being held off as they learned to fight in close country against outnumbered pros- the Brits having their "Infantry Crisis" as they took on the Panzer Divisions and the Waffen SS in "Monty's Meatgrinder" -the battle for the Rail head of Caen. It is the Allied Command of the Air- and their finally superior Artillery "stonks" that are consuming the German army- now paper thin at the front line.....
And then - the Break out- July 25th and on- And American Tanks are out in the open- Patton at the lead... This book explains how the Allies were new to envelopment warfare(remember Mark Clark with his TOTAL BLUNDER in "going for Rome" instead of cutting off ALL German forces as per Alexander's PLAN)- and probably let too many German soldiers escape the Falaise Pocket. But they certainly were learning. This book gives you lots of good colour maps and, B/w Pictures , and great Colour plates for the Modeller/Gamer- not everything you need- but some really key elements. I think this and a few on-line resources might be fine for the Bolt Action/Flames of War/BattleGroup/Angriff player- new to Late War- to catch up on WWII style combat.
Few adult themes and no gore make this a fine choice for any junior reader with this interest over about 10- for a report or presentation- a great choice- good bibliography. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast- a fine choice. most will need more- but the more casual gamer will find this a perfect choice. Because it explains - Landing - Static WWII Warfare- and then Fast Armoured Warfare of the Breakout/Pocket- a reader gets to understand the flow of the battle- just as the writer- Stephen Badsey intended. I think this book- in any if the 5 covers it comes in- will make a good addition to the WWII bookshelf
Campania din nordul Franței, regiunea Normandia, începută în 6 iunie 1944, a marcat deschiderea celui de-al doilea front european, atât de așteptat de Stalin și a confirmat dincolo de orice îndoială că Germania nazistă avea să piardă războiul, totul devenind doar o chestiune de timp. Bineînțeles, doar o debarcare reușită de trupe nu înseamnă automat o victorie, trupele aliate trebuind să se confrunte în continuare cu destul de multe unități germane, care chiar dacă nu erau aprovizionate suficient și nu aveau superioritate aeriană, erau de elită și aveau deseori avantaje tactice. De asemenea, la cel mai înalt nivel a fost necesar un întreg balet politico-militaro-social, trupele americane, britanice, canadiene fiind obligate de multe ori să lucreze cât de cât împreună. Autorul este istoric militar, a publicat numeroase lucrări, articole și a ținut conferințe pe teme istorice din WW2 și nu numai șamd; de asemenea, a lucrat și ca ghid al unor câmpuri de bătălie, deci evident își cunoaște meseria și după cum afirmă un citat de pe site-ul său (rămas la nivelul când modemul dial-up era ultimul răcnet) era în 1997 expertul principal (probabil) pe capitolul operații militare. 25 de ani mai târziu totuși, cartea sa se citește ca un exemplu excelent al stilului academic înecăcios, ușor părtinitor (cu englezii), care oferă toate datele aproape corect, dar fără a ajuta deloc pe un potențial cititor interesat de istorie dar care nu cunoaște prea bine campania respectivă. Evident, chiar dacă faptele nu s-au schimbat între timp, concluziile și felul în care ne sunt prezentate apar ușor perimate, cei interesați de bătălia pentru Normandia putând găsi între timp o sumă de alte opere care acoperă aceeași perioadă și sunt mai bine scrise.
La edición que yo tengo es de “Ediciones del prado”, y pone un número 1, así que debe ser una de esta por fascículos que no sé, la verdad, si siguen saliendo; yo lo tenía ahí desde hace bastante tiempo. Los libros de Osprey están bien, editados, con gráficos del campo de batalla, fotos de la época, y una información bastante precisa y nada fanática sobre la guerra, lo que significa, las decisiones que se tomaron y las implicaciones. Por eso es un relato bastante imparcial, terso, y con bastante fidelidad histórica. La traducción es la que desmerece algo, con los nombres de unidades a veces un poco embrollados, y palabras como “comandancia” en vez de “mando”. Que no es un cuartelillo de la guardia civil. En cualquier caso, aconsejable si te gustan esas cosas y lo encuentras en un baratillo.
While not a bad overview of the actual events of the Normandy Campaign several factors make this a poor work. The broad based and un-referenced opinions and statements given in the introduction and conclusion are questionable at best. The author seems biased in favor of the British forces over the Americans and Germans. Most concerning many of the descriptions provided for the images in the book are blatantly wrong; mis-identifying both units and equipment which, brings into question the accuracy of the book in general. I would not recommend this book for those who are not already familiar with the Normandy Campaign.
As a quick overview for the topic, it was ok. Had some decent color plates and maps to boot. Just don't expect anything really in depth as it just skims through the campaign in less than 100 pages so it's hard to do justice to the entire Normandy campaign in that space. For example, the Normandy beach landings get a small paragraph each but that's about it.
If you already know the basics of the Battle of Normandy, it's easily skippable imo.