Short description
Field Marshal Montgomery's battle plan for Normandy, following the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, resulted in one of the most controversial campaigns of the Second World War. This book gives an account of the conception and execution of Montgomery's plan, with its problems and complexities.
Long description
Field Marshal Montgomery's battle plan for Normandy, following the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, resulted in one of the most controversial campaigns of the Second World War. Carlo D'Este's acclaimed book gives the fullest possible account of the conception and execution of Montgomery's plan, with all its problems and complexities. It brings to light information from diaries, papers and letters that were not available in Montgomery's lifetime and draws on interviews with senior officers who were involved in the campaign and have refrained from speaking out until now.
Review
June 2004 marked the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the audacious and costly in terms of lives invasion of France and the real beginning of the end of the Nazi regime. However, the landings were just the beginning. The battle plan for Normandy had been drawn up by Field Marshal Montgomery and it remains controversial to this day. What Montgomery planned, what actually occurred and how Montgomery often re-wrote his own history to fit into the events afterwards have caused arguments between historians and soldiers alike. Retired US Army Lt Col Carlo D'Este's book makes full use of historical documents and face to face interviews with participants and gives an account that has not been bettered since its original publication in 1983. Updated with a new introduction written in the light of the 60th anniversary, this is a very timely re-publication of this important and balanced account of the Normandy Campaign. (Kirkus UK)