Bloody Verrieres: The I SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges by Arthur W. Gullachsen

Bloody Verrieres: The I SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges

Volume I: Operations Goodwood and Atlantic, 18-22 July 1944

by

Arthur W, Gullachsen 

 Here we are again in the fields and hedgerows of Normandy. A ton of ink has been used to describe five battles in particular: Normandy, Kursk, Gettysburg, Waterloo, and the Bulge. It would almost seem like these five campaigns were the only ones to take place in history. On the Normandy campaign you also have two camps: the first by American authors that states that Monty was slow and not a great general, the second by British authors that Monty had planned out the campaign from the start and it all worked according to his plan. The problem with the second is that Monty planned some large-scale attacks on the German lines, as this book shows. The planning for them also included points to be taken far behind the German lines after the breakthrough. I am sorry to say you cannot have it both ways. If all he intended was a meat grinder, then why all the grandiose plans of attacks? The reason it was a meat grinder was because of the desperate defense the German units put up. As I have said before, you can admire their pluck and fighting ability and still wish to see a good lot of them hanged. This book shows the horrific battles that took place for one of the areas around Caen. No matter what Monty's plan, the British and Canadians showed how fierce in battle they could be.

 The two volumes are about five days of battle during the Normandy Campaign around the city of Caen. The author makes three assertions in this book and backs them up with facts. One, that Sepp Dietrich (commander of the I SS Panzer Corps), was not the inept fool that he is almost always described as. Two, that the 1 SS Panzer Division was instrumental in stalling Montgomery's Operation Goodwood. Third, that though the Germans in Normandy made a great defensive battle, it actually turned into a Pyrrhic victory for them. The reason being is that so many reinforcements etc. were sent to this part of the Normandy Campaign that other parts were denuded of the above. So, whether Montgomery planned it or not, the battle did go the way his supporters say he planned it. 

 This is an excellent work that adds to the history of the Normandy Campaign. It also gives the armchair historian points to ponder. Thank you very much Casemate Publishers for letting me review this book. I cannot wait to get my hands on Volume II.

Robert

Book:Bloody Verrieres: The I SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges, Volume I: Operations Goodwood and Atlantic, 18-22 July 1944 

Author: Arthur W, Gullachsen 

Publisher: Casemate Publishers