Battle for the Bocage, Normandy 1944 - Point 103, Tilly-sur-Seulles and Villers Bocage

Battle for the Bocage, Normandy 1944 - Point 103, Tilly-sur-Seulles and

Villers Bocage written by Tim Saunders and published by Pen & Sword

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 376

This is the story of the fighting in Normandy by the veteran desert formations brought

back by Montgomery from the Mediterranean in order to spearhead the invasion;

50th Infantry and 7th Armoured divisions, plus 4th Armoured Brigade. Heavily

reinforced by individuals and fresh units, their task beyond the beaches was to push

south to Villers Bocage with armour on the evening of D-Day in order to disrupt

German counter-attacks on the beachhead.

Difficulties on 50th Division’s beaches and lost opportunities allowed time for the 12th Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division and the equally elite 130th Panzer Lehr Division to arrive in Normandy, despite delays of their own caused by allied fighter bombers. The result was 4th Armoured Brigade’s thrust south encountered opposition from the start and was firmly blocked just south of Point 103 after an advance of less than 5 miles.

A major counter-attack by Panzer Lehr failed, as did a renewed British attempt, this time by the vaunted 7th Armoured Division, which was halted at Tilly sur Seulles. From here the fighting became a progressively attritional struggle in the hedgerows of the Bocage country south of Bayeux. More and more units were drawn into the fighting, which steadily extended west. Finally, an opportunity, via the Caumont Gap, to outflank the German defences was taken and 7th Armoured Division reached Villers Bocage. Here the County of London Yeomanry encountered the newly arrived Tigers of Michael Wittmann, with disastrous results. The Desert Rats were forced to withdraw having lost much of their reputation.

There then followed what the battalions of 50th Division describe as their ‘most unpleasant period of the war’, in bitter fighting, at often very close quarters, for the ‘next hedgerow’.

This is an excellent book if you're into detailed, and comprehensive descriptive writing that easily details the fighting battle of almost hand to hand combat. If you enjoy reading about the war around the Normandy area, this will definitely be a book for you. The book mainly centres around Point 103 and the area around Bocage, these hard-fought battles are well written and bring the heat of the battle and fear to the book. The book is also well divided up in its chapters, so your not overwhelmed by the knowledge and combat which some could find a little confusing. Certainly a well written book by the author Tim Saunders. I really enjoyed reading this book and would think it would most certainly appeal to fans of the fighting in the Normandy area of France in WWII.

March Past! Memoir of a Commando Leader from Lofoten to Dieppe & D-Day

March Past! Memoir of a Commando Leader from Lofoten to Dieppe & D-Day

written by Lord Simon Frazer and published by Frontline Books - £25 -

Hardback - Pages 400

At the outbreak of war in 1940, Simon Frazer, the 15th Lord Lovat and a former

Guards officer, was mobilized from the reserve list to join the Lovat Scouts, the

British Army’s first sniper unit that had been formed by his father during the Boer

War. The following year he volunteered for one of the new Commando units then

being created.

Lovat was personally involved in the training of the Commando troops on the West coast of Scotland. He was eventually attached to, and led, No.4 Commando. On 3 March 1941, Nos. 3 and 4 Commando launched a raid on the German-occupied Lofoten Islands. In this successful attack, Operation Claymore, the commandos destroyed fish-oil factories, petrol dumps, and even eleven ships. They also seized encryption equipment and codebooks, as well as captured 216 German troops.

Promoted to temporary major, Lovat led 100 men of No.4 Commando and a 50-man detachment from the Canadian Carleton and York Regiment in a raid on the French coastal village of Hardelot in April 1942. For this action he was awarded the Military Cross on 7 July that year.

Lord Lovat was involved in further raids against the German-held French coast, most notably Dieppe, during which No.4 Commando destroyed the coastal battery at Varengeville-sur-Mer in a text-book commando attack. This resulted in Lovat being awarded the DSO.

Such was the effect the Commando raids had on German morale, Lovat had 100,000 Reichmarks placed on his head, dead or alive.

Promoted to brigadier, Lovat formed the 1st Special Service Brigade (later the 1st Commando Brigade) which stormed ashore on D-Day to secure the eastern flank of the attacking forces. In this, he famously instructed his personal piper, Bill Millin, to pipe the commandos and himself ashore, in defiance of specific orders not to allow such an action in battle. In the subsequent fighting Lovat was seriously wounded, effectively ending his active career.

March Past! Is a book about Simon Frazer, the 15th Lord Lovat who would become on of

the original men who help set up and train young Commando soldiers based up in Scotland.

In fact if you read those old Commando comic books as a kid, Lord Lovat was one of those

men the comic books could have been based upon. His career, where he fought, what he did

and achieved were feats of heroes. This book is based upon his memoirs and they have

been put together in a great way that shows the real portrayal of a real hero who achieved

some astounding feats in WWII. The other thing that stood out was this was a man who was

blessed with being from a ‘higher’ position, and yet he was one of those men who mixed well

with his fellow soldiers, he was one of the guys. A really good book put together well and

really sells the story of a real hero.

Hill 112 The Key to Defeating Hitler in Normandy

Hill 112 The Key to Defeating Hitler in Normandy written by Tim Saunders

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 328

‘He who holds Hill 112 holds Normandy’ seemed an unlikely maxim when the hill

is viewed from a distance, but on reaching its plateau, the vistas unfold in every

direction across a huge swath of Normandy. For the Germans, it was their vital

defensive ground, but for the British, it was an essential stepping stone en route

to the River Orne and access to the open country south to Falaise.

The Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division lost Hill 112 to 4th Armoured Brigade when the Scots captured the Tourmauville Bridge intact, but the essence of Hill 112’s tactical problem soon became clear. It was impossible for armour to survive on its broad plateau, while the infantry could only hold the skeletal orchards and woods at the cost of crushing casualties. With II SS Panzer Corps preparing to attack the British, the toe hold was given up and 11th Armoured Division was left holding a bridgehead across the River Odon.

Ten days later, 43rd Wessex Division was ordered to resume the advance to the Orne with Hill 112 its first objective. As the west countrymen and tanks rose to advance, they met withering fire from the stronghold that Hill 112 had become. The scene was set for one of the grimmest battles of the campaign.

For six weeks from the end of June into August, when the Allied advances finally gained momentum, Hill 112 was far too important to let the opposition hold and exploit it. Consequently, it was regularly shelled and mortared, and shrouded with smoke and dust, while soldiers of both sides clung to their respective rims of the plateau.

By the end, Hill 112 had developed a reputation as evil as that of any spot on the First World War’s Western Front.

The battle for Hill 112 is an important one as it was of strategic advantage to both sides. What we have in this book is an excellent story of a battle, on a few important levels such as the everyday man on the frontline to the tactical planning level of the higher ranking officers. In some parts of the story, the fighting and combat does get a bit grim or harsh, but this is why Hill 112 was so important in that it took people to commit the ultimate sacrifice for the cause. I must admit that this book did have me hooked throughout and had me reading it in just a couple of sittings. This is down to a gripping story, but also a well-written book by an author/historian who clearly has some experience in these circumstances. The book is supported by some great historical sources, photographs, maps, tactics and charts. This was a really good read and one I would certainly recommend to others.

D-Day, Arnhem & The Rhine

D-Day, Arnhem & The Rhine written by Robert F. Ashby and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 176

Foot soldiers, commandos, parachutists, naval seamen, bomber and fighter pilots –

their varied personal experiences of the Second World War have been widely recounted,

and the parts they played in the conflict are well known. But there are specialized wartime

roles that have received very little attention, notably the gallant actions of the men of the

Glider Pilot Regiment. That is why Robert Ashby’s rare and vivid pilot’s memoir is so

valuable. In it he offers a fascinating insight not only into the major operations he took

part in – including D-Day, Arnhem and the Rhine crossing – but into the exacting flying

skills required to carry out perilous glider landings on enemy territory while under fire.

His account of his hair-raising training, together with his pen-portraits of his comrades and officers, takes the reader inside the world of a ‘citizen soldier’. The glider landings at Arnhem and the intense fighting that followed are the climax of his narrative, offering us a remarkable insight into one of the most controversial Allied disasters of the entire war.

This book is about the life of Robert Ashby, a pilot who was involved in Operation Market Garden and the Operation on D-day in Normandy, what makes a difference to these is that they are the personal papers and writings of this airman. Ashby was lucky in that due to the mess of Market Garden, he wasn’t captured in Arnhem and managed to make it back to Britain. His thoughts on this particular part of his life are interesting in that we know how hard it was to take the bridges in Arnhem and many were under threat from the Germans. But this shows the importance of personal papers from individuals such as Robert Ashby.

This 177-page book was an interesting book and one you don’t really hear much about in his role as a glider pilot, but a quite interesting read. I would recommend this book as you don’t often get books about this role in the war.

D-Day Gunners

D-Day Gunners written by Frank Baldwin and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £25 - Hardback - Pages 272

Part history book and part travel guide, D-Day Gunners is aimed at anyone interested

in the artillery on the D-Day beaches and landing grounds. While the heritage of the D-Day

beaches and landing sites is well documented, this rarely includes the artillery story.

The author of this book aims to correct this by providing a visitors' guide to the artillery

stories associated with the battlefield heritage that remains on the D-Day beaches,

mapping the fire-plan for D-Day against the known German locations, and looking

at what happened at these places.

There is relatively little explanation about the role of the artillery in general or the deeds of artillerymen, in particular those of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. This book tells of the significance of artillery on D-Day and the part it played in the outcome. Initial reports published stressed that the coastal defences were effectively neutralized by the bombing and that no significant counterattacks developed on D-Day. However, post-war accounts increasingly attributed allied success to allied firepower.

The book tells the story of the men who served the guns on the D-Day beaches, and the effects they had on the outcome of the battles on D-Day and afterwards. This volume is primarily about British Gunners and certain German Kannoniers. The book has been written as a guide to the battlefields on the D-Day beaches and landing grounds, telling the gunners’ stories that are not always commemorated on memorials, interpretation boards, or recorded in more general guides. These poignant stories include war poets and heroes decorated for bravery, or just the tales of some of the men buried in the war cemeteries or commemorated on the memorials. It also provides a guide in lay terms of the technical impact of field anti-tank and AA artillery on the war.

A second volume will tell the story of artillerymen on the American beaches and landing grounds.

This book covers the D-Day operations of World War Two, looking primarily at the locations of the landing grounds and the artillery used in the early morning attack. It looks at the importance of the artillery and tells the stories of the men manning the artillery units from both sides, which often gets forgotten about.

The book also serves as a battlefield guide that tours along the various beaches used for landings and then looks at the artillery guns & firing plans used. The book contains a large number of photographs, plans and maps which really do help explain the information though out and then does a great review of the beaches used. This feels like a thoroughly detailed and comprehensive book and in my very humble opinion, this has the look, feel and detail of a really decent book that would sit on the top of anyone's book on the D-Day subject. 

Tank Craft 35: Panzer IV, Medium Tank

Tank Craft 35: Panzer IV, Medium Tank written by Dennis Oliver and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £16.99 - Softcover - Pages 64

When the Allied armies landed on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 the backbone of the armoured reaction force awaiting them was made up of 758 Pzkpfw IV tanks, a number which represents almost half the fully-tracked vehicles available for the defence of the West. The first models of these tanks had entered service in November 1937 and although replacements had been considered, the original design was continually up-gunned and up-armoured. Perhaps lacking the glamour of the Panther and Tiger, the most recent variant, the Pzkpfw IV ausf H, was at least the equal of the best British and American tanks. Drawing on official documentation and unit histories Dennis Oliver investigates the formations that operated these deservedly famous vehicles and uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the markings, camouflage and technical aspects of the Pzkpfw IV tanks that served on the Western Front during the critical summer of 1944. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.

This book Panzer IV focuses on the latter part of the war from D-Day onwards. Although this series of books is primarily aimed at model crafters, the actual history, technical detail and chat about specifications is excellent so these books should never be seen as just for model makers. The photographs that run throughout this book whether it be photos of the time of these tanks in battle or the pictures of the models are very good and detailed and really help make the book. In the back of the book, there is always a really good contacts section and product list to help the reader out. Certainly a good book for the series.

The Waffen-SS in Normandy 1940

The Waffen-SS in Normandy 1940 written by Ian Baxter and published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

In June 1944, Operation OVERLORD, the greatest ever amphibious invasion, initially overwhelmed German Normandy defences. To attempt to stabilize the situation, Hitler deployed his elite Waffen-SS divisions to avert the crisis.

This classic Images of War book describes how the formidable Leibstandarte, Das Reich, Hitlerjugend, Hohenstaufen, and the Frundsberg SS divisions with supporting Wehrmacht divisions fought fanatically despite facing overwhelming enemy airpower and determined well-led Allied armies. Mounting losses and supply and fuel problems culminated in the Falaise Pocket defeat, when twenty-five out of the thirty-eight German division was completely destroyed. As a result, the remaining Waffen-SS units had to be reluctantly withdrawn and transferred back to Holland and, Belgium to recoup, or sent to the Eastern Front to attempt to stem the relentless Soviet advance.

With many rare and unpublished photographs with detailed captions, Waffen-SS in Normandy is a graphic account of the Waffen-SS operations in Normandy and their subsequent retreat through France.

This book in the Images of War series looks at the Waffen-SS in Normandy in 1940, a German operation in response to the allied forces' invasion of Normandy in the D-Day landings. Now as this was getting towards the end of the war, Germany was beginning to run out of supportive troops and his army was being stretched almost to the limit. Hence why and you’ll notice this looking through the book at the pictures, Hitler was having to rely heavily on troops formerly of the Hitler Youth. You’ll see from the photos that many of the soldiers in this book look very young, and as leader in a youth organisation personally, some of these soldiers look around the age as some of the young members in my group. But this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, as quite a few allied soldiers would go to remark how well these young German soldiers fought. 

This was a really enjoyable book to read, fascinating to see really young men being soldiers and having to endure war at such a young age. I must credit the author Ian Baxter, as it seems when you read an Ian Baxter book, you’ll always get a well written and researched book. This book feels a little smaller than others in the series, but it is certainly an excellent book.