Countdown to D-Day: The German Perspective: The German High Command in Occupied France, 1944 (Latin America at War)

In December 1943, among rising realization that the Allies are planning to invade "Fortress Europe," Field Marshal Rommel was assigned the title of General Inspector for the Atlantic Wall. His mission was to assess their readiness--what he finds disgusts him. The famed Atlantikwall is nothing but a paper tiger, woefully unprepared for the forces being massed across the English Channel. His task--to turn back the Allied invasion--already seems hopeless. General der Artillery Erich Marcks, badly injured in Russia, is the man on the ground in Normandy trying to build up the coastal defenses with woefully inadequate supplies and a shortage of men, and fulfill Rommel's demands. Marcks is convinced the Allies will land in his sector, but no-one higher up the chain of command is interested in what he thinks. Meanwhile Generaloberst Hans von Salmuth, Hitler's pet and a relative novice commander, has been given responsibility for defending Fifteenth Army's coastline--the area that the High Command thinks is most likely to be the Allies' objective. Generalmajor Bayerlien is preparing the elite panzer divisions for what may lie ahead, and Generalmajor Pemsel is struggling to coordinate efforts to prepare Seventh Army, suspecting that if an invasion comes he will be the hub of the German response. All of these local commanders are subject to the whims of Hitler, hundreds of miles away but continually issuing orders increasingly divorced from the reality of the war. Countdown to D-Day takes a journal approach, tracing the daily activities and machinations of the OKH as they try to prepare for the Allied invasion. In December 1943, with the rising realization that the Allies are planning to invade Fortress Europe, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is assigned the title of General Inspector for the Atlantic Wall. His mission is to assess their readiness. What he finds disgusts him. The famed Atlantikwall is nothing but a paper tiger, woefully unprepared for the forces being massed across the English Channel. His task--to turn back the Allied invasion--already seems hopeless. His superior, theater commander, crusty old Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who had led the Reich to victory in the early years of the war, is now fed up with the whole Nazi regime. He lives comfortably in a plush villa in a quiet Paris suburb, waiting for the inevitable Allied invasion that will bring about their final defeat. General der Artillerie Erich Marcks, badly injured in Russia, is the corps commander on the ground in Normandy, trying to build up the coastal defenses with woefully inadequate supplies and a shortage of men to fulfill Rommel's demands. Marcks is convinced that the Allies will land in his sector, but no one higher up the chain of command seems interested in what he thinks. Meanwhile, aristocratic Generaloberst Hans von Salmuth, an outspoken, cocky, experienced veteran of the Russian Front, has been given responsibility for defending Fifteenth Army's coastline at Calais--the area that the High Command thinks is most likely to be the Allies' objective. General der Panzertruppen Geyr von Schweppenburg is preparing the elite panzer divisions for what may lie ahead. Generalmajor Max Pemsel struggles in coordinating efforts to prepare Seventh Army, suspecting that if an invasion comes he will be the hub of the German response. All of the Western Theater commanders are subject to the whims of Adolf Hitler, hundreds of miles away but continually issuing orders increasingly divorced from the reality of the war. Countdown to D-Day takes a detailed day-to-day journal approach, tracing the daily activities and machinations of the German High Command as they try to prepare for the Allied invasion ** 20th Century,Europe,Germany,History,Military,World War II A WWII historian takes readers inside the day-to-day drama of Nazi military commanders in occupied Europe as they brace for the Allied invasion. In December of 1943, with Allied forces planning to invade Fortress Europe, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is named General Inspector of the Atlantic Wall. His mission is to assess their readiness, and what he finds disgusts him. The famed Atlantikwall is nothing but a paper tiger, woefully unprepared for the forces being massed across the English Channel. His task—to turn back the Allied invasion—already seems hopeless. The crust old theater commander, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, awaits the inevitable defeat from a plush villa outside Paris. The corps commander on the ground in Normandy attempts to fulfill Rommel’s demands, but supplies are woefully inadequate. Meanwhile, all focus is on defending the coastline at Calais—the area that High Command believes to be the Allies’ most likely objective. All of the Western Theater commanders are subject to the whims of Adolf Hitler, hundreds of miles away and issuing orders that are increasingly divorced from the reality of the war. Countdown to D-Day takes a detailed day-to-day journal approach tracing the daily activities and machinations of the German High Command as they try to prepare for the Allied invasion. "If the Germans knew the Allies were going to invade, why were defenses in Normandy so unevenly prepared on June 6, 1944? Countdown to D-Day offers a unique perspective to answering this question through its detailed day-by-day perspective to the months leading up to D-Day - vividly tracing the daily activities and machinations of German High Command as they prepare for an expected Allied invasion." -- Back cover Foreword -- Prelude: 1943 -- Part I: Der Atlantikwall. 1 December 1943 -- 2 January 1944 -- 3 February 1944 -- 4 March 1944 -- Plate section1 -- Part II: Les Sanglots Longs. 1 Spring -- 2 April 1944 -- 3 May 1944 -- Plate Section 2 -- 4 June 1944 -- Epilogue. An accurate, exciting diary-like chronicle of the day-to-day machinations of the German generals as they struggle to prepare to meet the enemy in the West.