Retreat to the Reich: The German Defeat in France, 1944

by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.

Overview

• The story of the Normandy campaign from a German perspective
• Covers every point of view, from soldiers in the field to generals at high command

The Allied landings in France on June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the German defeat in the West. Military historian Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., vividly recaptures the desperation of the Wehrmacht as its thin gray line finally snapped amidst brutal hedgerow-to-hedgerow fighting in Normandy and as the survivors fled the Allied steamroller in a mad dash back to the Reich. With colorful descriptions and informative details, Mitcham recounts the German military retreat and the erosion of Germany's stronghold in Europe—as viewed through the eyes of a defiant, but ultimately defeated, Wehrmacht.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811733847
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	01/23/2007
Series:	Stackpole Military History Series
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	814,272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., is the author of more than twenty books on World War II. He lives in Louisiana.

Table of Contents

Setting the Stage for Disaster
Hans von Kluge and the Conspiracy of July 20
The Breakout
The Conquest of Brittany
Hitler Puts His Head Into the Lion's Mouth
The Falaise Pocket: Army Group B in Slaughtered
The Invasions of Southern France
The Retreat Behind the Seine
Beyond the Seine
The Allies Mop Up in France
The "Miracle of the West"
Appendices
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The German forces' reactions to challenge and to their ultimate expulsion from occupied France by U.S. and British forces are the focus of this study, covering the campaigns of June to September 1944. Mitcham, a professor at the University of Louisiana, marshals serious detail here, from German orders of battle in various actions (including compositions of units) to notes with biographical sketches of many Wehrmacht commanders. Some are fascinating and attest to scholarship, yet for a lay reader their bulk is tedious and threatens to obscure the broader themes. But for the determined reader, Mitcham conveys a documented sense of the main sectors and phases of battle, how fronts advanced, the commanding personalities, the stubborn resistance and the progressive gutting of the German forces. Adding dimension are, for example, explanations of why German forces came to be confined in the Falaise pocket, of how Paris escaped destruction via a Nazi general's scruples and of how the failed July conspiracy to assassinate Hitler debilitated the military in France. This volume offers a focused resource for the specialist and buff, but is not likely to appeal to generalists. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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