In addition to more than 500 images, many never before published, Francois commissioned a number of highly detailed color maps of the beach landings, the battle plans, and German and Allied military operations and troop movements.

The French defeat at the hands of the Germans in June 1940 began a period of occupation, shame, repression, and deprivation. Four years later, the dawn landings of Allied forces on the coastal beaches of France began la Bataille de Normandie--the epic Battle of Normandyrekindling hopes for liberation which French citizens, including the grandfather of author Dominique Frangois, so longed to see. Like many Frenchmen, Joseph Frangois dreamt of revenge, of washing away the stain of the French defeat, and of freedom.But he did not live to see that long-awaited day, the day his country was liberated from the Germans.

Ten years of writing and research went into Normandy: Breaching the Atlantic Wall, From D-Day to the Breakout and Liberation. Francois, a historian and author of numerous books on the battle, pored through military archives in France and the United States, selecting the most compelling images and documents from the period. He also included numerous photographs from his family's collection, including many that show the personal hardships faced by his father's family, their neighbors, and all of occupied France during the war. In addition to more than 500 images, many never before published, Francois commissioned a number of highly detailed color maps of the beach landings, the battle plans, and German and Allied military operations and troop movements.

From the invasion to the breakout, to Patron's opening of the road to Brittany, the Mayenne, and the Loire, and finally, with de Gaulle's triumphant return to Paris, the Battle of Normandy was won at a terrible.

List of Maps

Acknowledgments

In troduction

PART I: FOUR YEARS OF GERMAN OCCUPATION

 1 June I940: The Defeat of France

 2 France under the Occupation

 3 Construction of the Atlantic Wall

 4 German Forces in Normandy on the Eve of the Allied Invasion

PART II: OPERATION OVERLORD: THE PLAN

 5 Strategic Preparations

 6 Airborne Operations

 7 Amphibious and Naval Operations

PART III: D-DAY: THE INVASION

 8 Airborne Missions

 9 The Beaches

 10 Consolidating the Beachheads

PART IV: EXPANDING THE BEACHHEADS

 11 The First U.S. Army and the Capture of Cherbourg

 12 The Second British Army and the Battle of Caen

PART V: OPERATION COBRA

 13 Preliminaries

 14 The Breakthrough at Saint-L6

PART VI: NORMANDY'S STALINGRAD

 15 The Counterattack at Mortain

 16 The Falaise Pocket: The Road of Death (T0desgang)

 17 The Race to Paris

Epilogue

Appendices

A: The Battlefield: Then and Now

B: Unit Insignia

Bibliography

Index