This volume in the Casemate Illustrated series examines the Waffen-SS
panzer divisions during July 1944 in Normandy, including Operations
Goodwood and Cobra.
One of the greatest paradoxes of the Battle of Normandy is that the
German divisions found it much harder to reach the front line than the
Allies, who had to cross the sea and then deploy in a cramped bridgehead
until the American breakthrough of late July 1944. The Waffen-SS were no
better off than the Heer units and German high command never quite got
on top of operations, as the divisions were thrown into the melee one by
one.
During the month of June 1944, the Panzer divisions present succeeded in
containing the Allies in a small bridgehead. In July, the arrival of
more SS divisions should have finally allowed the Germans to
counterattack decisively. This was not the reality. The Allies had also
strengthened in number and kept the blows coming, one after another.
Each SS-Panzer division had a different experience of the fighting in
July.
This Casemate Illustrated looks at the divisions one by one throughout
Operations Goodwood and Cobra which saw large tank battles and the
collapse of the German front in Normandy. It includes over 100
photographs, alongside biographies of the commanders and color profiles
of trucks and tanks which played a key role in operations as the
Americans succeeded in breaking through the German line of defense.
