Product Description

The battle around Falaise in Normandy during August 1944 saw the destruction of the German Seventh army; this title details the chain of events which led to the German retreat and the ensuing liberation of France. The British and American breakout battles had released motorised units to wage a more mobile war against the German static defensive tactics, and at Falaise, the armoured units of US Third Army encircled the German Seventh Army and squeezed them into an ever-smaller cauldron of chaos, crushed against the advancing British Second Army. The results were devastating: those troops able to escape the disaster fled, whilst those who remained were killed or captured and vast quantities of armour and equipment were lost.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149151 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

About the Author
Ken Ford was born in Hampshire in 1943. He trained as an engineer and spent almost 30 years in the telecommunications industry. He is now a bookseller specialising in military history, and an author, having written a number of books on various Second World War subjects. Previous titles for Osprey in the Campaign series include volume 127: 'Dieppe 1942' and 134: 'Cassino 1944'. Peter Dennis was born in 1950 and, having been inspired by contemporary magazines such as 'Look and Learn', studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. He has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects. He is a keen wargamer and modelmaker.

Customer Reviews

Final chapter keeps up the standard
This book completes Ken Ford's coverage in the Osprey Campaign series of the British and Commonwealth part of the Normandy campaign. Overall I would strongly recommend all these books for someone wanting a clear narrative of that campaign by British and Canadians. That said, due to the nature of the Osprey series, there is little or no space for personal testimony and it is hard to get a feel for the intensity of the fighting. The book dovetails well with Steven Zaloga's account of Operation Cobra although it avoids much mention of the criticism of performance of the British and Canadians in their attempts to seal the pocket. It is to be hoped that the powers at Osprey will commission a final addition to cover the battle for St.Lo which would complete the coverage of Normandy. Overall, a very worthwhile addition if you have the others in the same set.

Good overview of chaotic situation
Enjoyable read and fairly fluent.
Shock, horror and chaos of the pocket seem to come over better in the "After the Battle" magazine on the subject though, than in this book. Sterile study.
I do miss personal accounts in the text. Just following Regimental numbers through the action how ever well researched doesn’t make for very inspiring reading.