Normandiefront D-Day to Saint-Lô Through German Eyes

by Milano, Vince; Conner, Bruce

• ISBN13: 9780752471457
• ISBN10: 0752471457
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-01
• Publisher: The History Press

Summary

Based on first-hand testimony, this story of how one German division changed the course of the invasion, and almost the war, features previously unpublished photographs from participants In the cold morning of June 6, 1944, thousands of German soldiers were in position from Port en Bessin eastwards past Colleville on the Normandy coast, aware that a massive invasion force was heading straight for them, although according to Allied Intelligence, they shouldn't have been there. The presence of 352 Division meant that the number of defenders was literally double the number expectedand on the best fortified of all the invasion beaches. This infantry division would ensure the invaders would pay a massive price to take Omaha Beach. There were veterans from the Russian front among them and they were well trained and equipped. What makes this account of the bloody struggle unique is that it is told from the German standpoint, using firsthand testimony of German combatants. There are not many of them left and these accounts have been painstakingly collected by the authors over many years..

Author Biography

Vince Milano is a former U.S. infantryman and the author of The German Army Order of Battle 1918 and many articles for military magazines such as Combat and Living History. He interviewed combatants in Germany for this book. He lives in Epping, New Hampshire. Bruce Conner is a military history researcher who gives military history displays and talks with Vince Milano across the U.S. He lives in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 6
Foreword	p. 7
Preface	p. 9
Rest and Reformation	p. 11
Little Time for Sleep: A SoldierÆs Day	p. 31
The Storm Breaks	p. 60
Alarm!	p. 69
Bloody Omaha	p. 78
Echoes from the Feldwebel	p. 101
Without Hindsight	p. 116
The Price of Earth	p. 130
Greatness Thrust Upon Them	p. 144
Different Kinds of Hell	p. 162
A Time for Sleeping and a Time for Fighting	p. 184
Finally, They're Ours!	p. 200
Beyond Endurance -The Road to St Lô	p. 215
Death in the Rubble	p. 236
Survivors	p. 247
A Time for Reflection	p. 253
Uniforms and Equipment	p. 261
352. Infanterie-Division Order of Battle	p. 277
Unit Organisation and Small Arms	p. 279
Rank Equivalents	p. 281
Bibliography	p. 282
Index	p. 283
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