is the story of two Infantry Divisions during the first weeks of the Normandy campaign, With battle cries of 'Let's Go!' and 'rd Division Drive On!' the Americanth and Britishrd fought their way into OMAHA and SWORD beaches on Dday and then inland towards their respective objectives the major communication centers of St.
Lo and Caen. After describing the agonies suffered by the Americans on 'Bloody OMAHA' and the difficulties experienced by the British in overcoming the concrete strong points sited in depth behind the SWORD beach, the author follows both Divisions as they tried to break through the German
defenses.
Their initial moves were quickly countered by a well trained and astute enemy in the case of the Americans by infantry and paratroopers in the dense 'hedgerow country' covering the approaches to St.
Lo, and in the British by the Panzers and PanzerGrenadiers defending Caen in the open country to its north.
It was to take the GIs nearly six weeks to reach their objective, whilst the Tommies were forced into a concurrent holding operation that in many respects resembled the trench warfare hell of World War One.
The main part of Caen was eventually captured by the British and Canadians onJuly and St.
Lo by the Americans nine days later, By then two Allied Divisions had suffered more than,casualties, several thousand French civilians had been killed and the previously beautiful cities turned to rubble in a series of devastating air attacks.
Throughout this vivid account of infantry combat, readers will be able to compare and contrast the leadership qualities of the various commanders and the tactics employed by the Americans, British and Germans and they will surely marvel at the sheer courage of a generation that is rapidly passing away.
" Major General Mike Reynolds was a British Army Officer who saw fierce action in Korea and in Germany became a target of the Red Army Faction.
FromReynolds was a guest speaker on many British Army and NATO battlefield tours in the Ardennes, initially as training, and later as a commercial enterprise.
He followed this by writing six Second World War military histories and became a recognised expert on the Waffen SS and the Normandy and Ardennes campaigns.
The Devils AdjutantSteel InfernoMen of SteelSons of the ReichEagles and Bulldogs in NormandyMonty and Patton: Two Paths to VictorySoldier at Heart: Private to Generalautobiography.