point of view

When you read about D-Day you typically read stories and accounts of the allied assault on the beaches. The story line will follow that of a soldier (allied or axis). This book will make you cock your head and realize it’s being told from a different point of view.
That point of view is from the fortifications. The main character of this book is not the allies, it’s not the Germans, it’s not the assault on Point D’u Hoc. The author Steven J. Zaloga brings us the story of D-Day from the point of the fortifications.

The book

The book is a typical Osprey book. It’s a 64 page soft cover book in the Fortress series. This book comes with fantastic photos, a few color pallets, deployment charts and illustrated maps. There are volumes of text providing copious information.

This book breaks down into the following segments:

• Design and development


• Tour of the site


• The living site


• The site in war


• Aftermath


• The site today


• Futher reading


• Index

history

This book is very detailed and informative. I have read a number of books on D-Day and they never provided information as this book does. This book comes from the design and building of the Germans defenses along the French coast. It goes into nice detail about how the design was planned and executed. It dropped down to the lowest level of how each type of fortification was built, how they worked together. You will find theory and reality. Mr. Zaloga offers the theory behind how these fortifications were supposed to work and how the actually performed when pressed into action.
It takes you through the history of the area along the French coast from post WWI through the D-Day invasion. The information divulged gives you a perspective on the German military command structure and support. You will come away with a better understanding of how the Germans contributed to the some of the successes of the allied D-Day invasion.
The book very easy to read. The author and illustrator coordinate the text with the images and color illustrations. Even the captions of the images are informative. At the back of the book there is a section of related reading and Internet sites to cross-reference and further your research.

modeling

As a diorama builder I am very intrigued by stories. I strive to create projects based on some type of story. Each story needs supporting details and a story line. It can be easy to create some stories with figures and AFV’s. When it comes to placing these elements on the groundwork, it can become tricky and a good project can go awry. The orientation of this book provides all the story you need to put together a literal foundation.
For a diorama revolving around the northern coast of France this book will be invaluable. This book provides photos, illustrations, and informative text to build your storyline completely. There are charts and maps that show what units of which armies were stationed at different locations at different times. These, by themselves can help you coordinate with the armor side of the hobby to ensure that the model and markings you put in your project are as accurate as you want.

wrap up

This book is really nice and is relevant to military historians, architecture historians, diorama builders, artillery builders and some armor builders.
The overall content of this book is very good. For the 64 pages, there is a wealth of information. You will find information in the text and in the pictures (past and present).
The information is well presented and easy to read. I enjoyed reading this entire book. I would not hesitate to recommend this book.

I'd like to than Osprey for providing this wonderful book for review