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Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the…
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Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris; June 6 - Aug. 5, 1944; Revised (original 1982; edition 1994)

by John Keegan

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8451425,513 (3.84)12
Current Events. History. Nonfiction. Keegan's brilliantly written account of the Allied invasion of France in 1944 is peppered with the author's childhood recollections, memorable prose, inspiring vocabulary, and expert commentery on the experience of and strategies behind this vital campaign. The author's expertise, however, is not matched by the narrator's ability. While Fred Williams's obvious age provides the verisimilitude of Keegan's eyewitness account, Williams suffers from shortness of breath, which prevents him from saying more than a few words without taking a breath. He even pauses occasionally between article and noun, causing his delivery to break into small phrases that frustratingly interrupt the cadence of meaning. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine. HTML:

In a burnished, driving prose, John Keegan chronicles the 1944 invasion of Normandy, from D-Day to the liberation of Paris. At the same time, he furthers his exploration of the "role which warfare and its institutions play in social life", by showing how each of the six armies, while resembling one another in purpose and authority, is a mirror of its own nation's values. Each army is shown at successive stages of the invasion in a battle sequence testing them to the utmost: the Americans in their terrifying night drop on the eve of landings; the Canadians at the Omaha beachhead; the English savagely fighting their way inland; the Germans in their surprisingly strong resistance; the Poles in exile desperately blocking the German escape route; and the French at last liberating their City of Light. This extraordinary book is a shining addition to the dramatic literature of men at war.

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Member:scofer
Title:Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris; June 6 - Aug. 5, 1944; Revised
Authors:John Keegan
Info:Penguin (Non-Classics) (1994), Paperback, 416 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:D-Day, WWII

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Six Armies in Normandy : From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris by John Keegan (Author) (1982)

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Hadtörténet iránt érdeklődni és Keegant nem olvasni olyan, mint állatkertbe menni és nem nézni meg a rájasimogatót. Meg lehet csinálni, de akkor meg minek mentél el egyáltalán? Egyfelől az angolszász történészek körében alap, hogy olvasmányosan írnak: a történelmi tudás náluk nem elit klub, ahová csak az teheti be a lábát, aki tolerálja, ha 22 betűből álló latin kifejezésekkel csapják hókon. Ebben Keegan pedig igazi ász*. Másfelől még a szakmán belül is kiemelkedik tudásának mélységével, az amerikai és brit ejtőernyők kioldózsinórjának sajátosságaitól kezdve egészen Eisenhower eltitkolt gondolataiig tud mindent, amit tudni lehet, ráadásul ez a tudás nem pusztán elméleti, hanem egy nagyon erőteljes gyakorlati rálátással is meg van spékelve.

De leginkább azt becsülöm benne, hogy képességei nem pusztán az események szaftos leírására korlátozódnak, hanem mindig keres egy új szempontot, ahonnét még nem figyelték meg a történetet. A csata arca-ban azt vizsgálta, maga az ütközet belülről nézvést hogyan fest különböző korokban, a fegyverzettechnika különböző fejlettségi szintjein, A parancsnoklás álarca-ban pedig eltérő hadvezetési módszereket vázolt fel négy ikonikus hadvezér portréján keresztül. Itt pedig a már számtalanszor, jobbról-balról, alulról-felülről szételemzett, megcsócsált és megemésztett normandiai csatát helyezi új fénytörésbe azzal, hogy hét** különböző náció (amerikai, kanadai, skót, angol, német, lengyel és francia) kiemelkedő harci cselekményeinek bemutatására építi fel a kötetet. Ezzel a – ki merem mondani – zseniális szerkesztéstechnikai trükkel pedig két, de inkább hét, azaz nyolc legyet üt egy csapásra: bemutatja, hogyan képzelték el és tapasztalták meg az adott nemzeti csoportok a katonáskodást általában és a partraszállást specifikusan, és egyben egy többé-kevésbé lineáris leírását adja az egész konfliktusnak a partra szállás ötletének kiforrásától kezdve egészen Párizs bevételéig. Azt gondolom, ez a legjobb könyv, amit a partraszállásról és a normandiai csatáról valaha írtak. Slussz, passz.

Ja, és külön öröm, hogy Keegan ugyanúgy ezt az eseménysort tartja a második világháború igazi fordulópontjának, mint én. (Megengedve, hogy számos más igazi fordulópont is létezett – csak épp az igaziak közül ez a legigazibb.)

Ja kettő, amúgy meg ez a kötet nem csupán a legjobb partraszállásról írott könyv, de ebben található a legjobb személyes előszó, amit valaha történelmi munka elé passzintottak. Az, hogy szépirodalmi igényű, kevés. Maga a szépirodalom.

Ja három: kölcsön tudom adni.

* Többször tapasztalom, hogy visszarettennek az olvasók a hadtudományi munkák szükségszerű tartozékától, a csapattest-számok felsorolásától. Nekik csak annyit mondanék, hogy nyugodtan hagyják átsiklani rajtuk a szemüket, nem az a lényeg, és senki sem fogja utólag kikérdezni őket, hogy megjegyezték-e. Feltéve, ha épp nem szigorlatra készülnek.
** Tehát valójában nem hat, mint a cím sejteti. Még gondolkodnom kell, Keegan kit nem számolt bele. ( )
  Kuszma | Jul 2, 2022 |
John Keegan er orðinn einn af uppáhalds höfundum mínum hvað varðar sögu síðari heimsstyrjaldarinnar. Texti hans er grípandi og lýsandi auk þess sem afburða þekking hans á hernaðarsögu skilar sér vel til skila.
Í "Six Armies in Normandy" segir Keegan frá undirbúningi innrásarinnar í Frakkland þegar Bandamenn réðust gegn þrautreyndum her Þjóðverja. Titill bókarinnar vísar til þess að hann beinir athyglinni að herjum frá sex mismunandi þjóðum sem börðust í þessum átökum: Bandaríkjamönnum, Bretum, Þjóðverjum, Kanadamönnum, Pólverjum og Frökkum. Hann rekur sérkenni þessara sveita, uppruna þeirra og hvernig ólíkar aðferðir lituðu framferði þeirra og samkennd.
Þetta er heillandi lýsing og Keegan setur átökin vel í samhengi við merka atburði sem eru að gerast, t.a.m. þegar pólsku hermennirnir í Frakklandi vörðust hetjulega við Falaise og með þrautseigju sinni gegndu þeir lykilhlutverki við að króa fjölda þýskra herdeilda af og valda þýska hernum óbætanlegu tjóni. Á nákvæmlega sama tíma gerði pólski heimaherinn örvæntingarfulla og misheppnaða uppreisn í Varsjá í von um að hrekja herlið Þjóðverja frá borginni og taka þannig á móti sovésku herliði sem jafningjar en sovéski herinn var þá næstum því við borgarhliðin.
Í raun er það eina sem ég hef út á bókina að setja er að ég hlustaði á "óstytta" hljóðbók sem bar með sér að inn í hana var bætt aukaupplýsingum sem voru með allt öðruvísi hljóðgæðum og skáru sig þannig nokkuð úr. En þetta er bara smáatriði. ( )
  SkuliSael | Apr 28, 2022 |
A personal tour through the Normandy invasion. Excellent job of mixing details from individual combat all the way to grand strategic decisions. I'm not sure how he managed that. It could use more maps, and he forgets that some people haven't memorized the normal tank complement of a panzer division (between 300 and 400 tanks), but those are about the only criticisms I can think of. ( )
  wunder | Feb 3, 2022 |
Interesting look at the Normandy Campaign in 1944 from the point of view of the six armies involved in the campaign. I thought the Canadians were shortchanged as were the American infantry, the paratroopers were covered well. This is not a detailed campaign guide, instead it is a snapshot of the six armies during the campaign. ( )
  bookmarkaussie | Dec 10, 2017 |
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Keegan, JohnAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Albeck, RaymondTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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To my mother in thanks for a happy wartime childhood
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Five years ago, in a book I called The Face of Battle, I set out to explore the predicament of the individual on the battlefield.
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Current Events. History. Nonfiction. Keegan's brilliantly written account of the Allied invasion of France in 1944 is peppered with the author's childhood recollections, memorable prose, inspiring vocabulary, and expert commentery on the experience of and strategies behind this vital campaign. The author's expertise, however, is not matched by the narrator's ability. While Fred Williams's obvious age provides the verisimilitude of Keegan's eyewitness account, Williams suffers from shortness of breath, which prevents him from saying more than a few words without taking a breath. He even pauses occasionally between article and noun, causing his delivery to break into small phrases that frustratingly interrupt the cadence of meaning. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine. HTML:

In a burnished, driving prose, John Keegan chronicles the 1944 invasion of Normandy, from D-Day to the liberation of Paris. At the same time, he furthers his exploration of the "role which warfare and its institutions play in social life", by showing how each of the six armies, while resembling one another in purpose and authority, is a mirror of its own nation's values. Each army is shown at successive stages of the invasion in a battle sequence testing them to the utmost: the Americans in their terrifying night drop on the eve of landings; the Canadians at the Omaha beachhead; the English savagely fighting their way inland; the Germans in their surprisingly strong resistance; the Poles in exile desperately blocking the German escape route; and the French at last liberating their City of Light. This extraordinary book is a shining addition to the dramatic literature of men at war.

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