The Valour and the Horror

It took three months to break the German defense of Normandy and liberate Paris. In this vivid book, Keegan describes the situation of regiments from different nations, engaged in many types of warfare. We hear about landing with the Canadians at Juno, about bomber missions, and trudging across country in the face of enemy fire. We learn how it felt to engage the enemy from a tank, and for the Polish regiments to close the Falaise pocket. Often including first-hand accounts, Keegan takes us through an unforgettable journey from D-Day to the liberation of Paris.

"Everywhere wounded or burning figures ran or struggled painfully for cover, while a remorseless rain of armour-piercing shot riddled the already helpless Shermans. All too clearly, we were not going to 'break through' that day. It was going to be a matter no how mush we should advance, but whether we should be able to hold on to what we had gained. Out of the great array of armour that had moved forward to battle that morning, one hundred and six tanks now lay crippled or out of action in the cornfields." (page 215)

By the same author :

* * The Face of Battle - This study of the experiences of soldiers in Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme is the book that established Keegan as one of the foremost military historians of our time.

* * The Second World War - In this comprehensive history, John Keegan brilliantly explores both the technological and the human impact of the greatest war of all time.

* Warpaths - John Keegan examines the battles fought over three centuries between Frenchman and Indian, Royalist and colonist, Union and Confederacy for power in North America

Other book(s) we recommend on the same subject.

* * Decision in Normandy Carlo D'Este - The best book ever written on the Battle for Normandy. Carlo D'Este comes to the story from a background as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and three previous books on WWII. Published 1994 2nd edition / Price $ 22.50