The Fields Of Normandy

The Fields of Normandy is an accessible, portable, solitaire "hex and counter" style wargame in a book. Instructions and colour game maps are included; you just need to bring a pencil, 2 standard six-sided dice and an eraser. Nothing else is needed to play. Your task is to order your rifle squads, machine gun teams, mortar teams and PIAT teams across the map to achieve your objectives, countering any enemy threat which is found along the way. The game rules reveal, position and attack with enemy units whilst you focus on your objectives. Clear rules, 15 missions across varied maps with varied enemies provides plenty of replayability as you re-create the Allied push into Normandy in World War II. Good luck, your troops await your orders... Complexity: 2/5 Players: 1 Time: 10 to 40 minutes per mission

With Fields of Fire, Terry Copp challenges the conventional view that the Canadian contribution to the Battle of Normandy was a “failure” – that the allies won only through the use of brute force, and that the Canadian soldiers and commanding officers were essentially incompetent. His detailed and impeccably researched analysis of what actually happened on the battlefield portrays a flexible, innovative army that made a major, and successful, contribution to the defeat of the German forces in just seventy-six days. Challenging both existing interpretations of the campaign and current approaches to military history, Copp examines the Battle of Normandy, tracking the soldiers over the battlefield terrain and providing an account of each operation carried out by the Canadian army. In so doing, he illustrates the valour, skill, and commitment of the Allied citizen-soldier in the face of a well-entrenched and well-equipped enemy army. This new edition of Copp’s best-selling, award-winning history includes a new introduction that examines the strategic background of the Battle of Normandy.

A complete guide to Normandy Battlefields providing the history, places, and people who made victory in the Second World War possible. Recipient of 7 National book awards. On 6 June 1944, 156,000 American, British, and Canadian servicemen fought ashore on beaches along the Normandy coast or landed from the air to begin wresting back Nazi occupied Europe. The D-Day invasion was the largest amphibious landing in history. Although successful, it was only precursor to months of the deadly fighting necessary to dislodge stubborn German defenders from the Norman countryside and eventually liberate France. As a visitor s guide, Fields of War: Battle of Normandy presents the actual locations of key events in the struggle to free France from German occupation. Each battlefield visit begins with a succinct history of events followed by a description of the intense military action that determined success or failure. Extensive detailed maps illustrate the flow of the battle across the landscape and the units that participated. Detailed driving instructions and GPS co-ordinates direct visitors to each battlefield site. Descriptions of museums, memorials, cemeteries, and surviving artifacts are given along with their hours of operation. Mailing, email, and web addresses are also provided.

“I didn't choose involvement in World War II; circumstances forced me into the war.” This is how Henri Levaufre begins his exciting tale of what it was like to endure German occupation of his country and then celebrate with the Allies when they liberated France. As a thirteen-year-old boy, he witnessed the war's effects in Periers, his hometown: the perils of combat, two bombings, and his family's evacuation. After the war, as an Electrical Engineer, he visited the battle fields of Normandy frequently to design and install power lines. This sparked Levaufre's interest in “the pathway of recent battles”. Slowly, with his family, he began to map out every trench and foxhole in the area. He also collected other war artifacts. After decades of research, he is now an award-winning authority on what happened in Normandy. He has also become the devoted friend and host to many soldiers – on both sides – who fought there.

Experience the battlefields of D-Day in this beautiful book combining historical images, full-color aerial photography, and informative text. The D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied Normandy was the most dramatic turning point of World War II. With a combination of historic and contemporary photography, along with maps and other illustrations, The Normandy Battlefields takes readers “on-site” to the sacred battlegrounds. The armada that attacked from Britain left behind many signs of their passage. The Normandy Battlefields details what can be seen on the ground today using a mixture of media to provide a complete overview of the campaign. Maps old and new highlight what has survived and what hasn’t; then-and-now photography allows fascinating comparisons with the images taken at the time, and computer artwork provides graphic details of things that can’t be seen today. The book describes the area from Cherbourg to Le Havre by way of the key D-Day locations, providing a handbook for the visitor and an overview for the armchair traveler. It covers the forces from both sides and the memorials to those young men who fought so many years ago.

'A superb account of the invasion that deserves immense praise. To convey the human drama of Normandy requires great knowledge and sensitivity. Holland has both in spades' The Times Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history, unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign. ______________ D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge. In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. The sheer size and scale of the Allies' war machine ultimately dominates the strategic, operational and tactical limitations of the German forces. This was a brutal campaign. In terms of daily casualties, the numbers were worse than for any one battle during the First World War. 'A devastating new account..Holland knows his stuff when it comes to military matters. The reader is in safe hands navigating each aspect of this complex campaign' Daily Mail, Book of the Week _________________ Drawing on unseen archives and testimonies from around the world Introducing a cast of eye-witnesses that includes foot soldiers, tank men, fighter pilots and bomber crews, sailors, civilians, resistance fighters and those directing the action An epic telling that will profoundly recalibrate our understanding of its true place in the tide of human history

Jonathan Fennell captures for the first time the true wartime experience of the ordinary soldiers from across the empire who made up the British and Commonwealth armies. He analyses why the great battles were won and lost and how the men that fought went on to change the world.

Expanded edition with a new chapter on the final battles of the Normandy campaign.

A stone's throw from Paris and renowned for its temperate climate, Normandy is a French region with something for everyone. Rich in culture, history, nature, and hearty cuisine, it attracts an increasing number of visitors and countless foreign homeowners. Its beauty and charm has seduced great artists and writers such as Monet in Giverny and Victor Hugo in Villequier. Share in the relaxed Norman lifestyle by sauntering along the beach in Deauville, stroll along riverbanks and forests in springtime. Normandy is famed for its gardens, and many are open to visitors, who can stroll the cloistered grounds of a monastery, or watercolor at Giverny. Discover that there is no such thing as a typical Norman home: locals invite us into their half-timbered houses, thatched cottages, or slate-roofed residences. Catch a glimpse at the end of a pathway of a medieval chateau with turrets or a Renaissance manor with mansard windows and balconies. No Normand table is complete without Calvados, Camembert, Cotentin oysters, hard cider, butter, and creme fraiche. Regional artisans still practice traditional Normand crafts, including lacemaking from Alencon, majolica from Vieux Rouen, and the region's famous armoires and clocks. Living in Normandy includes an indispensable guide with an extensive list of the region's best restaurants, hotels, brasseries, bed and breakfasts, as well as stores, boutiques, antique dealers, and tips on where to sample the famous local products.