Normandy ’44

A new perspective on the campaign to liberate France

Author James Holland Publisher Bantam Press Price £25 Released Out now

Anyone familiar with the work of James Holland will know what to expect from his latest book. Having carved out his reputation with superb titles including Italy’s Sorrow, he has turned his attention to D-day and the ensuing campaign to liberate France. With an emphasis on the often-neglected element of operational warfare (sitting in between the tactical and the strategic), Holland aims to rewrite the Normandy story and explode a few myths along the way.

The book is able to move smoothly from a wide–angle view, taking in army groups and entire theatres of war, to an intimate close-up of a single serviceman or civilian. The big picture of the campaign is therefore illuminated in tandem with a selection of the many personal stories. It is an

effective approach and allows Holland to give us insight into how the war felt for those ‘at the coal face’, as well as for the generals looking at their maps.

This is an immense book, and the thoroughness of its approach is hinted at by the nearly 40 pages of maps with which it opens. Detailing the seemingly endless series of operations that comprised D-day and its aftermath (D-day air dispositions, US airborne drop patterns, Operation Epsom, Operation Charnwood and the Falaise Pocket, to name just a few), the maps are on hand for those who want to follow the narrative in detail. However, as is the case with all of Holland’s work, the book is equally absorbing if you just allow it to carry you along.