In his book on Normandy,he draws attention to the bombing of Caen,nearly a war crime in his eyes. I think he has raised the subject to be contentious and promote interest in his publication. What is he going give us an insight to when he covers the taking of Le Havre.Like the comments made to me by a Russian when I asked if there was an interest in Stalingrad by Beevor and the one by Jones.I got the reply that the person had read many publications on the the events on the Volga and saw no reason to read yet another book on the same subject.
GH - Don't know if there were any "D DAY DENIERS" - but according to Lady Astor - there were thousands of "D DAY Dodgers" - way out in Italy- no one showed up from Burma either I noticed ! Won't be buying Beevors book as he already has stepped off on the wrong foot with his claim that the bombing of Caen was a war crime - so - Bath - Exeter weren't ...? Cheers
Hello, If you haven't already it, then I thoughrely recommend Carlo D'Este's seminal work on D Day and The Battle of Normandy "Desicion In Normandy", it is a very thoughrely researched book using sources from the US/UK/Commonwealth and German military and government archives as well as letters and excerpts from the main protagonist's biographies and personal correspondance with the author. I found it to be a very fair and balanced book, particularly when discussing contraversial topics such as the Villers Bocage debacle and Monty's severe manpower problems etc.
I'm primary interested in the BofB and will read anything I can on the subject. I tend to make my mind up if the book is any good after (or during) reading. It's interesting to see people dismissing it before even reading it.
Gag Don't need to read a book - on any subject - when the author has such divergent public views on a main object of his work - he either believes it or else just wants to be controversial in order to sell more books - both views pathetic ... Cheers
Here is a recent news article from the Daily Mail about Beevor's book. My view is that he out on a limb on this one. Either the bombing was, or it was not, a war crime. There is no such thing as an 'almost a war crime." He should take one side or the other; perhaps even consult a lawyer educated in the law of land warfare. I suppose "close to a war crime" = close to a publicity stunt. At best, he is viewing the situation of 1944 through a modern lens with the benefit of hindsight. Too bad, because he is a respected military historian. Cheers, Marc D-Day bomb raids were 'close to a war crime' says author By Matthew Hickley 25th May 2009 The RAF bombing raids in Normandy following the D-Day invasion were 'close to a war crime', a leading British historian has claimed. Antony Beevor has singled out Bomber Command's massive raids on the key city of Caen for particular criticism, describing the terrible suffering of French civilians trapped in the city as it was virtually destroyed. But veterans and other historians attacked his comments - made ahead of next week's 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Beevor was accused of trying to generate publicity for his latest book, which covers the Normandy campaign. Caen became a crucible of ferocious fighting during the campaign due to its vital strategic position controlling key roads and bridges at the eastern flank of the invasion beaches. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery hoped his troops would capture Caen on D-Day, June 6, 1944, but desperate German defenders repelled repeated attacks. It was almost two months before the city was safely in Allied hands by which time they had lost some 50,000 troops in the assault. The RAF carried out two major bombing raids on Caen, once on D-Day and again a month later on July 7 - to open the way for a major assault. But a huge formation of British Lancaster and Halifax bombers missed virtually all the German positions on the edge of the city and instead reduced the centre to rubble, killing large numbers of French residents. The number of deaths from both raids is disputed, but may have totalled as many as 5,000. In his book, D-Day: The Battle for Normandy, Beevor argues that the bombing was a military blunder, as Caen's rubble-strewn ruins blocked the advance of Allied tanks and were relatively easy for the Germans to defend. Asked in an interview with BBC History magazine whether the Allies could have reduced civilian deaths, Beevor said: 'Yes, I'm afraid they could. 'The British bombing of Caen beginning on D-Day in particular was stupid, counter-productive and above all very close to a war crime. 'There was an assumption, I think, that Caen must have been evacuated beforehand. That was wishful thinking on the part of the British.' Peter Hodge, secretary of the Normandy Veterans' Association, said: 'It serves no purpose to make these accusations now and I for one take exception to it. I think it will cause sadness among veterans.' Gary Weight, who runs a travel company specialising in battlefield tours of Normandy, said: 'What more is there to say about D-Day? The only way you can see him selling this book is by coming up with controversial claims. I'm a little bit saddened by it.' Last night, Beevor, a former Army officer whose books on the battles of Stalingrad and Berlin won widespread acclaim, defended his comments and said accusations that he was merely seeking publicity were 'grotesque'. 'The bombing of Caen has been controversial for years,' he said. 'Many soldiers at the time were deeply shocked when they entered the city. 'The whole thing is a grey area, and I don't say it was definitely a war crime.'
Ramacal – I’m surprised by your recommendation of D-Day 1944 by Neillands & De Normann. I recently bought this from a “remainders” bookshop and have found a number of errors in the first 80 pages – I shall try again perhaps I have judged it too quickly. As far as Ambrose’s D Day is concerned – I found it an excellent piece and was not surprised at the US bias. Have any of you read his “Pegasus Bridge”? On balance I think I will buy Beevor's book [not yet - too many to get through right now. Tom - calling the bombing (near destruction?) of Caen "close to a war crime" surely does not mean that he thinks any less of the bombing of british cities, there's plenty of photographic evidence of how utterly destroyed areas of Normandy were. Noel
Gag Don't need to read a book - on any subject - when the author has such divergent public views on a main object of his work - he either believes it or else just wants to be controversial in order to sell more books - both views pathetic ... Cheers I don't know very much about the bombing of Caen and we could easily get into a slagging match on the whole bombing of cities question. If Beevor has raised this to sell more books then he is in the wrong. I don't know the French view on the bombing which would be interesting. I still will be reading and buying the book.
'The whole thing is a grey area, and I don't say it was definitely a war crime.' If that is a direct quote from Beevor - and I have no reason to doubt it - he has gone down greatly in my estimation. That is no better than tabloid journalism - it isn't history. I will be buying the book, largely to see what he has to say about the performance of British and Commonwealth troops.
I can understand what he was saying. Everyone says the same thing about Monte Cassino and the rubble and I think he has a valid point. As for the war crimes comment on the end-I don't think there is anything in it and I see it as a media trying to make something out of nothing. After all it was in the Daily Mail I won't be buying the book.....I have too many to read as it is.
Noel - I don't need a photo of Normandy Cities to know what a bombing looks like - I worked in Coventry and Birmingham before I went off to be very close to Cassino when that was bombed - Caen was a war crime ? - come off it - Beevor appears to be heading for revisionist status in getting Hollywood on board a la Ambrose - Haskins - Ingersoll - Ryan - Blumenson - Clay - and many more..... Cheers
Ramacal – I’m surprised by your recommendation of D-Day 1944 by Neillands & De Normann. I recently bought this from a “remainders” bookshop and have found a number of errors in the first 80 pages – I shall try again perhaps I have judged it too quickly. As far as Ambrose’s D Day is concerned – I found it an excellent piece and was not surprised at the US bias. Have any of you read his “Pegasus Bridge”? On balance I think I will buy Beevor's book [not yet - too many to get through right now. Tom - calling the bombing (near destruction?) of Caen "close to a war crime" surely does not mean that he thinks any less of the bombing of british cities, there's plenty of photographic evidence of how utterly destroyed areas of Normandy were. Noel Noel I'm sure that there are factual mistakes in almost every history book written. If there were in this particular one, please tell me what they were as I'd be interested to know. Robert
Enjoy your negative rep points for being unable to resist :p. Straight to the top of the Amazon Military Bestsellers: Amazon.co.uk Books Bestsellers: The most popular items in Military History. Updated hourly. Wonder how many are 'a present for dad' and will never get read. Does anyone have access to proper book-sales info? As it always seems to be buried in commercial sites. I'd be intrigued as to who the top ten in military history are over the last 20 years?
I have to say that I enjoyed Beevors book on Berlin, but having read this thread I think I will give this latest book a miss. Regards Tom
I have to say that I enjoyed Beevors book on Berlin, but having read this thread I think I will give this latest book a miss. Regards Tom Berlin is one of my fave books, Tom. I was tempted to buy D-Day in Mp3 CD format but you can't really beat the pages of a book. D-Day: The Battle for Normandy: Antony Beevor: Amazon.co.uk: Books
I had a brief browse through Beevor's new D-Day book today, mainly using the index to see what he said about alleged Allied war crimes. In the couple of pages devoted to the bombing of Caen, he sympathised with the French inhabitants and criticised the bombing, but on military grounds: the RAF was so careful to miss the British front lines that most of the bombs landed behind the German lines and, as at Monte Cassino, created rubble that helped the defence. There were two references to the Allies killing PoWs: both instances involved the Americans. If there were others, then the compiler of the index must have missed them. I will buy the book, but not for a while as it unfortunately came out just after I'd spent my birthday money.
The trouble with Authors is that they repeat others sources. Thus; repeating the mistakes Errors, and just plain prejudices! I have to say that many of the Veterans are absolutely aghast at what is written at times.For truth must never be allowed to get in the way of prejudice... or sales! So I am looking to publish my version later..If it is not too expensive. That would be unusual. A first hand account. Has Tom or any of our other Vet mates written their stories? sapper
Sapper I think I have the answer on publishing your own book. A friend used this website to create a paperback of 250 pages including black & white photos for her 75th Birthday which told her life story. It is really excellent quality. Have a look at their webite and I'll find out what it cost her to produce the one she did. The demo video says you can obtain an ISBN number, sell it and keep 80% of the sale price. You'd have buyers on this site for certain. Here's the link. Lulu.com - Self Publishing - Free You might even end up with a best seller. Cheers - Robert.
