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by Tim Saunders.
Hardback (6.5×9.5 inches). 252 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: From Sword Beach Towards the City
The plan was to grab Caen on D-Day. The actual result was a slog towards this hub city. This is the first book of two that examines the British efforts to capture the city and the German efforts to defend it.
It’s well laid out and well told, with the potential for scores of scenarios small and large. You’ll need other sources, but this shows you what to search. Outcomes could be drawn-out and bloody or short and surrender.
Along with the history, the analysis discusses how British communication, intelligence, and fire plans could have been much better. Such shortcomings gave the Germans time to implement their own plans to contain the invasion and try to drive it back into the sea. For example, I was reminded about a German counter-attack that reached the coast at Lion-sur-Mer before withdrawing. The thought of better German coordination is just as chilling.
A typo: “FW-109” (p165) is really FW-190.
The book contains 104 black and white photos, eight black and white illustrations, and 57 black and white maps. Those maps are marvelous visual references to the text descriptions, although I rather wish they included the scale. I think they’re 1:25000, but the text mentions 1:12,500, so I am at a loss. In any case, they can often be used to set up tabletop terrain.
I look forward to the second book.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
