Operation GOODWOOD is the story of the largest armoured battle fought in the campaign for north west Europe. Over a thousand British and Canadian tanks were employed as three British armoured divisions pushed forward down a narrow corridor in an attempt to achieve a clean penetration of the German lines. The clash between two very different armies resulted in a number of local battles, which are studied in detail. Close to Caen, this battlefield is particularly accessible to cross-channel visitors. This Battleground book guides visitors around the tanks battlefield, showing what remains and what has changed, using copious present-day images alongside previously unpublished1944 pictures, including detailed aerial photography of the battle in progress

Rommel and Montgomery were old foes since 1941. Now they faced off once again in Normandy. Operation Goodwood was the largest tank assault in the Normandy campaign, as over 700 tanks in three British armored divisions attempted to bust out of the bocage country. After all, the objectives were only seven miles distant. Rommel, his forces armed with over 200 tanks, including Tiger I and Tiger IIs, plus more than 75 dreaded 88mm guns, ripped apart Montgomery's plans. Soon the wheat fields ran red with blood and burned with hundreds of British tanks. Kursk in Normandy is a meticulous examination of Operation Goodwood. The author describes in detail the bloody and vicious fighting that characterized the operation, adding in first-hand accounts for extra flavor. There is much detail on the units involved from both sides, and the tactics employed, as well as numerous statistics and tables concerning weapon/tank armor effectiveness and other data. The text is supplemented by an extensive selection of rare photographs sourced from British and German archives (many previously unpublished), plus 4 pages of color AFV profiles and a selection of detailed maps. Key sales points: *A gripping account of the huge tank battles that were a feature of Operation Goodwood, fought during the fierce campaign in Normandy during the summer of 1944. Includes first-hand accounts, orders-of-battle, much information concerning the individual units and their tactics, and extensive statistics regarding weaponry and amour effectiveness. The text is supported by over 150 photos, many previously unpublished, plus detailed battle maps and 4 pages of color AFV profiles.

This ground-level WWII history describes the British armored offensive into occupied France with rare wartime photos. Military historian Ian Daglish presents an authoritatively detailed chronicle of the greatest armored battle undertaken by the British during the Second World War. After the Normandy Landings, Operation Goodwood sent British tanks south out of the Orne bridgehead. Though the operation failed to break through German defenses, it exposed critical vulnerabilities that would ultimately assist the Allies in the liberation of France. Along with the engaging and informative text, this volume includes newly discovered aerial photos taken during the fighting by the RAF. This amazing imagery makes it possible to trace the course of the battle and to track the movement of the armored regiments and troops of both sides.

Operation Goodwood, the largest tank battle involving British troops to have ever taken place, has been a perpetual subject of controversy. Was it intended as a breakout from the Normandy Bridgehead, or not? Was it a success or failure? Did it lead to a severe crisis in confidence over Field Marshal Montgomery's leadership? This book seeks to unearth the true background, reasons, aims and achievement of Goodwood, set in the context of the overall campaign, while bringing the battle to life through personal accounts of some of those involved, both British and German.

Comprehensive retelling of the controversial British and Canadian operation near Caen Told from both the British and German perspectives Heavily illustrated with maps and photos, including detailed aerial reconnaissance photos taken during the battle While American infantry slogged its way through the hedgerows of western Normandy in July 1944, the British were waging a largely armored campaign to the east near Caen. Planned to have been seized on D-Day, Caen remained contested on July 18, when Bernard Montgomery launched Operation Goodwood, whose exact purpose is still debated--either to draw Germans away from the American sector or to break out to Falaise. In one of the largest armored battles in their history, the British lost almost one-third of their tank strength in Normandy in exchange for a gain of only seven miles.

In war, do mass and materiel matter most? Will states with the largest, best equipped, information-technology-rich militaries invariably win? The prevailing answer today among both scholars and policymakers is yes. But this is to overlook force employment, or the doctrine and tactics by which materiel is actually used. In a landmark reconception of battle and war, this book provides a systematic account of how force employment interacts with materiel to produce real combat outcomes. Stephen Biddle argues that force employment is central to modern war, becoming increasingly important since 1900 as the key to surviving ever more lethal weaponry. Technological change produces opposite effects depending on how forces are employed; to focus only on materiel is thus to risk major error--with serious consequences for both policy and scholarship. In clear, fluent prose, Biddle provides a systematic account of force employment's role and shows how this account holds up under rigorous, multimethod testing. The results challenge a wide variety of standard views, from current expectations for a revolution in military affairs to mainstream scholarship in international relations and orthodox interpretations of modern military history. Military Power will have a resounding impact on both scholarship in the field and on policy debates over the future of warfare, the size of the military, and the makeup of the defense budget.

Operations research grew out of the application of the scientific method to certain problems of war during World War II. This book tells the story of how operations research became an important activity in the Eighth Air Force. It emphasizes the people involved in these historical events, rather than the technical matters with which they dealt.

It is the twentieth century's unrivaled epic: at a staggering price, the United States and its allies liberated Europe and vanquished Hitler. In the first two volumes of his bestselling Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson recounted how they fought through North Africa and Italy to the threshold of victory. Now he tells the most dramatic story of all--the titanic battle for Western Europe. D-Day marked the commencement of the European war's final campaign, and Atkinson's riveting account of that bold gamble sets the pace for the masterly narrative that follows. The brutal fight in Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the disaster that was Operation Market Garden, the horrific Battle of the Bulge, and finally the thrust to the heart of the Third Reich--all these historic events and more come alive with a wealth of new material and a mesmerizing cast of characters. With The Guns at Last Light, the stirring #1 New York Times bestseller and final volume of this monumental trilogy, Atkinson has produced the definitive chronicle of the war that unshackled a continent and preserved freedom in the West.

The little-known drama of the last-minute decision to launch the invasion of Normandy—excerpted from the internationally bestselling D-Day: The Battle for Normandy In D-Day: The Decision to Launch, excerpted from Antony Beevor’s bestselling book D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, readers get the little-known story of how the difficult decision was made to launch the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944. The stakes could not have been higher: if Operation Overlord were to fail, it would be a crushing blow to the Allies, a huge loss of both men and equipment. The decision of when to launch rested with supreme commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, but it hinged on one factor: the weather. If there was too much cloud cover, the Allied bombers wouldn’t be able to provide air support, and if the seas were too rough, the landing craft would be swamped. It fell to one man to predict the weather: Dr. James Stagg, the head of the meteorological team at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. This riveting selection from D-Day, praised by Time as “a vibrant work of history that honors the sacrifice of tens of thousands of men and women,” tells the fascinating inside story of one of the most important decisions of World War II.

In this study, the author traces the reasons for the British Army's tactical weakness in Normany to flaws in its training in Britain. The armour suffered from failures of experience. Disagreements between General Montgomery and the War Office exacerbated matters.