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Defending Fortress Europe: The War Diary of the German 7th Army, 6 June-26 July 1944
Defending Fortress Europe provides readers with the first English-language account of what the Germans were saying in their own words during the Normandy campaign.
US Army historian Mark Reardon departs from familiar convention by combining a mixture of modern scholarship with primary source material written over 65 years ago. The primary source material consists of the record of daily activities, covering the period from 6 June to 26 July 1944, compiled by a staff officer from the 7th Army's operations and planning section. This record, known as the Kriestagebuch (Daily War Diary), served not only as a historical reference, but also as an aide-memoire for the commanding general and his staff. Material from Army Group B and OB-West opens each chapter, providing a context for the 7th Army war diary that follows.
Reardon adds introductory chapters to set the scene for the combat to begin on 6 June. In the concluding chapters he describes subsequent action and analyzes Normandy in a broader perspective.
US Army historian Mark Reardon departs from familiar convention by combining a mixture of modern scholarship with primary source material written over 65 years ago. The primary source material consists of the record of daily activities, covering the period from 6 June to 26 July 1944, compiled by a staff officer from the 7th Army's operations and planning section. This record, known as the Kriestagebuch (Daily War Diary), served not only as a historical reference, but also as an aide-memoire for the commanding general and his staff. Material from Army Group B and OB-West opens each chapter, providing a context for the 7th Army war diary that follows.
Reardon adds introductory chapters to set the scene for the combat to begin on 6 June. In the concluding chapters he describes subsequent action and analyzes Normandy in a broader perspective.
- GenresWorld War II
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 4, 2017
'Defending Fortress Europe' would be an excellent complement to a study of the Normandy campaign, say, reading it along with another D-Day book that had the human interest theme, as here there are no 'hitting the beach' or in this case, 'defending the beach' stories. In fact, contrary to the typical D-Day tale, there is hardly any mention of the beaches because in the scope of things, the fighting
there lasted only a short time.
The 'Daily Diary' of a unit, in this case the German 7th Army at Normandy, was written by a staff officer as part of his daily duties and presents an upper tactical level view of events, naturally from
the German perspective. At the end of the day, there's always paperwork to be done!
In many cases these unit diarys were lost during the various retreats, as were the 7th Army's after July 26th, so this provides a rare insight.
Despite being an official document, the diary is surprisingly readable, though occasionally you may suffer from Unit number and place name fatigue. There are a dozen tactical maps provided, though I'd suggest also following along with a road map of the area.
Author-Editor, Reardon provides 30 pages of introduction to set the scene for the invasion and throughout the diary he provides parenthetical notes to clarify events, or in some cases set the story
straight. The introduction is worth the price of the book as he provides a great reading list for the battles in Normandy.
Even the Appendices are interesting; in the section on the Luftwaffe, you maybe surprised at how many sorties were flown over Normandy,despite the Landser joke - if you see a black plane it's British, a silver plane, American, and if it's invisible, German.
Also, this is the first place I remembering seeing information on the various damage and sinkings the Allied Navy went through off the beaches.
There are 13 pages of photos many of which are of the various officers mentioned.
there lasted only a short time.
The 'Daily Diary' of a unit, in this case the German 7th Army at Normandy, was written by a staff officer as part of his daily duties and presents an upper tactical level view of events, naturally from
the German perspective. At the end of the day, there's always paperwork to be done!
In many cases these unit diarys were lost during the various retreats, as were the 7th Army's after July 26th, so this provides a rare insight.
Despite being an official document, the diary is surprisingly readable, though occasionally you may suffer from Unit number and place name fatigue. There are a dozen tactical maps provided, though I'd suggest also following along with a road map of the area.
Author-Editor, Reardon provides 30 pages of introduction to set the scene for the invasion and throughout the diary he provides parenthetical notes to clarify events, or in some cases set the story
straight. The introduction is worth the price of the book as he provides a great reading list for the battles in Normandy.
Even the Appendices are interesting; in the section on the Luftwaffe, you maybe surprised at how many sorties were flown over Normandy,despite the Landser joke - if you see a black plane it's British, a silver plane, American, and if it's invisible, German.
Also, this is the first place I remembering seeing information on the various damage and sinkings the Allied Navy went through off the beaches.
There are 13 pages of photos many of which are of the various officers mentioned.
July 21, 2016
A fantastic look at the mind set of the German seventh army in Normandy during the month following d-day, this book shows their struggles and their successes, with Mr Reardon's timely interjections and notes the seventh armies exploits are put into a the broader context of the Normandy campaign which helps readers understand the situation on the ground as well as the overall strategic outlook of the campaign. A particular highlight of the book was the introduction by Mr Reardon which highlighted the actual German strength in Normandy and in Brittany. This book is a must read for anyone that seeks to understand the Normandy campaign and ultimately why it ended in a German defeat, highly recommended.
September 26, 2021
Interesting and informative, the war diary provides a complimentary narrative to the typical Allied perspective of D-Day and the ensuing Normandy campaign.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews