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Bloody Verrieres, Volume 1: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges—Operations Goodwood and Atlantic, 18–22 July 1944
“An excellent work that adds to the history of the Normandy Campaign. It also gives the armchair historian points to ponder.” —A Wargamers Needful Things
South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944—taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in the I. SS-Panzerkorps “Leibstandarte.”
The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground, and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War “Bite and Hold” tactics, massively supported by artillery.
Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. This is a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps’ defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944.
South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944—taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in the I. SS-Panzerkorps “Leibstandarte.”
The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground, and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War “Bite and Hold” tactics, massively supported by artillery.
Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. This is a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps’ defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944.
- GenresWorld War II
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 22, 2026
Gullaschsen's account of the Allies Operations Goodwood and Atlantic from the German defences perspective was a little too detailed for my novice understanding, but I couldn't imagine a more thorough account.
My uncle in the South Saskatchewan Regiment was wounded in Operation Atlantic by Panzers as they came over Verrieres Ridge on July 20, 1944.
I listened to the book on Audible, but a printed copy's reference maps and diagrams would have helped my understanding.
My uncle in the South Saskatchewan Regiment was wounded in Operation Atlantic by Panzers as they came over Verrieres Ridge on July 20, 1944.
I listened to the book on Audible, but a printed copy's reference maps and diagrams would have helped my understanding.
January 5, 2025
2.5★ rounded up. a very mixed bag, simultaneously too hand-wavy and jam packed with low-level details of questionable value.
listened to primarily in order to catch up on Goodwood - and there's some info on that and surrounding ops, but at almost 13h it wasn't a good choice: chapter 6 of Military Power can do better in twenty-odd pages (assuming one can stomach Biddle's shtick).
also, i have a strong suspicion that Bruce Mann is not, in fact, a man, but rather an ironical nom de vox for some cut-price text-to-speech engine; or else my condolences to the bloke... either way, listening to the narration was quite painful, even setting the French/German mispronunciations aside.
listened to primarily in order to catch up on Goodwood - and there's some info on that and surrounding ops, but at almost 13h it wasn't a good choice: chapter 6 of Military Power can do better in twenty-odd pages (assuming one can stomach Biddle's shtick).
also, i have a strong suspicion that Bruce Mann is not, in fact, a man, but rather an ironical nom de vox for some cut-price text-to-speech engine; or else my condolences to the bloke... either way, listening to the narration was quite painful, even setting the French/German mispronunciations aside.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews