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Caen: Anvil of Victory (Alexander McKee Presents: Key Engagements in World War II) Kindle Edition

by Alexander McKee (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 45 ratings

Part of: Alexander McKee Presents: Key Engagements in World War II (5 books)

in Canadian Military History

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The epic account of how the fate of Operation Overlord and the Battle of Normandy was determined at the lengthy and harrowing battle for Caen.

This book, written by a veteran of the campaign and renowned historian, Alexander McKee, is essential reading for fans of Anthony Beevor, Max Hastings, and Stephen E. Ambrose.

D-Day was the greatest amphibious operation in history, yet the battle for the beaches was only the beginning of a long campaign to push back German forces from Normandy.

The Battle for Caen was the climax of the Normandy fighting, where, for two months, elite troops from the British, Canadian, and German forces clashed in ferocious combat, house by house, hedge by hedge, beneath massive air bombardments.

Using over sixty-five eye-witness accounts from both the Allied and German sides, as well as from the French civilians caught in the conflict, McKee reconstructs the struggle to secure the Allied position in Western Europe.

From the storming of the beaches on D-Day to the decisive Battle of the Falaise pocket, McKee charts the course of the Battle of Normandy and provides fascinating detail on how the conflict at Caen shaped the entire campaign.

‘An excellent series of eye-witness accounts from both sides … a first-class “worm’s eye view” of the fighting.’ The Daily Telegraph

‘A superb tribute to the bravery and tenacity of both the Allied and enemy troops.’ Time and Tide

‘A brilliant and moving account of the confusion, the bravery and terror of war.’ Sunday Express

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW1CJXHV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (June 9, 2024)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 9, 2024
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2817 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 426 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #47,711 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Military History of Canada
- #1 in Canadian Military History
- #2 in 20th Century Canadian History

Customer Reviews:
4.4 45 ratings

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Alexander McKee
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4.4 out of 5

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Richard S. Zarate

Actually I was kind of disappointed. HOW WORNG I WAS

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2016

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It exceeded all my expectations!!! My first look at the book did not impress me much. Actually I was kind of disappointed. HOW WORNG I WAS!
Never judge a book by it's cover! I can not put into words HOW GOOD this book is! It is a must read, gives points of views from the British, Canadians and the Germans. And the poor French civilians who were caught in the middle. Well paced, never a dull moment in this book.
I have always been confused by what the battle for CAEN was. And this book lays it all out, what went wrong (both sides) and what went right.
You get to feel what it was like for all the combatants, that war is hell!

I could tell you more, but I could never do this book justice!
For that you must read it for yourself!

6 people found this helpful

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tracker

Thougt provoking

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2013

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The question of Whether Montgomery blundered and then covered up by saying that this was what he intended all along still remains unanswered...apart from the paratroops who performed extraordinarily well the British rmovements after D -Day were lumering and ponderous...the troops paying a high price fror the somnambulistic lethargy of their generals....the same happened in the Western desert, at Caino,at Anzio and elsewhere... the British seem to have adopted the American way of fighting [ie throw lots of material at the enemy and when he has run out of supplies and men move forwrd to slowly lever him out of position...I wondered what Slim would have done given his brilliant campaign in Burma...nonetheless a very interesting book giving a British perpective to their contribution ,which in fixing the Germans' attention greatly helped the American Breakout, and at Falaise destroyed German hopes of staying in France very easy to read and understand

7 people found this helpful

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Sven

Terrific

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017

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Military history at its best: vivid, colourful, horrific and educational, never losing touch with the human beings taking part in the events of war.

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2016

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Filled with First person accounts of the men on both sides who fought this most critical battle.

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World Shut Your Mouth

Kindle version, please

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2023

Great book on a key battle in Normandy in 1944. It’s due to have a Kindle version.

One person found this helpful

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Tom Ryan

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2014

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A good description of the British and Canadian battles to get to and through Caen.

2 people found this helpful

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David W. Nicholas

Quite good, very British

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2009

I read a lot of military history. Much of what I read is from the American point of view, and of course I like to try and get things from other perspectives, too. Of course when I do that, I often find myself disagreeing with what's written, because I am an American, after all. So I read on, and come across this book.

Alexander McKee served with the British army during the Normandy campaign, and then about two decades later wrote this book. It's the sort of thing that couldn't be constructed now, because the author interviewed dozens of participants on both sides of the fighting. The blurb on the back says he interviewed Americans while writing the book, but in reality only a few were consulted. Instead, this book recounts in pretty sharp detail the fighting on the British side of the Normandy beaches, and most of his interview subjects are British, Canadian, French, and German. There are a surprising number of interviews of the last, given that the book was written so close to the war itself.

These interviews are really the heart of the book, and frankly they give it an immediacy that books written afterwards won't have, unless they quote from it. McKee talked to a number of individuals, and at times he talked to participants on both sides of the same action, and told you how they misinterpreted what was going on on the other side of the fighting. This creates a very good narrative, one that gives the reader a great understanding of the course of events on the British side of the Normandy beaches.

I will comment that the author is very British. His verbiage and usage might be a bit confusing to some American readers, and his opinions about Montgomery, Eisenhower, and Bradley, are very in tune with the British military community in the early 60s. All three men were still alive, and so criticism of them was somewhat muted. Monty still had considerable influence in British military circles, and used it pretty ruthlessly to enforce the view of him that he liked: he never had a battle that didn't go exactly according to plan. This book hews to that line pretty closely, and in some places appears to blame the American army for the casualties suffered by the British in the fighting.

Even so, this is an extremely valuable book, because of the authenticity of the accounts of the fighting, and the detail with which they are presented. The author rarely tries to analyze anything. There's no summation chapter or or conclusion, epilogue, anything like that. He simply concludes his account of the battle on the last page. That account is extremely worthwhile.

13 people found this helpful

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jose luis alonso

Two Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2015

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confuse,.needs maps

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Kevin David Jones

Great read full of facts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2023

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Great read and value for money.

Amazon Customer

Good read but confusing at rimes

Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2021

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I loved rhis book and would have been difficult to write. I was confused at times which side was being reported on. Great descriptive writing though. Felt I was right there. Was totally moved by efforts of all sides. Thank you.

Amazon Customer

Specialised piece on Siege of Caen 1944

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2016

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Very detailed account of the battle around Caen. Most of the book is about the military movements - and quite a bit about the daily movements of various troops, which can get confusing. There is some material also on the conditions for the inhabitants of Caen and Le Bon Sauveur convent which had more particular interest to me. I would probably have liked more from this perspective.

One person found this helpful

Mr. S. J. Drew

perfect , almost.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2013

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My grandfather died on June 21 in WW2 in Caen ,so for me it was compulsive reading. But this was such a facinating and gripping blow by blow account of this particular battle revealing all the horrors , good fortune , bad luck , highs and major lows behind the men and armies involved. Absolutely facinating , thought i knew most of the details but in truth , i hadnt even scratched the surface.
only issue , it didnt include much of the details that i was looking for ref The Royal Welsh Fuseliers involvement.

4 people found this helpful

Stephen Goldsmith

superb book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2012

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This is a superbly written book. One of its chief assets was obtaining testimony from witnesses a relatively short time after the incidents.The result is a series of very vivid descriptions of the various participants. It makes one reflect generally that it is unfortunate that more recollections weren't secured shortly after the war when memories were fresher.