This is a brief overview of this rather expansive operation offered in their Battle Craft series of books. It is in paperback format with heavy stock glossy pages with many illustrations inserted among the text. It starts with brief biographies of the primary commanders on both sides and then has a basic order of battle of the units involved down to the divisional level. Next is a section on some of the vehicles present during the campaign. The choices are a bit odd, however. For the Allies, the Cromwell tank is chosen. This vehicle, while present, could hardly be said to have played a major role in the campaign, that distinction for the Allies going to the ubiquitous Sherman. For the Germans, the Panther tank is the subject and while a genuine threat to all Allied armor, it was in the minority on this battlefield being outnumbered by various types of self-propelled assault guns. Then two other “vehicles” are highlighted, the German Kettenkraftrad and the British Triumph motorcycle, and while both may have been used, neither is an iconic figure of this battle. After the sections describing each vehicle, comes a listing of what scale models and after-market products are available along with sample builds of models of each type.

The narrative is straightforward but does not supply any new information or interpretations. The illustrations are often just that, illustrations of something that the text has referred to, but the photo itself may have nothing to do with the battle; some coming from Normandy, and others from other battles. The photos are very clear, however, and can be used to identify some detail on the subjects. There are also several scrap maps of aspects of the campaign. They are adequate to illustrate the various situations depicted, but not very visually appealing nor very detailed.

In all, if you are looking for a very general overview of this battle, this book could get you started but while very nicely done, if you have even a basic understanding of what went on, it won’t add to your knowledge of the campaign.

I want to thank Casemate Publishers for supplying this review copy and IPMS/USA for the chance to review it.