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Second World War in the West
General Works
Biographies
Battles
Arnhem
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of France, 1940
Dunkirk
Normandy and D-Day
Books - Second World War - Western Europe
 War in the Ruins: The American Army's Final Battle against Nazi Germany, Edward G. Longacre. A history of the US Army's 100th Infantry Division's involvement in the Second World War, focusing on the battle for Heilbronn, the last major battle fought by American troops in Europe in 1945, as well as covering the division's training, their advance to the German border, attacks on part of the Maginot Line and the impact of the Battle of the Bulge. [read full review] |
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 Hitler Triumphant: Alternate Decisions of World War II, Peter G. Tsouras. A series of counterfactual scenarios which examine various ways in which the Germans might have won the Second World War, most starting with a single change and working out from there. An entertaining read, even if some of the scenarios do require further dramatic alterations of history to work. [read full review] |
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 The 16th Durham Light Infantry in Italy, 1943-1945, Peter Hart. Using interviews conducted from the mid 1980s, this book tells the story of the 16th Durham Light Infantry's time in Italy as seen by the men of the unit. The result is a very valuable ground level view of the world of the fighting men, supported by a good overall account of the campaign. [read full review] |
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 Hitler's Savage Canary - A History of the Danish Resistance in World War II, David Lampe. Tells the story of the Danish Resistance, which from a slow start in 1940 became one of the most effective in occupied Europe, and is now most famous for helping the vast majority of Denmark's Jews escape to neutral Sweden. [read full review] |
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 The Hunt for Martin Bormann - The Truth, Charles Whiting. A look at the post-war hunt for Martin Bormann, the most senior Nazi leader not accounted for in 1945. Bormann died in Berlin in 1945, but his body wasn't found for three decades, and in the gap a wide range of theories grew up to explain his escape, from major Nazi networks in South America to his being a Soviet spy in retirement in Moscow. [read full review] |
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 Colditz: Oflag IV-C, Michael McNally. An interesting approach to a familiar subject, covering the historical development of Colditz castle from the earliest wooden fort of the eleventh century to the modern attempts to restore the castle, as well as looking at its time as a Prisoner of War camp and location for some famously ambitious escape attempts [read full review] |
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 V Weapons Hunt - Defeating German Secret Weapons, Colonel Roy M. Stanley II, USAF (Ret). An utterly fascinating look at the role photo reconnaissance played in the hunt for the German 'V' weapons during the Second World War, written by a former photo-interpreter and illustrated with a vast number of well annotated wartime aerial photographs. [read full review] |
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Saturday at M.I.9: The Classic Account of the WWII Allied Escape Organisation, Airey Neave. A compelling account of the author's time at M.I.9, the section of the British secret service that was dedicated to supporting the networks that helped Allied servicemen escape from occupied Europe while fighting the Gestapo and treacherous double agents [read full review]
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Images of War: Blitzkrieg in the West, Ian Baxter. A collection of often dramatic pictures showing the unstoppable advance of the Germany army and air force across the Low Countries and France in the summer of 1940, Germany's greatest victory of the Second World War and the campaign that established German mastery of much of the European continent. [read full review]
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General Works
The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming's Red Indians, Craig Cabell. An account of the history of a British Special Forces unit formed to capture intelligence from just behind enemy lines, and that served in North Africa, Italy and Northern Europe, carrying out some very daring missions under difficult conditions and seizing a great deal of valuable intelligence material [read full review]
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 Home Run: Escape from Nazi Europe, John Nichol and Tony Rennell. A compelling account of the risks that were taken by evaders and the people that helped them attempt to escape from Nazi occupied Europe during the Second World War. This well balanced book uses eyewitness accounts to take us into the escape lines that spirited thousands of Allied airmen back to Britain, with a well judged but somber section that makes it clear just how big a risk their European helpers were taking. [see more] |
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 Band of Brothers , The book that inspired the epic TV series based on the true wartime exploits of a unit within the elite 101 Airborne. |
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| Corps Commander , Major General Sir Brian Horrocks with Belfield, Eversley and Essame, H., Magnum Books, London, 1979 (First Published 1977). |
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Biographies
 General 'Boy' - The Life of Sir Frederick Browning, Richard Mead. Best known for his role in Operation Market Garden, 'Boy' Browning was far from a typical Guards officer, growing up with theatrical connections in a family linked to the Savoy Hotel, and involved in the importing of Hennessy brandy into the UK, industry, while Boy married Daphne du Maurier and worked for Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh after the war. [read full review] |
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 Monty and Patton: Two Paths to Victory, Michael Reynolds. Twin biographies of two of the best known Allied generals of the Second World War, looking at how their early careers moulded their later commands, the difficult relationship between the two men and their individual styles of command. [read full review] |
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The Military Life and Times of Sir Miles Dempsey, GBE KCB DSO MC - Monty's Army Commander, Peter Rostron. A much needed full-length biography of a commander who led a corps during the invasions of Sicily and southern Italy and the British Second Army on D-Day and during the campaign in Normandy, the break-out from Normandy, the advance across France, at Arnhem and the crossing of the Rhine [read full review]
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The Venlo Incident, Captain S. Payne Best. A valuable account of the time Captain Best spent in German captivity after he was captured during the Venlo incident, one of the most famous British intelligence failings of the Second World War. Best spent time in Gestapo and SS custody, and several years at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was one of a number of V.I.P. prisoners kept in virtual isolation. [read full review] |
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 Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, Shrabani Basu. A detailed book covering the story of Noor Inayat Khan one of the most famous SOE agents in World War 2. A well written and moving account of a young girl’s bravery with excellent research which answers many questions about Noor’s final fate that were left unanswered for many years. It is a fitting tribute to this young Indian woman’s bravery and sacrifice and is a moving biography. |
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Battles
Assault on Germany: The Battle of Geilenkirchen, Ken Ford. This is a very detailed account of the Allied assault on the German border town of Geilenkirchen at the end of 1944. This was the first battle fought by British troops on German soil during the Second World War, and also a good example of Anglo-American co-operation, with troops from both countries playing a major part in the assault. [read full review]
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 Battle for Crete, John Hall Spencer. A valuable reprint of one of the classic accounts of the German invasion of Crete. Hall Spencer has produced a book that combined a clear overview of the battle, from the moment the British decided to intervene in Greece, to the final evacuation from Crete, while at the same time using eye witness accounts to bring us right down to the level of the individual platoons and soldiers fighting around the crucial airfields on Crete. As a result the course of the battle becomes much clearer, as do the reasons for the Allied failure to hold Crete. One of the best accounts of an individual battle I have read. [see more]
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Operation Dragoon, 1944: France's other D-Day, Steven J Zaloga. A well illustrated and clearly written account of the Allied invasion of southern France, an undeservedly little known campaign which came at about the same time as the breakout from Normandy and helped force the Germans to evacuate most of France. This volume follows the course of the campaign from the landings on 15 August 1944 to its end on 14 September, when the troops that had landed in the south of France officially moved from the Mediterranean to the European theatre of operations. [see more] |
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Operation Dragoon: The Liberation of Southern France, Anthony Tucker-Jones. A useful book that places this controversial campaign in its wider context, looking at the debates between the Allied leaders and its role in the revival of French power, as well as following the troops that landed in southern France up to Belfort and Lorraine. [read full review]
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Battle of the Bulge
 The Maginot Line: History and Guide, J.E Kaufmann, H.W. Kaufmann, A. Jankovic-Potocnik and P. Lang. A combination of a history of the Maginot Line, from its design and construction to its use in battle in 1940 and 1944-45, with a detailed guide to the individual fortified areas (or ouvrages). A very useful guide to this controversial line of fortifications, and to the brief periods when it was caught up in the fighting [read full review] |
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Men of Steel: 1st SS Panzer Corps, The Ardennes and Eastern Front 1944-45, Michael Reynolds. A hugely detailed account of the battles fought by the 1st SS Panzer Corps in the last few months of the Second World War, covering its role in the Ardennes offensive in the west and the last German offensive of the war in Hungary. [read full review]
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Battle of France, 1940
 The Battle for France: Six Weeks that changed the World, Philip Warner. Tells the dramatic story of the German victory in the west in May-June 1940, the six week long campaign that led to German domination of the European continent and turned a mainly European conflict into a genuine World War. [read full review] |
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Dunkirk
Dunkirk 1940: Operation Dynamo, Douglas C Dildy. A clear well organised account of the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940, supported by a good selection of maps, illustrations and contemporary photographs. Looks at the British & German plans for the evacuation or elimination of the Dunkirk pocket, the forces involved on both sides and the day-by-day events of the battle. [read full review]
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Normandy and D-Day
 If Chaos Reigns, Flint Whitlock. Focuses on the activities of the Allied airborne forces on both flanks of the D-Day beaches, covering the British, American and Canadian paratroopers and glider-borne troops. Most of the book covers the fighting on D-Day itself, although the author also includes a history of the development of airborne troops [read full review] |
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 Merville Battery and the Dives Bridges, Carl Shilleto. One part of a two part guide to the British airborne operations at the Merville Battery and Pegasus Bridge on D-Day. The book combined an account of the attack on the Merville gun battery and nearby operations with a guide for visitors to the modern battlefields. [read full review] |
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 Wittmann v Ekins: The Death of a Panzer Ace (DVD). A low-key but effective documentary looking at the career and final defeat of the German Panzer Ace Michael Wittman and the experiences of Joe Ekins, a British tank gunner who may have fired the shots that killed him. Nicely presented with much of the filming done on the actual battlefields in Normandy [read full review] |
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 The Black Bull: From Normandy to the Baltic with the 11th Armoured Division, Patrick Delaforce. A narrative history of the role played by 11th Armoured Division in Normandy, northern France, Belgium, Holland and northern Germany, written by a professional historian and member of the division who took part in the events he describes. Well supported by eyewitness accounts, and with some interesting material on less familiar aspects of the fighting. [read full review] |
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 Churchill's Desert Rats in North-West Europe, From Normandy to Berlin, Patrick Delaforce. An account of 7th Armoured Division's part in the fighting between D-Day and the final German surrender, a period that saw the Desert Rats take part in some of the most famous battles in Normandy, the 'Great Swan' across France, the liberation of parts of Belgium, the crossing of the Rhine and the capture of Hamburg [read full review] |
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Eagles and Bulldogs in Normandy, 1944, Michael Reynolds. An account of the experiences of the British 3rd and American 29th infantry divisions during the fighting in Normandy, looking at their experiences on Omaha and Sword beaches and their roles in the capture of St. Lo and Caen, two early targets that took more than a month to reach [read full review]
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Over the Battlefield: Operation Epsom, Ian Daglish. A detailed account of the first great British set-piece offensive in Normandy, an attack that failed to achieve its own objectives, but that forced the Germans to commit units that had been earmarked for their own never-to-be launched massed attack towards the coast. Well supported with reconnaissance photographs taken during the battle. [read full review] |
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Over the Battlefield: Operation Goodwood, Ian Daglish. Although it only lasted for two days, Operation Goodwood had a lasting impact on the British army and became a standard part of a staff college education. This very detailed account of the battle attempts to cut through the layers of myths that have accumulated around the battle to produce an accurate picture of what actually happened in this short but famous battle. [read full review]
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SAS Operation Bulbasket, Behind the Lines in Occupied France 1944, Paul McCue. A detailed examination of one of the SAS's missions in occupied France after D-Day, an attempt to cut railway lines, delay German reinforcements and co-operate with the Maquis. A German raid on the SAS camp was followed by war-crimes and some of the most accurate Mosquito pin-point raids of the war, carried out in revenge for the murder of an SAS officer. [read full review] |
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 Over the Battlefield: Operation Bluecoat - Breakout from Normandy, Ian Daglish. A very detailed but still readable account of Operation Bluecoat, the British contribution to the final Allied breakout from Normandy, supported by an impressive number of small scale maps and aerial photographs. A very valuable piece of work. [read full review] |
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The D-Day Companion, ed. Jane Penrose. A selection of thirteen separate essays on different aspects of the D-Day lands, from the initial planning to post-war memorials; this is an excellent piece of work that sets the D-Day landings firmly in context. An excellent starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about Operation Overlord, but its wide range of topics means it is likely to be of value to anyone with an interest in the subject. [see more] |
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Rangers Lead the Way: Pointe-du-Hoc D-Day 1944, Steven J. Zaloga. This is the first entry in a new Osprey series, looking at some of the most famous raids in military history, starting with the US Rangers' attack on the German gun battery on Pointe-du-Hoc on D-Day. The result is a detailed account of the raid that includes some very interesting material about the German coastal defences, as well as a good account of the raid itself and the German counterattack. A promising start to this new series. [read full review] |
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| Normandy 1944 , (campaign series) Stephen Badsey. Detailed maps and colour plates plus some excellent data on effectiveness of anti-tank weapons and tank armour make this a good buy for the wargamer. A section at the end of the book deals with wargaming the battles but the serious historian should look elsewhere for more detailed accounts. | |
