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This book looks at the American campaigns in the Cotentin peninsula and Brittany, from D-Day to the final German surrenders in May 1945. The author actually fought in this campaign, and this personal involvement sometimes comes to the surface (most often in repeated comments about the high cost of freedom or calls to remember the fallen, which would grate in other circumstances but are understandable here).
The book roughly falls into two halves. The first looks at the western flank of the D-Day landings - the battle for the Cotentin Peninsula and Cherbourg and the American breakout during Operation Cobra. For me this is the less interesting half of the book, covering a familiar topic.
The second half looks at the long campaign in Brittany, begun in an attempt to capture working ports and that dragged on to the end of the war. The last German strongholds only surrendered in May 1945, after the death of Hitler and the collapse of resistance in Germany. This campaign isn't at all well known. It included the fierce battle for Brest and the long blockades of St. Nazaire and Lorient (and is the part of the campaign that the author fought in).
This is a somewhat uneven piece of work, but despite that it tells an interesting story. Bradham concludes with an examination of the justification for the Brittany campaign and draws some interesting conclusions, made more relevant by his participation in these events.
Chapters
1 - Prelude
2 - The Assault and Bridgehead on the Cotentin Peninsula
3 - Westward to Barneville, Northward to Cherbourg
4 - The Battle for Cherbourg
5 - Clearing the Cotentin Peninsula
6 - Breakout
7 - Advance into Brittany
8 - The North Shore and St. Malo
9 - Rennes, Lorient and Nantes
10 - Battle for Brest
11 - Reflection on the Breton Ports
12 - St. Nazaire and Lorient - Prime Military Targets
Author: Randolph Bradham
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 182
Publisher: Frontline
Year: 2012 edition of 2008 original