The Normandy Campaign: 6 June-25 August 1944

To defeat Nazi Germany, the Allies had to mount the largest amphibious attack in history. Nothing like it in size and scope had ever been attempted. Failure would mean, at best, prolonging the war. At worst, it would give Germany the chance to develop the "wonder weapons" they had been talking about for so long. Despite all of the mistakes and miscues of the Allied armies, as well as the great cost in lives, they secured the beaches with heroic determination and moved on to defeat Germany. The much-celebrated Allied landing at Omaha and the other Normandy beaches on D-Day was just the beginning—the success of the landing was secured only after another two months of hard fighting, bravery, and death. The Normandy Campaign describes in broad strokes the movements of the armies as they fought their way to Paris and presents a complete picture of the campaign through France. Brooks details his narrative with firsthand accounts from the soldiers who were in the dunes and hedgerows of Normandy. The reader comes to understand both the strategic situation and the human drama of war that made the Normandy campaign the incredible story it is.