C'est une magnifique publication, riche en prose et en photographie. Présentée en français, mon manque de maîtrise du français me fait passer à côté de la qualité de la prose, mais la photographie ne nécessite pas de traduction précise.

In English - This is a magnificent publication, rich in prose and photography. Presented in the French language, my lack of command of French means that I am missing out on the quality of the prose, but the photography and the captions for the images does not require precise translation.

This Is the third volume with the previous two volumes having been reviewed by IPMS in the past year. A message on the final page of Volume 3 states that a fourth and final volume will see the light of day, covering the period from Oct 1944 to May 1945 for the 2nd Panzer Division.

While the book is written in the French language, some ability to read and understand French would be extremely helpful. My command of French is, at best, that of a six-year old. But even with a remarkably disappointing ability to speak and write in French, I found that the captions of the photographs were not at all difficult to roughly translate and to understand. When all else fails, one can seek an online translation tool.

Volume 1 covers the story of the 2nd Panzer Division in 1935 through the fighting at Rauray and in the Cheux area in June of 1944. That first volume was reviewed by IPMS, Volume 2 covers the 2nd Panzer Division from July 1 (1er juillet) through August 12, 1944 (12 aout 1944).

Table of Contents

Sommarie (Summary, aka Table of Contents)

• Revers (Setback) - Page 4
• HKL Alencon
  • Panzergruppe Eberbach - Page 16
• Orne – 13-21 Aout 1944 ( Aug 13-21, 1944)
  • L’impasse de Carrouges - (The Carrouges impasse) - Page 38
  • Saint-Nabin/Laleu - Page 78
  • Les colonnes fantomes – (The Ghost Columns) - Page 78
  • Ranes - Page 116
  • La H.K.L Ecouche/Fromentel - Page 116
  • Franchir l’Orne – (Cross the Orne) - Page 158
  • Au nord-ouest Argentan – (Northwest Argentan) - Page 158
• La Poche De Falaise – (The Cliff Pocket)
  • Briser l’encerclement – (Briser Encirclement) - Page 194
  • Par Chambois – (By Chambois) - Page 202
  • Sortir de Gouffern – (Getting out of Gouffern - Page 226
  • Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives - Page 242
  • Magny - Page 252
  • Moissy - Page 258
  • Vers Coudehard – (Towards Coudehard) - Page 266
• Apres Le Kessel 21-25 Aout 1944 – (After Le Kessel 21-25 August 1944)
  • Ruckmarsch - Page 280
  • Regroupement dans l’Eure – (Group in the Eure) - Page 280
  • Franchir la Seine – ( Cross the Seine) - Page 296
  • La 2.Panzer-Division face au fleuve –( The 2.Panzer-Division facing the river) - Page 296
  • Zur Heimat - Page 322
• Annexes
  • Bibliographie - Page 348
  • Remerciements – ( Thanks to….) - Page 350

Please note that there is an error in the Page Number listings on the Table of Contents. The correct page for “Regroupement dans l’Eure” is page 280 and not page 322. This error is inconsequential and

As you thumb through this book you will begin to notice that a number of the photographs show German soldiers surrendering to Allied troops. That shows the trajectory of combat during the July/August 1944 timeframe. Another feature of the images throughout the volume is that many readers in North America will be viewing them for the first time. The quality of the images is outstanding, and the subject matter is fascinating and historically relevant.

The maps that are provided are detailed and very useful when “following” the course of the battles described in this volume. In some cases, the maps are actually aerial photographs of an area with symbols and wording added to the photo in text boxes. The text identifies the towns and cities seen in the image, and also the location and identity of military units of both the Axis and Allied forces. Time indicators help to understand where the military units were at various times, allowing the images to show where the military units were as they moved across the terrain seen in the image.

Many of the photographs feature the vehicles used by both the Allied and Axis forces. While these images are in black and white, the amount of detail visible in the images is outstanding, including the weathering that one would expect to see on vehicles engaged in combat.

As one would hope, there are also some images of a Then vs Now nature. Two images show the same scene, one image in black and white showing the scene as viewed in 1944, and a color image showing the same location as viewed now.

As with Volumes 1 and 2, Volume 3 is book is recommended for several reasons. The photographs are stunning. Those who model armor and those who are “figure” fans have a treasure chest of sharply focused, clear, and detailed images available to them. I am of the opinion that it is not necessary to be fluent in French to find this book worthwhile and very enjoyable.

Merci à Casemate et Heimdal d'avoir fourni cette excellente publication à IPMS / USA pour examen.

(Thanks to Casemate and Heimdal for providing this excellent publication to IPMS/USA for review.)