Retreat to the Reich : The German Defeat in France, 1944

The Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the German defeat in France. Mitcham recaptures the taste and feel of the Wehrmacht in 1944 as the thin gray line in Normandy finally snapped, the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies collapsed, and the survivors fled the Allied steamroller in a mad dash back to the Reich. From the reactions of soldiers in the field to military decisions at the highest level, this is the story of the Western Front from a German perspective. While finally bringing the Allied juggernaut to a halt on the borders of the Reich itself, this brief success would only delay the inevitable. The Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the German defeat in the West. Military historian Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. vividly recaptures the desperation of the Wehrmacht as the thin gray line in Normandy finally snapped, the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies collapsed, and the survivors fled the Allied steamroller in a mad dash back to the Reich. From the reactions of soldiers in the field to military decisions at the highest levels, this is the story of the Reich's unraveling told from a German perspective.Fighting hedgerow to hedgerow in the pitted Normandy landscape would delay the Allied Advance and make each small victory a costly one. Western forces would achieve their first strategic objective, the port of Cherbourg, but they would find it reduced to rubble, a result of the best-planned demolition in history. Still, the Allies did benefit from an ongoing anti-Hitler conspiracy that relayed false information to Berlin. While German forces would finally bring the Allied juggernaut to a halt on the borders of the Reich itself, this brief success would only delay the inevitable. With colorful descriptions and informative details, Mitcham recounts the German military retreat and the erosion of Germany's stronghold on Europe—as viewed through the eyes of a defiant, but ultimately defeated Wehrmacht. The Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of the German defeat in the West. Military historian Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. vividly recaptures the desperation of the Wehrmacht as the thin gray line in Normandy finally snapped, the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies collapsed, and the survivors fled the Allied steamroller in a mad dash back to the Reich. From the reactions of soldiers in the field to military decisions at the highest levels, this is the story of the Reich's unraveling told from a German perspective. Fighting hedgerow to hedgerow in the pitted Normandy landscape would delay the Allied Advance and make each small victory a costly one. Western forces would achieve their first strategic objective, the port of Cherbourg, but they would find it reduced to rubble, a result of the best-planned demolition in history. Still, the Allies did benefit from an ongoing anti-Hitler conspiracy that relayed false information to Berlin. While German forces would finally bring the Allied juggernaut to a halt on the borders of the Reich itself, this brief success would only delay the inevitable. With colorful descriptions and informative details, Mitcham recounts the German military retreat and the erosion of Germany's stronghold on Europeas viewed through the eyes of a defiant, but ultimately defeated Wehrmacht. Contents......Page 6 Tables and Figures......Page 8 I Setting the Stage for Disaster......Page 12 II Hans von Kluge and the Conspiracy of July 20......Page 46 III The Breakout......Page 80 IV The Conquest of Brittany......Page 114 V Hitler Puts His Head into the Lion’s Mouth......Page 122 VI The Falaise Pocket: Army Group B Is Slaughtered......Page 154 VII The Invasion of Southern France......Page 184 VIII The Retreat behind the Seine......Page 204 IX Beyond the Seine......Page 224 X The Allies Mop Up in France......Page 232 XI The “Miracle of the West”......Page 240 Appendix I: Table of Equivalent Ranks......Page 274 Appendix II: German Staff Abbreviations......Page 276 Appendix III: Characteristics of Opposing Tanks......Page 278 Bibliography......Page 280 Index......Page 286 Photo essay......Page 142 "Military historian Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. recaptures the desperation of the Wehrmacht as the thin gray line in Normandy finally snapped, the 5th Panzer and 7th Armies collapsed, and the survivors fled the Allied steamroller in a mad dash back to the Reich. From the reactions of soldiers in the field to military decisions at the highest levels, this is the story of the Reich's unraveling told from a German perspective."--BOOK JACKET. Covers the battles on the Western Front from the collapse of the Normandy line in France in the summer of 1944 until the Germans were able to bring the Allied juggernaut to a halt on the borders of the Reich itself. On July 17, 1944, a pair of German soldiers dragged an unconscious officer into the Catholic hospital near Vimoutiers, France. Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.