Battle for the Channel Ports, Then and Now
Following the Allied advance into eastern France and Belgium in August and September 1944, logistical support for the advancing armies was compromised by the need to rely on the Mulberry Harbour built off the Normandy beaches in the days following D-Day. Invasion planners had counted on being able to use one of the larger Normandy ports, such as Cherbourg, to alleviate the supply chain issues, but the Germans had done such a thorough job of demolishing that port that it wasn’t brought into productive use until late 1944 and in any case was even further from the Front. The top Allied commanders therefore put some emphasis on trying to capture ports further east. Their focus fell on Le Havre and Boulogne, two large pre-War ports. However, both were declared to be “Festung” (Fortresses) by Hitler, who demanded they be defended to the last man. Their capture is one of the forgotten stories of the Normandy Campaign.
This book, edited by historian Daniel Taylor, is a compilation of two articles previously published in After the Battle magazine in their Then and Now series, though with some small updates. The Capture of Le Havre was written by Karel Margry in 2008, and Operation Wellhit – The Capture of Boulogne was written by the late Ian Galbraith back in 1994. As such, the ‘Now’ photos are rather old, though as many of the Le Havre photos are of open fields, this isn’t too much of an issue!
The articles themselves are very well researched and written and I found them to be very interesting – it’s an aspect of the Invasion that I wasn’t fully aware of and both authors have done a good job of setting the stories into context and the unfolding dramas of each, as well as looking at the aftermath.
The controversial use of RAF strategic airpower in the capture of both ports is not shied away from – thousands of innocent French civilians were killed due to the insistence of Allied army commanders to use heavy bombers, when the RAF insisted that their use wasn’t appropriate and would hinder the Army’s progress more than it would help - as bourn out by subsequent events. I remember visiting Le Havre back in the early 1980s and vividly remember how modern it looked – the whole city had been demolished by the bombing and had to be rebuilt from scratch. The aerial photo of Le Havre on page 128 shows the stark devastation, akin to photos of Tokyo 1945 in its complete devastation, though of an Allied city not that of an enemy.
The ‘Then’ photos are an excellent selection and mainly consist of the work of British war photographers embedded in the attacking units, which gives them a vivid immediacy. The ‘Now’ photos offer a very interesting comparison, but as mentioned they are now getting on themselves. This is acknowledged in the foreword, but it is a shame it isn’t properly addressed with a full update. Those using this book as a tour guide will no doubt often find things much changed from 20-30 years ago.
Not a book for the modeler per se, this is nevertheless a useful and interesting book, and one to be recommended if you have an interest in WWII ground operations. My thanks to the good folks at Casemate for the review sample.

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