For six weeks in the summer of 1944, the US forces tasked with capturing the key transport hub of Saint-Lo in Normandy struggled to make headway in the bocage - an area riddled with hedgerows, ravines and swamps where the infantry had to do most of the fighting. The Germans deployed some of their toughest infantrymen, the famous Fallschirmjäger - highly motivated, well-equipped Luftwaffe volunteers grouped around cadres of veterans - to defend this sector. Despite American superiority in terms of tanks, aircraft and materiel, the US infantrymen had to push back the Germans in a series of exhausting hand-to-hand battles. Using expert analysis, carefully selected photographs and newly commissioned artwork, this book compares the ethos, doctrine and training of the combatants and assesses their performance during three key engagements: the German assault on Mont Castre (6-7 July), the brutal battle for Hill 192 (11-13 July) and the climax of the fighting for Saint-Lo (11-21 July).
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Baldwin, Frank/Noon, Steve (Illustr.)
Title
Fallschirmjäger vs US Soldier. Saint-Lô 1944
Details
English text, paperback, many bw- and colour illustrations, some colour plates. 80 pages.
