The Second Front

World War II #13

by Douglas Botting

Shows how the Allies opened a second front in Europe.

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

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless you're familiar with the nomenclature of the Second World War, Time-Life's The Second Front won't register as the book that really should have been called D-Day. Not that these mail-order volumes were too concerned with any given title's marketability, since you got them in whatever order the publisher decided to send them to you. But it really is about the invasion of Normandy (another better title, perhaps), from the Germans' preparations to defend those beaches, through the failed attempt at Dieppe, to the day itself and the few weeks that followed until the Allies managed to get a stable foothold in Northern France. It's a story of mistakes, especially on the German side, and of ingenuity (with great diagrams of the funky tanks created by the British to handle the beach attack). As usual, with lots of pictures (the Life Magazine part of this), though historians will cry at the story of why there are so few pics of D-Day itself. A solid compendium of the events of the day, those that led up to it and its immediate results.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've now read through about 2/3 of the books in this series and found this to be one of the most engaging volumes, and one of the quickest reads, in the set. Botting provides a great overview of the preparations for D-Day and for the battle itself, with its mentions of individual heroics and tragedies, strategies and misadventures, including some narrative viewpoints from the German side. Though I've read quite a bit on WWII, including a couple of books on D-Day, I'd not heard of the tragic raid on Dieppe, which really deserves more attention than it apparently gets.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the WWII series so far (I know I've said that before, but when I've read them all this could easily be number one or at least in the top three). Approximately 90% of it focuses on D-Day, from the planning to the immediate days after. Some interesting things I learned from this volume include:
-America practically invaded Britain in the buildup to D-Day, there were GIs everywhere. Understandably not everyone was thrilled about that, and the book even includes some humorous verses from anti-USA songs the civilians over there could be heard singing.
-American soldiers earned 5x the pay as their British counterparts (just another reason for some of the animosity).
-70k women British women married US soldiers and left for US post war.
-Ernest Hemmingway participated in D-Day as well as Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
-There are a number of different tank types referred to as "Funnies" (DD, Sherman Flail/Crab,Bobbin, ARV, and the Armored Ramp Carrier/ARK) that I'd never seen or heard of before. At the risk of sounding stupid or ignorant, some of them made me feel like I was looking at concept art for a fictional movie.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the battle that truly decided the war. Find out how we almost didn't make it in time to save Russia, and help end the Nazi threat.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the speedier reads of the series. I enjoyed the stories from both sides of the front.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, in-depth look at the Normandy invasion, operation Overlord. Each aspect of the operation is broken down and told with great detail.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.

[Cws]

XOS-940.54B

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, definitive account of the planning and execution of D-Day.