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Osprey Campaign #143
Caen 1944: Montgomery’s break-out attempt
One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day during World War II (1939-1945)was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen. General Montgomery saw Caen as the key to Normandy and the springboard for the Allied breakout, but so did the Germans and the city did not fall. It took three major offensives and more than 30 bloody days of struggle to finally take Caen. In the process the city was controversially devastated and its civilian population decimated. The Allies paid a high price for Caen but the horrific German casualties bled their forces in Normandy white and helped open the way for the American breakout in Operation Cobra.
96 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2021
Fairly typical Osprey fare. The art in this one isn't as good as some of their other titles to me personally. A shame really. Text is a good intro to the subject matter.
March 16, 2016
Caen is my old stomping ground, so it was interesting to read about the hard-fought battles to liberate it from German occupation.
Although the capture of Caen was a British and Canadian objective on D Day itself, the city didn't fall until mid-July. The Germans defended it ferociously and the Allies threw all they had at it repeatedly but with no success for weeks.
The author clearly knows his stuff and has packed the book with detail. For my money, this would be a better with more human stories added, but this is clearly intended as a factual overview and it succeeds in that.
It's refreshing to read about British and Canadian campaigns during the Battle of Normandy rather than the more oft-told US campaigns. However, I would have liked to know more about the citizens of Caen and how they coped with the bitter fighting and the air raids that razed 75% of their city.
Overall, this was a solid but dry recounting of the struggle to take Caen.
Although the capture of Caen was a British and Canadian objective on D Day itself, the city didn't fall until mid-July. The Germans defended it ferociously and the Allies threw all they had at it repeatedly but with no success for weeks.
The author clearly knows his stuff and has packed the book with detail. For my money, this would be a better with more human stories added, but this is clearly intended as a factual overview and it succeeds in that.
It's refreshing to read about British and Canadian campaigns during the Battle of Normandy rather than the more oft-told US campaigns. However, I would have liked to know more about the citizens of Caen and how they coped with the bitter fighting and the air raids that razed 75% of their city.
Overall, this was a solid but dry recounting of the struggle to take Caen.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews