Normandy 44: D-Day and the Battle for France

Product Description

________________Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history. Unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign, it's time to draw some radically different conclusions.______________D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge.In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. The sheer size and scale of the Allies? war machine ultimately dominates the strategic, operational and tactical limitations of the German forces. This was a brutal campaign. In terms of daily casualties, the numbers were worse than for any one battle during the First World War._________________ Drawing on unseen archives and testimonies from around the world Introducing a cast of eye-witnessesthat includes foot soldiers, tank men, fighter pilots and bomber crews, sailors, civilians, resistance fighters and those directing the action An epic telling that will profoundly recalibrate our understanding of its true place in the tide of human history________________Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history. Unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign, it's time to draw some radically different conclusions.______________D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge.In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. The sheer size and scale of the Allies? war machine ultimately dominates the strategic, operational and tactical limitations of the German forces. This was a brutal campaign. In terms of daily casualties, the numbers were worse than for any one battle during the First World War._________________ Drawing on unseen archives and testimonies from around the world Introducing a cast of eye-witnessesthat includes foot soldiers, tank men, fighter pilots and bomber crews, sailors, civilians, resistance fighters and those directing the action An epic telling that will profoundly recalibrate our understanding of its true place in the tide of human history
James Holland is a historian, writer and broadcaster. The author of a number of best-selling histories including Battle of Britain and Dam Busters, and, most recently, Burma ?44, he has also written nine works of historical fiction, including the Jack Tanner novels. He is currently writing an acclaimed three-volume new history of the Second World War in the West. He has presented - and written - a large number of television programmes and series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, History and Discovery. He is also co-founder of the Chalke Valley History Festival and co-founder of WarGen.org an online Second World War resource site, and presents the Chalke Valley History Hit podcast. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @James1940.