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Allied Armor in Normandy
Tanks were the beasts of the Second World War, machines designed to destroy anything and anyone in their path. Throughout the summer of 1944, the Allied forces readily employed tanks and armored vehicles to gain ground in the bloody campaign of Normandy. Heavily armed, they provided a kind of support which no number of infantrymen could offer, battling their way through enemy lines with their guns blazing. From the US 2nd Armored Division named ‘Hell on Wheels’ to the British ‘Achilles’ tank, the encounters they had in battle were explosive.
This volume of the Casemate Illustrated series explores the Normandy invasion from the perspective of the Allied Armored divisions, looking at how armored vehicles played a central role in the many battles that took place. It includes over 40 profiles of tanks and armored vehicles, from the American Sherman and Stuart tanks to the bulldozers and amphibious vehicles designed for the beach.
With detailed diagrams and many photos illustrating the composition of the Allied armored divisions and tank regiments present at Normandy, this volume explains the crucial part played by tanks in gaining a foothold in Normandy after the D-Day landings, as well as the significance of many other types of armored vehicles.
Table of Contents
Timeline of Events
Allied Armored Divisions in Normandy
American Armored Divisions
British Armored Units
Allied Tanks in June
Initial British Offensives
From Stalemate to Breakthrough
Afterword
Further Reading
Index
This volume of the Casemate Illustrated series explores the Normandy invasion from the perspective of the Allied Armored divisions, looking at how armored vehicles played a central role in the many battles that took place. It includes over 40 profiles of tanks and armored vehicles, from the American Sherman and Stuart tanks to the bulldozers and amphibious vehicles designed for the beach.
With detailed diagrams and many photos illustrating the composition of the Allied armored divisions and tank regiments present at Normandy, this volume explains the crucial part played by tanks in gaining a foothold in Normandy after the D-Day landings, as well as the significance of many other types of armored vehicles.
Table of Contents
Timeline of Events
Allied Armored Divisions in Normandy
American Armored Divisions
British Armored Units
Allied Tanks in June
Initial British Offensives
From Stalemate to Breakthrough
Afterword
Further Reading
Index
- GenresWorld War II
128 pages, Paperback
Published June 29, 2018
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 14, 2023
The book I am presenting to you today concerns perhaps one of the best known themes in military history: the Normandy Campaign of 1944.
The point of view of our book, however, limits the investigation to the allied armored forces that fought in the various operations to break through the German front and enlarge the beachhead after the invasion of June 6, 1944.
The book, written by the French historian Yves Buffetaut and published by Casemate Publishing, is part of the "Casemate Illustrated" series. I have already recently had the opportunity to review a title of this series and also this book, like the previous one (reviewed here: https://oldbarbedwire.blogspot.com/........ 1942.html) is the most fascinating and interesting one could wish for. It is obvious that the theme has been broadly dealt with by volumes of much greater consistency (the books of the "Casemate Illustrated" series consist of 128 pages), but nevertheless Buffetaut's narration, photos, diagrams and profiles (by Jean Restayn ) and the very interesting infographics by Jean Marie Mongin represent a considerable bonus. We can say also that the many profiles and drawings of Restayn (45 profiles of vehicles and tanks plus various details) are an important help not only for the historian and the enthusiast but also for the model maker. Very useful are the diagrams that illustrate the compositions of the American Armored Divisions (Heavy and Light) and above all those that list the various components of the British Armored Divisions and of the independent Brigades. In fact, it is not easy to navigate between the various units and these schemes provide a very useful help.
The narrative, although very concise given the volume of the book, is then clear and follows all the operations that followed one another from the British (in the Caen sector, east of the landing site) and the American (western sector, near the Cherbourg peninsula) for weeks after the landing on June 6. An important and useful chronological scheme is present on pages 6 and 7, to understand how the various operations in the British sector of the front gradually consumed the German armored and infantry units leading then to the breakthrough of the front from the west with Operation Cobra ( American armored forces). But Buffetaut's discussion also analyzes the various battles and clashes within each operation, highlighting the losses of the various forces in the field and demonstrating, for example, the type of war that the Americans faced in the west against smaller forces (all the large German armored units were placed against the British) but in a treacherous terrain such as that of the "bocage" (the thick Norman hedges that restricted the maneuvering space) was more expensive than that of the relatively more open fields in the eastern sector of landing.
At the same time each allied unit is presented with a brief history (as well as with the diagrams and charts), with a brief summary of their use. As in all volumes of the series, here too there is a presentation of the main allied commanders (Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley, Patton, Dempsey, Hodges, Hobart, Crerar, Leclerc) and a short biography. There are no discussions, Buffetaut is a great expert on the subject and if I have to find small defects it is the little attention that is given to the Canadian and Polish units (above all the fact that there are no schemes as for the major American and British units) and a lack of maps requiring the aid of a historical atlas or other book on Normandy. But little to complain about. The merits of the book, that is a clear and concise exposition but at the same time that does not neglect anything of the various operations and fights that took place in Normandy between 6 June and the end of Operation Cobra (even if the narration ends with the closing of the Bag of Roncey), outweigh the few flaws. I deeply appreciated this book that with its easy reading but the huge number of information, diagrams, profiles represents an excellent starting point to understand the use of the allied armored formations in the Normandy Campaign.
The point of view of our book, however, limits the investigation to the allied armored forces that fought in the various operations to break through the German front and enlarge the beachhead after the invasion of June 6, 1944.
The book, written by the French historian Yves Buffetaut and published by Casemate Publishing, is part of the "Casemate Illustrated" series. I have already recently had the opportunity to review a title of this series and also this book, like the previous one (reviewed here: https://oldbarbedwire.blogspot.com/........ 1942.html) is the most fascinating and interesting one could wish for. It is obvious that the theme has been broadly dealt with by volumes of much greater consistency (the books of the "Casemate Illustrated" series consist of 128 pages), but nevertheless Buffetaut's narration, photos, diagrams and profiles (by Jean Restayn ) and the very interesting infographics by Jean Marie Mongin represent a considerable bonus. We can say also that the many profiles and drawings of Restayn (45 profiles of vehicles and tanks plus various details) are an important help not only for the historian and the enthusiast but also for the model maker. Very useful are the diagrams that illustrate the compositions of the American Armored Divisions (Heavy and Light) and above all those that list the various components of the British Armored Divisions and of the independent Brigades. In fact, it is not easy to navigate between the various units and these schemes provide a very useful help.
The narrative, although very concise given the volume of the book, is then clear and follows all the operations that followed one another from the British (in the Caen sector, east of the landing site) and the American (western sector, near the Cherbourg peninsula) for weeks after the landing on June 6. An important and useful chronological scheme is present on pages 6 and 7, to understand how the various operations in the British sector of the front gradually consumed the German armored and infantry units leading then to the breakthrough of the front from the west with Operation Cobra ( American armored forces). But Buffetaut's discussion also analyzes the various battles and clashes within each operation, highlighting the losses of the various forces in the field and demonstrating, for example, the type of war that the Americans faced in the west against smaller forces (all the large German armored units were placed against the British) but in a treacherous terrain such as that of the "bocage" (the thick Norman hedges that restricted the maneuvering space) was more expensive than that of the relatively more open fields in the eastern sector of landing.
At the same time each allied unit is presented with a brief history (as well as with the diagrams and charts), with a brief summary of their use. As in all volumes of the series, here too there is a presentation of the main allied commanders (Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley, Patton, Dempsey, Hodges, Hobart, Crerar, Leclerc) and a short biography. There are no discussions, Buffetaut is a great expert on the subject and if I have to find small defects it is the little attention that is given to the Canadian and Polish units (above all the fact that there are no schemes as for the major American and British units) and a lack of maps requiring the aid of a historical atlas or other book on Normandy. But little to complain about. The merits of the book, that is a clear and concise exposition but at the same time that does not neglect anything of the various operations and fights that took place in Normandy between 6 June and the end of Operation Cobra (even if the narration ends with the closing of the Bag of Roncey), outweigh the few flaws. I deeply appreciated this book that with its easy reading but the huge number of information, diagrams, profiles represents an excellent starting point to understand the use of the allied armored formations in the Normandy Campaign.
Displaying 1 of 1 review