Product Description

Following the successful landing by the Allied armies in Normandy in June 1944, Hitler's forces battled for two months to contain the bridgehead. However, when his last-ditch attempt to recover the initiative with Operation Luttich - the counter-attack from Mortain on August 7 - failed, it was an implied admission that his armies in the West had been defeated. From that starting point, Jean Paul Pallud takes up the story, following in the footsteps of the Germans as they retreat across France. The next days and weeks were ones of confusion for the German command with staffs and technical services dispersed; command and communication virtually non-existent; roads congested and strafed, and directives to build new stop-lines almost immediately rendered obsolete by the flow of events...all within a matter of a few days. Although the Germans lost nearly 300,000 men during the retreat - either killed, wounded, missing, or taken prisoner - nevertheless it was not necessarily an Allied victory as by the beginning of September German forces had turned round and were once more standing firm, this time along the 650 kilometres between Switzerland and the North Sea. This, then, is that story...told through hundreds of 'then and now' comparison photographs by the author, and which includes some quite amazing discoveries that he made along the way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73267 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 376 pages

Customer Reviews

Worth it for the photographs alone!
The specialist publisher After the Battle is perhaps better known to many for its excellent quarterly magazine featuring the many splendid then and now photographs and the superb range of fascinating military history related articles. One should not however forget that they also publish many excellent hard back volumes too and their latest publication is no exception.

Although the allied armies successfully landed on the beaches of Normandy in the Summer of 1944, the fight did not end there, as the enemy forces fought on with the aim of containing the bridgehead until a counter-attack could be launched. However after a further two months of hard fighting, an attempted counter-attack in the early August failed and Hitler had no alternative but to at last admit that his army was now on the road to defeat!

The incredible story behind Ruckmarsch begins here, and is told by the author in the familiar After the Battle then and now style. No less than 1000 splendid photographs support the excellent text covering the period when the German army retreated across France and lost almost 300,000 men in the process.

The author made some incredible discoveries during his extensive research in preparation for this excellent volume. I am sure you will make many discoveries too as you thumb through the numerous pages and marvel at the magnificent collection of photographs.

This volume is a masterpiece, it is a must buy for the serious military historian, researcher and battlefield guide and a must read for anyone with the slightest interest in the Second World War.

Thank you After the Battle for another wonderful book.

Ruckmarsch
Well put together, great photo's, well captioned.A huge ammount of research has gone into this fine publication. Essential to take along on any battlefield tour of Normandy.

Another After The Battle gem!
After the Battle publications have reached a standard that one can buy these magnificent books almost blindfolded. This one is no exepction. The author has already more than earned his spurs with similar impressive titles and the proven formula of combining newly discovered (and very captivating) pictures with vivid, sometimes chilling eyewitness accounts did the trick again. This book is also technically top class. In other words, anyone insterested in WWII history, should give this publication its deserved spot on the bookshelf.