Fighting the Invasion: The German Army at D-Day

Description

A collection of original writings drafted by German commanders present at the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. In one of history’s most violent battles, Allied troops gathered along the shores of southern England, preparing for the invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe. Facing them—from the Pas-de-Calais to Brittany—were German troops, dug in, waiting and preparing for the inevitable confrontation. This is the perspective of the enemy combatant—a series of in-depth accounts written by German commanders at the behest of the US Army after the war in an attempt to analyze their strategy in the event of future conflicts. These once private accounts detail everything from the planning stage of the invasion to the uncertain waiting, and finally to the ordeal of D-Day itself—the reactions to the first reports of troop landings and a blow-by-blow account of the battle. Fighting the Invasion paints a vivid picture of D-Day from the German side, bringing home the entire experience from the initial waiting to the bitter fighting on the beaches and in running battles in Normandy villages. “This annotated collection of original documents about German preparations for, and reaction to, the D-Day invasion is invaluable to any serious student of the Second World War.” —Craig L. Symonds, author of Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings