OPINION:
NORMANDY CRUCIBLE: THE DECISIVE BATTLE THAT SHAPED WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE
By John Prados
NAL, $26.95, 269 pages
One could probably build a substantial library of books on Normandy. Some were written even while the smoke still lingered among the hedgerows. Some were written amid the jubilation of liberated Parisiennes. Some were memoirs of politicians, generals and GIs. Some were composed by British; some by Americans; some by Germans; some by diverse others.
Much of the reason for this is that each year since the noise and smoke of battle subsided and French villages were rebuilt, new information has been unveiled. For example, the full disclosure of the ability of Allied forces to read coded German messages almost as soon as they were sent wasn’t made until the 1970s. Similarly, access to many important archives was embargoed until relatively recently.
The same applies to interviews with participants, particularly on the German side. Thus, there is some reason for the plethora of books on the subject. The problem for the reader is to decide which book has new material and which is pretty much a rehash of what has gone before, albeit perhaps, cast in different prose.
After all, the basic story doesn’t change. The Allies landed in Normandy. The British and their allies got stalled (for good reason). The Americans broke through first. Montgomery didn’t get along with anyone. Eisenhower was as much a peacemaker among allies as a warmaker against the Germans. The German generals were constantly confounded by Hitler’s interference but mounted a remarkable defense nevertheless.
The French ended up going their own way, all the way to Paris. Close air support fighters did a great job. High level “precision bombing” is an oxymoron, killing thousands of friendlies. If there was one key to success it was logistics: the ability of the Allies, especially the Americans, to keep the troops supplied with food, gasoline, equipment and replacements of all sorts. That’s an important part of the story seldom told and John Prados is no exception.
Nevertheless, Mr. Prados does include in his narrative much original research and his book is solidly documented. Solidly documented, yes, but either the editor or the publisher let him down mightily by being so stingy with maps and charts. It’s most difficult for a reader to understand movements of armies without charts and maps to accompany the narrative, especially while navigating unfamiliar French names of rivers and towns.
The one area where the author does shed new light is the skillful way in which the Germans worked their way out of a trap east of the Dives River about three kilometers east of Falaise, an area known to historians as the “Falaise Pocket.” By all measures they should have been captured or killed then and there, but they lived, saved a significant amount of their equipment, regrouped and became the nucleus for the Battle of the Bulge five months later.
Mr. Prados does come to a curious conclusion, however; in fact it’s in his subtitle: “The Decisive Battle That Shaped World War II in Europe.” One wonders where he would place several Eastern Front battles, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Moscow or Kursk on his scale of shaping.
There is a unique section in the book that might appeal to gamers and historians alike. The appendix is a recount of a board war game Mr. Prados used in order to derive simulations and analyses that, in his words, “might illuminate important aspects of the real historical events.” This, according to him, can create a laboratory for historical research.
For this effort, Mr. Prados selected a then-out-of-print war game called, “Cobra,” the mechanics of which are described in the appendix, but are best left to the interested reader, historian or war gamer to study. Suffice to say for this review, Mr. Prados writes, “The simulation opened fresh perspectives on the historical events.” These he incorporated into his narrative, albeit subtly.
“Normandy Crucible” is a good narrative of the progress of the war in France in the late summer of 1944. At the end, it is also unique in the use of simulation of historical events. Both factors argue for its inclusion in anyone’s World War II library.
Vice Adm. Robert F. Dunn is the president of the Naval Historical Foundation.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.