Normandy ‘44
D-Day and the Battle for France
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Narrated by:
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John Sackville
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By:
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James Holland
About this listen
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Normandy '44 by James Holland, read by John Sackville.
________________
Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history. Unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign, it's time to draw some radically different conclusions.
______________
D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge.
In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. The sheer size and scale of the Allies’ war machine ultimately dominates the strategic, operational and tactical limitations of the German forces.
This was a brutal campaign. In terms of daily casualties, the numbers were worse than for any one battle during the First World War.
_________________
·Drawing on unseen archives and testimonies from around the world
·Introducing a cast of eye-witnesses that includes foot soldiers, tank men, fighter pilots and bomber crews, sailors, civilians, resistance fighters and those directing the action
·An epic telling that will profoundly recalibrate our understanding of its true place in the tide of human history
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Story
The story of the Battle of Saipan has it all. Marines at war: on Pacific beaches, in hellish volcanic landscapes in places like Purple Heart Ridge, Death Valley, and Hell's Pocket, under a commander known as "Howlin' Mad." Naval combat: carriers battling carriers from afar, fighters downing Japanese aircraft, submarines sinking carriers. Marine-army rivalry. Fanatical Japanese defense and resistance. A turning point of the Pacific War. James Hallas reconstructs the full panorama of Saipan in a way that no recent chronicler of the battle has done.
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Outstanding!
- By Patrick on 03-08-20
By: James H. Hallas
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Four Hours of Fury
- The Untold Story of World War II's Largest Airborne Operation and the Final Push into Nazi Germany
- By: James M. Fenelon
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than 2,000 Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized....
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personal and powerful.
- By TXcustomer on 07-09-19
By: James M. Fenelon
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Dünkirchen 1940
- The German View of Dunkirk
- By: Robert Kershaw
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Dünkirchen 1940 is the first major history on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk. As supreme military commander, Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium, but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk – the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape – they came to a shuddering stop. Only a detailed interpretation of the German perspective – historically lacking to date – can provide answers as to why.
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Finally, Dunkirk makes sense!
- By MortonC on 06-15-24
By: Robert Kershaw
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Battleground Prussia
- The Assault on Germany’s Eastern Front 1944-45
- By: Prit Buttar
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 23 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The terrible months between the arrival of the Red Army on German soil and the final collapse of Hitler's regime were like no other in the Second World War. The Soviet Army's intent to take revenge for the horror that the Nazis had wreaked on their people produced a conflict of implacable brutality in which millions perished. From the great battles that marked the Soviet conquest of East and West Prussia to the final surrender in the Vistula estuary, this book recounts in chilling detail the desperate struggle of soldiers and civilians alike.
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WW II Battleground Ignored by Western Historians
- By AJC on 12-16-19
By: Prit Buttar
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Tigers in the Mud
- The Combat Career of German Panzer Commander Otto Carius
- By: Otto Carius
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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World War II began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.
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A troubled, yet worthwhile read...
- By Alek on 05-25-18
By: Otto Carius
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The Mighty Endeavor
- American Armed Forces in the European Theater in World War II
- By: Charles B. MacDonald
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 22 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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From the first landings at Casablanca straight through to the crossing of the Elbe River and V-E Day, this book tells the gripping story of the European theater of operations battles of World War II that American soldiers, sailors, and airmen took part in and of the strategy behind them. The book's core is its account of such famous and dramatic episodes as the landings in North Africa, Kasserine Pass, Salerno and Anzio; D-day; the liberation of Paris; the Battle of the Bulge; the crossing of the Rhine; and the race across Germany.
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Great background on US Armed Forces in the ETO and MTO
- By Dan McGrew on 05-16-17
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But Not in Shame
- The Six Months After Pearl Harbor
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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What were the events which determined the Pearl Harbor catastrophe? What were the last few days on Wake Island like? What really occurred on the infamous Bataan Death March, and why did it happen? How did MacArthur make his dramatic escape from Corregidor? And what is the story behind the greatest capitulation in American history, General Wainwright’s forced surrender of the Philippines?
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Great story
- By dexter on 03-03-20
By: John Toland
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Retribution
- The Soviet Reconquest of Central Ukraine, 1943-44
- By: Prit Buttar
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 17 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Making use of the extensive memoirs of German and Russian soldiers to bring their story to life, the narrative follows on from On A Knife's Edge, which described the encirclement and destruction of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad and the offensives and counter-offensives that followed throughout the winter of 1942-43.
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Solid, substantial military storytelling
- By Rodney W. Schmisseur on 12-21-19
By: Prit Buttar
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The Germans in Normandy
- By: Richard Hargreaves
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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While the Germans knew an invasion was inevitable, no one knew where or when it would fall. Those manning Hitler's mighty Atlantic Wall may have felt secure in their bunkers, but they had no conception of the fury and fire that was about to break. After the initial assaults of June established an Allied bridgehead, a state of stalemate prevailed. The Germans fought with great courage - hindered by lack of supplies and overwhelming Allied control of the air. This book describes the catastrophe that followed, in a unique look at the war from the losing side.
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a different view of Normandy 1944
- By Oscar Shinn on 06-13-20
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Tiger Battalion 507
- Eyewitness Accounts from Hitler's Regiment
- By: Helmut Schneider, Robert Forczyk - foreword
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the little-known story of Heavy Panzer (Tiger) Battalion 507 told through the recollections of the men who fought with the unit.
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Bland
- By stuart lyle on 05-24-21
By: Helmut Schneider, and others
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The First Wave
- The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II
- By: Alex Kershaw
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Beginning in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows the remarkable men who carried out D-Day’s most perilous missions. The charismatic, unforgettable cast includes the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; as well as a French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond.
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Thoughtful and Sobering
- By Anonymous User on 10-07-19
By: Alex Kershaw
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D-Day
- June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WW II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jesse Boggs
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen E. Ambrose draws from hundreds of interviews with US Army veterans and the brave Allied soldiers who fought alongside them to create this exceptional account of the day that shaped the twentieth century. D-Day is above all the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their existence, when the horrors, complexities and triumphs of life are laid bare and courage and heroism come to the fore.
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What an epic story what great men
- By Michael on 02-12-14
What listeners say about Normandy ‘44
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-11-20
Good listening.
A good book, except the narrator should have refrained from the German accent. Made it sometimes difficult understanding what he was trying to say.
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- per
- 09-18-19
If he says meanwhile one more time I am gonna die!
Slow start, but did build towards the end. a bit droning at times. And please drop the Nazi accent! it is just stupid, just say the words in German and if you cant German learn it.
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- Adrian Johansson
- 07-28-19
The author clearly don't know the technical stuff
the book is good but there is an allarming ammount of errors regarding equippment and tactics
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