Overlord

The famous D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 marked the beginning of Operation Overlord, the battle for the liberation of Europe. Military historian Sir Max Hastings'' acclaimed account overturns many traditional legends in this memorable study. Drawing together the eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides, plus a wealth of previously untapped sources and documents, Overlord provides a brilliant, controversial perspective on the devastating battle for Normandy.

Auteur
Max Hastings is the author of thirty books, most about conflict, including Bomber Command, Armageddon, Das Reich, The Korean War, The Battle for the Falklands, Vietnam, Operation Pedestal and Abyss, and editor of two anthologies. He worked as a reporter for BBC television and British newspapers, covering eleven wars, including Vietnam, the 1973 Yom Kippur war and the Falklands war. Between 1986 and 2002 he served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph, then editor of the Evening Standard. He has won many prizes for both journalism and his books. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of King’s College, London, and was knighted in 2002. He has two grown-up children, Charlotte and Harry, and lives with his wife Penny in West Berkshire, where they garden enthusiastically.

Texte du rabat

Acclaimed historian Sir Max Hastings' masterly account of the D-Day landings in 1944, as the Allies battled to take control of Normandy from the German army.

Résumé

*A compelling and masterly account of the D-Day landings from the No. 1 bestselling historian Max Hastings, author of *Vietnam and Operation Pedestal.

'Max Hastings stands in the first rank of writers on modern war' *Financial Times*

On 6 June 1944 D-Day British, Canadian and American troops staged the greatest amphibious landing in history. It was the start of Operation Overlord, the battle to take Normandy from the Third Reich. Over ten gruelling weeks, the Allies fought the entrenched German army, some infantry units suffering an almost 100 per cent casualty rate.

In Overlord, acclaimed historian Max Hastings has drawn on eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides, plus a wealth of previously untapped World War 2 sources and documents, to write a gripping and authoritative account of the devastating fighting that paved the way for the liberation of north-west Europe.

'A book which combines serious historical and critical comment with brilliant reportage. He brings both the arguments between higher commanders and the fighting on the battlefield itself to life' Times Literary Supplement

Contenu
Section - i: List of Maps Section - ii: List of Illustrations Section - iii: Foreward Section - iv: Prologue Chapter - 1: 'Much the greatest thing we have ever attempted' Chapter - 2: Preperations: Commanders; Airmen; Invaders; Defenders Chapter - 3: To the Far Shore: The overture; The American beaches; The British beaches; Inland Chapter - 4: The British Before Caen: Closing the lines; Villers-Bocage; EPSOM Chapter - 5: The Americans Before Chebourg: The bocage; The battle for Chebourg Chapter - 6: The German Army: Stemming the Tide: Soldiers; Weapons Chapter - 7: The Battlefield: From the beachhead to the front; Casualties Chapter - 8: Crisis of Confidence: The fall of Caen; GOODWOOD Chapter - 9: The Breakout: COBRA; The limits of air power Chapter - 10: The Open Flank Chapter - 11: The Road to Falaise Chapter - 12: The Gap Section - v: Appendix A: Chronology of the Normandy Campaign Section - vi: Appendix B: Allied Order of Battle Section - vii: Appendix C: Forces available in ETO for Operation OVERLORD, D-Day, 6 June 1944 Section - viii: Appendix D: German land forces encountered by the Allies in Normandy Section - ix: Appendix E: Some British administrative statistics Section - x: Bibliography and a note on sources Section - xi: Notes and references Section - xii: Glossary Acknowledgements - xiii: Acknowledgements Index - xiv: Index