Caen 1944

The largest city in Normandy, Caen's position gave it major strategic value for Allies and Germans alike. This title describes the battle for Caen, revealing how, as a result of the British failure to take the city early in the campaign, Caen and its population were immolated - a fate for which Montgomery has been held responsible.

One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen.

General Montgomery saw Caen as the key to Normandy and the springboard for the Allied breakout, but so did the Germans and the city did not fall. It took three major offensives and more than 30 bloody days of struggle to finally take Caen. In the process the city was controversially devastated and its civilian population decimated. The Allies paid a high price for Caen but the horrific German casualties bled their forces in Normandy white.

In this concise, illustrated volume, Ken Ford shows how Caen helped open the way for the American breakout in Operation Cobra.