Few contemporary authors have had such an illustrious or successful career so late in life as had British scholar and historian John Keegan. Mr. Keegan, much like his American counterpart, Stephan Ambrose, has become a sort of one-man cottage industry pouring out literate tomes on a variety of historical subjects, dealing in the main with the subject of 20th century war and its warriors. In each case, Keegan brings a singular understanding of the nature of war itself as well as what it means for the soldier on the ground. Thus, while other authors tend to concentrate more exclusively on what national and military leaders do and how each of the associated counties strategize, Mr. Keegan tends to emphasize the meaning of these conflicts and circumstances as they apply to the man in the field, and this refreshing approach to be more realistic and more relevant to the experience of the common man makes him both entertaining and educational to read. This particular book, "Six Armies In Normandy", represents a superb effort to summarize the events surrounding the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 and its aftermath all the way to the liberation of Paris later that year.
As such it presents a thrilling and wonderfully readable account of how one of the most momentous clashes of the century began and unfolded on the beaches, along the coastline, and then on into the bucolic fields, villages, and countryside of France itself. Like an afternoon's excursion into Hell itself, one quickly becomes embroiled in the vision of battle across the face of Normandy, watching as a cauldron of murder and mayhem pours itself onto the face of France, witnessing the Allies as they successfully beat back the counter-offenses by the German panzer divisions. Keegan focuses on specific engagements, brilliantly recreating the atmosphere of conflict and chaos such as the fabled 101st Airborne drop into several Normandy villages along the coastline, being furiously chewed up by German ground forces even as they attempt to land.
Keegan's approach here is to show that the landing was just the beginning of the liberation of France, and as any serious student of the war along the Western Front can attest, the Germans were tenacious and dogged in their defense, and the road to Paris and the liberation of all of France was one both hard-fought and well sprinkled with the blood of both combatants and non-combatants alike. Far from being a beaten force that was to be run over by the Allied machine, the German Wehrmacht still had the discipline, the determination, and a ready reservoir of self-reliance and battle experience to use in fighting the invaders. The battle for France was anything but a cakewalk, and herein the author handlily demonstrates the extraordinary degree to which each of the six armies used everything possible that was at their disposal to fatefully influence the eventual result. This is a wonderful book, one that both entertains and edifies. It is also one that I have read several times, and I recommend it for anyone who wants to take a wonderful look at the nature of the battle of France from the foot soldier's perspective.
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