The Panzers and the battle for Normandy (Georges Bernage)

review by Jonathon Fitzgerald

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! The author provides a great detailed account of the early Panzer battles from June 5 to July 20, 1944. Included in the account of these early actions are first-hand accounts from some of the Panzertruppen men themselves. There is also a wealth of photos of the Panzers and the Panzer crews themselves. The reader gets a chance to put a face to many of the names.

There is also a large amount of maps, colour plates and diagrams showing insignia and uniforms to go along with the text. In the beginning of the book there are unit profiles of the Panzer Divisions that shows their composition during the Normandy Campaign. The information in the text covers to a great deal the 12th SS Panzer Division with less attention to the 21st Panzer, Panzer Lehr, 2nd Panzer, 1st SS Panzer and sSSPzAbt 101, sSSPzAbt 102 and sPzAbt 503.

The book is organized with each date between June 5-July 20 in a different chapter, with each action separated accordingly. Much emphasis is given to small unit actions which, in my opinion, is the strongest asset to this book. The reader gets a very good idea of the many unknown battles that characterized the Normandy Campaign.

I especially enjoyed the accounts of the 21st Panzer Division on June 6, the battles of the 12thSS Panzer Division on June 7-June 10 and the account of the sSSPzAbt 101 in Villers-Bocage on June 13, 1944.

With all the "pros" of this book there are also a few "cons" that I would like to point out:

• I really wish that this book would have covered the battles past July 20th. The author did such a good job describing the early part of the campaign that I would like to see the period from July 20th until August 20th covered as well.
• I believe more detail could have been offered on some of the other units besides the 12th SS Panzer Division.
• The reader will find it very easy to tell that the text was translated from French. The Translator and the Editors could very well have done a more thorough job with this book.
• There are some translating mistakes, for example, a Panzer Zug (platoon) is referred to quite frequently as a section. This is the improper English word.
• The price, $70 Canadian, is a little high of a price. On the other hand, the wealth of photos and text covering the battles is something you can rarely find in other books. Also on the other hand, for this price, the reader might expect more from this book as well as a better editing job.

All in all, I still think this is a good book, if you don't mind the price.

Book data

BERNAGE, George. The Panzers and the battle for Normandy. Editions Heimdal, 2000.
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All contents written by Christian Ankerstjerne unless stated otherwise