Monday, August 13, 2018

THE GERMANS IN NORMANDY Kindle Edition by Richard Hargreaves ( Pen and Sword)

THE GERMANS IN NORMANDY by [Hargreaves, Richard]

Excellent account from the German point of view. One is astounded how the German army was able to hold the line for as long as they did against the numerical superiority of the allies. Every day, Rundstedt, Model, Dietrich, Meyer and Rommel knew it was only matter of time before the Americans, Canadians and British would find a weak spot and exploit it to the fullest. No matter how many communiques were forwarded to OKW and Berchtesgaden, the messages returned were, “hold the line.”

For the average Soldaten, orders meant nothing. They had taken a personal oath to the Fuehrer and were bound to hold their ground and either be victorious or die. There was no in between for them. The horrors these men endured were superhuman. I’m not praising NAZI Germany or the political side of Hitler, but the raw courage of men who knew the war they had embarked on five years was going to end in defeat fought own hoping they could possibly stem the tide and wait for the promised secret weapons and final push of the Luftwaffe to stem the tide.

I cannot imagine the hell the German soldier endured with the countless air raids, artillery shelling and Naval bombardment. The description of the land was more brutal then what I’ve read of the battlefields of WWI.

For the Allies, the Falaise Pocket was a masterful stroke as they attempted to bag and destroy the 7th Army. For the Germans, it was a hellish nightmare.

The only drawback for me was the July 20th bomb plot. It served a critical moment in how Hitler’s trust of his generals evaporated and convinced him he could only trust himself and a few others in his inner circle which clouded his judgement in the prosecution of the war. I felt it went on too long.
A great read for any World War Two buff.

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