Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe

by John Prados

The Battle of Normandy was the greatest offensive campaign the world had ever seen. It was also the crucible of combat tactics and logistic techniques that would decide the outcome of World War II... The Battle of Normandy began on D-Day. June 6, 1944—the day that the Allied forces launched the great crusade to free Europe from the iron grip of Nazi Germany. Tightly constricted hedgerow country and bitter German resistance held the Allied advance to a crawl—until they broke through and trapped the Nazi armies. Yet within weeks of this stunning disaster, the Germans smashed the most dangerous Allied offensive yet. How was this possible? Noted author John Prados answers this vexing question with an account that reframes the Normandy breakout. Shifting between battle action and command decisions on both sides, Normandy Crucible lucidly illustrates how this campaign molded the climactic battle for Europe.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, War, Military History

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

Dr. John Prados is an American historian & researcher whose primary areas of specialisation are the history of World War II, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and politico-military affairs generally. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in Political Science (International Relations). Dr. Prados is a senior fellow and project director with the National Security Archive at George Washington University (Washington, D.C.).

Reviews

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prados analyzes the Allied invasion of Normandy and the fight to break out during World War ii. While some units and actions are mentioned, most of the discussion centers around high level leaders. This brief history does add some insight into the European Theater.

[David Shaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished John Prados' Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle That Shaped World War II in Europe. A concise 4 star read, that delved into the early days of the planning, the invasion and the assortment of leadership and personalities.

The meat and potatoes though is on the attempts to break out of the Bocage culminating in the Cobra Breakout and Falaise Pocket. An interesting detail was Prados' incorporation Ultra intelligence and it's value and limitations. Prados see's the Ultra intelligence more in its tactical than strategic value.

Prados discusses the various operations highlighting Operation Goodwood and Cobra but also discusses other breakout attempts and the various mechanical innovations especially on the Sherman Tanks to overcome the Bocage.

The book then winds up discussing the operations around the closing of the Falaise Gap, the mistakes and successes made by both the Germans and the Allies. The Germans failure to achieve breakout of the pocket sooner but ultimately having enough core leadership and troops escape to be able to reforge their forces albeit more thinly manned and armed and more brittle than earlier renditions of the Whermact. The same lack of commitment in closing the gap and better and clearer communication between Monty. Bradley and SHAEF, which contributed to a successful entrapment of but not a complete entrapment of the Wehrmact. In the end Prados distributes blame and credit fairly equally among all parties.

A worthy addition to the literature.

[Albert Town · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picking up on day 2 of the invasion, and going forth until the Falaise Pocket, John Prado sets forth in some detail how US Army (Bradley) struggled to move forward while in the bocage country; wherein, the Germans had the terrain that they used to their advantage (economy of force.) American ingenuity came to forward, and proved a solution that would allow the American Army to advance. Meanwhile on the other side the British, and Commonwealth Armies (Montgomery) would falter at every turn to advance less the Canadians, and the Polish Armies.
Meanwhile the Germans are in the midst of a leadership crisis on 20 July there is another failed attempt at assianting Herr Hitler. This in turn cause his resentment of the professional officer corp to cause him to purge at the highest level, and caused his micromagment to grow to new level.
The backstabbing by the senior leadership of the Allied Armies was a detriment to overall success. The British felt entitled to be in charge; yet, as the war marched on to final victory one would see, and feel the contributions being made the Americans was growing.
It is worth the read to gain another perspective.

[Philip De Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a historical marvel. I have read this book three times now. It contains a lot of detail and a lot of useful insight. The Normandy campaign was unique because the terrain was so easily defended and because the Allied foothold was tenuous at first. The Allies did not anticipate the type of fighting they would be engaged in. Just about every aspect of the conflict is covered. This history is not told through the eyes of those that fought. It is told through the eyes of someone who has painstakingly searched through documents to determine what decisions were made and why and what the consequences were. If you want to understand what happened in Normandy in 1944 this book is a must read.

[Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normandy, The Reasons Why

Prados captures the essence of the Normandy invasion and the difficulties between the Normandy commander personalities. In addition he manages to slip in the reasons for successes on both sides of the conflict. He writes with energy and understanding of the conflict as experienced by both the Nazis and the Allies. A well rounded expose for the reasons of success and failure by both amies.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good

[Scott Hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough read but interesting.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Prados' Normandy Crucible describes the 1944 allied breakout from the Normandy Peninsula. The Allied armies, were trapped in highly constricted terrain after the June 6 1944 DDay invasion of France. They were unable to use their maneuverability, superior forces and superior material in this environment. Once they broke through the Germans, they were able to quickly advance all the way to the German border. Additionally, in the fighting, the Allied Armies became veterans and, if not the combat equals, at least combat hardened. The Allied Armies became much more effective due to the experience they underwent in this campaign.

John Prados is a military historian that has been active in the gaming world since the 1970's. To write this book, he studied the histories of the war. He then broke out a wargame on the campaign and used it to study and understand the campaign.

The book is well written, up to date, and is by an author who understands the military history and the Normandy Campaign. Prados also makes the effort to identify, understand and explain critical points in the campaign. I would recommend this book to someone interested in the campaign or in military history in general.

[JeromeC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the John Prados book an interesting analysis into the Normandy campaign which coincided with my visit to Normandy. That trip gave the analysis in the book more clarity and certainly gave me more of an appreciation of the hardships and obstacles the armies involved faced.

The involvement of the Canadian and Polish forces were something I knew less about before reading the book and I gained better insight into their contributions. It is interesting to see that recognition and acknowledgement of those contributions took many years after the war to be more fully recognize.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but I felt like I wanted more.

The flyleaf implied there would be "fascinating detail how this campaign molded the climactic battle for Europe." I don't feel that it delivered. Maybe I've read too much WW2 history to be surprised anymore?

There is an appendix for wargaming the campaign, and I'm a wargamer. I was surprised to see that only one game was used, and that from 1977. The multiple plays of that game offered only a few insights, though those certainly rang true to me.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much as James Holland likes to explore the operational level to glean new insights from familiar campaigns, John Prados likes to explore the intelligence level. Examining the influence of intelligence work on the Battle of Normandy offers new insights. I also found his examination of the German retreat from the Falaise Pocket and his appendix on using board game simulations to test hypothetical scenarios to be quite fascinating.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on the commanders and the command decisions made by both sides before and during the Normandy breakout. It also sheds some more light on ULTRA's contribution to Allied plans during this time. You'll find very little tactical combat description here; the focus is upon the men and plans that shaped the battle, not on the battles themselves. A good book for what it covers.

[Perry Andrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book but I was disappointed. Normandy was not the decisive battle because the key battles were on the Eastern Front.

But I have read so many books on Op Cobra, Mortain, Falaise and the failures of the Western Allies to trap the Germans in Normandy that this book really added nothing new.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of exciting details. Very informative regarding the missed opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of the German army in Normandy. Also illuminates the fragile alliance in the west.

[ARMY]

Kingseed