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Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe

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Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe

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Overview

A military intelligence expert examines the most formative battle of World War II.

The Battle of Normandy was the greatest offensive campaign the world had ever seen. Millions of soldiers battling for control of Europe were thrust onto the front lines of a massive war unlike any experienced in history. But the greatest of clashes would prove to be the crucible in which the outcome of World War II would be decided.

Author John Prados tells the story of how and why the tactics and battle plans of Normandy proved so formative, and reconstructs the climactic Allied Normandy breakout from both sides of the battle lines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101516614
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/05/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	433,255
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dr. John Prados was a Senior Research Fellow on national security, including foreign affairs, intelligence, and military subjects, at the National Security Archive. He directed the Archive's Iraq Documentation Project, as well as its Vietnam Project. He held a Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. His books Unwinnable War, Keepers of the Keys (on the National Security Council) and Combined Fleet Decoded (on intelligence in the Pacific in World War II) were each nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He published articles with Vanity Fair, The Journal of American History, Scientific American, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.

Introduction ix

Prologue: The Decision 1

1 German Nightmares 13

2 Allied Anxieties 50

3 The Beginning of Disaster 89

4 A Hurricane of Steel 111

5 All the Fuhrer's Horses 159

6 The Cauldron 200

7 Normandy Crucible 252

Appendix 271

Endnotes 281

Bibliography 297

Index 309

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Editorial Reviews

"Prados reframes the Normandy Campaign and, in so doing, tells us the story we do not know." — Mark Perry, Author of Partners in Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower

“A fresh point of view…Prados has done his homework, writes fine battle descriptions and makes a convincing case that events during the summer of 1944 predicted the subsequent course of the war.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

"Prados reframes the Normandy Campaign and, in so doing, tells us the story we do not know."

Mark Perry

Normandy Crucible is a well-written account of the campaign that started the battle for France. Drawing on primary sources that include official unit histories and the memoires of senior commanders and delving deep into the workings of Ultra, Prados has produced a solid read.

America In WWII Magazine

A fresh point of view on the 1944 battle that emphasizes intelligence, logistics and the battle's unexpected strategic consequences.
While researching Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II (1995), prolific military historian Prados (How the Cold War Ended, 2010, etc.) noticed that histories of the Normandy campaign paid scant attention to ULTRA code-breaking (declassified in the 1970s) and provided weak explanations of why the Wehrmacht, fleeing in disorder in August, recovered so quickly. The author concentrates on the month from mid-July to mid-August, six weeks after the landing. The British were battling for Caen, nine miles from the coast despite its scheduled capture on day one. Stalled American forces were about to launch Operation Cobra, another offensive aimed at breaking out. Allied frustrations paled next to those of the Germans, who were vastly outnumbered and harried by Allied air supremacy. By the end of August, the Allies were racing across France and predicting victory by Christmas. A month later, they suffered a bloody nose at Arnhem, and by November resistance brought the advance to a halt. This should have come as less of a surprise because ULTRA intercepts as early as June revealed Germany mobilizing another million men. In addition, despite Hitler's penchant for stand-fast orders and suicidal offensives, he worked hard to strengthen defenses on Germany's Western border.
Prados has done his homework, writes fine battle descriptions and makes a convincing case that events during the summer of 1944 predicted the subsequent course of the war.

Kirkus Reviews

Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe

Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe

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Overview

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About the Author

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Overview

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About the Author

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