Normandy Campaign

Victor Brooks, a college professor and author of several other books, has written an informative overview of the beginnings of the US-British alliance, the planning of Neptune and Overlord and the actual campaign of Normandy up to the liberation of Paris. As an overview, it will not have the detail level of the books by Joseph Balkoski but its still a creditable and informative read. The author begins his story by describing the setbacks of the British, like Dunkirk, and the complete ill preparedness of the US services in 1940. The size of the US Army in 1940 was comparable to the British force saved at Dunkirk and it certainly couldn't contend with one German Army Group. The narrative moves on to discuss war planning by the US and then the joint planning of the US-British Alliance to retake Europe and defeat Germany. A part of this planning will include the friction that developed between the two Allies. The German side is also mentioned along with the frictions that developed between Rommel, Rundstedt and Hitler as well as covering the problems they encountered in defending the Atlantic Wall. The progress made in planning Operation Neptune and Overlord is briefly discussed and includes Air and Naval participation in the invasion. I particularly liked the author mentioning that the firepower of the Allied Fleet was modest for the size of the invasion, especially compared to the Okinawa invasion. The air assault prior to the landings is discussed as well as the parachute and glider landings on the eve of the big invasion closes out the introduction. Chapter six begins the actual landings and each landing site merits its own chapter. - Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. After the landing, there are chapters for Villers-Bocage, Cherbourg, Operation Epsom, St Lo, Operation Goodwood, Operation Cobra, Operation Luttich(Mortain), Falaise and the liberation of Paris. The author completes his book with an appraisal with some interesting insights, the cost of both sides of the Normandy Campaign, a reading guide and Index. There are no footnotes or a Bibliography. In addition to the narrative are many photos, eight maps and 20 sidebars. Much of the sidebar coverage deals with the leading personalities of both sides and their working relationship with each other. It also covers the organization of the three major combatants and includes weapons, uniforms, ranks and atrocites. If your looking for a concise, informative overview of Normandy, you should put this on your short list of candidates.