buiminhphong

Antony Beevor has to be the premier WWII military historian! His books are readable, not too heavy on the military terms, and packed with informative stories and explanations. I've read his "The Fall of Berlin," which was also excellent. Karen and I went to Normandy when we were in Paris in '09 and were moved, surprised and intrigued. How I wish I had read this book first! It's amazing that the Allies landed on Normandy on June 6 and were in Paris by mid-August. Beevor does a great job explaining how they overcame the: incompetence of certain officers; poor planning; poor intelligence in some cases (like not knowing how horrible the bocage - trees and bushes bordering country roads - were); bombing of their own troops (on too many occasions to count, it seems); poor equipment and especially tanks (except for the Sherman); the weather; and outright and unabashed feeding of men to the slaughter. (A special tip of the hat to the total and incomplete incompetence of the egotistic, vain and sneakiness of General Montgomery, the British Supreme Commander. You're left wondering how many people died because of his blunders and arrogance.) Beevor recounts the destruction of towns and villages - razed to the ground; the suffering of the local villagers and their animals; the loss of treasures; the reprisals from the SS when the Allies took a town and then had to abandon it; etc., etc., etc. I really want to go back to Normandy now. It was a beautiful place and the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach were stunningly dramatic. Now I know a lot more. You always read how grateful the Normans were for their liberation. Having read this book, I now know it's a mixed bag. The only thing difficult about this book was that I had no idea what comprises a division, regiment, army, corps, etc. Also, there were so many generals to keep track of. (I didn't after the first fifty pages.) But that's not Beevor's fault. Highly recommended.

2020-12-12 14:47