Weapons, Uniforms, Military Equipment
(7.60)128 pages. Paperback. Full color throughout. Flaps on both covers. No index.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4 - Prefare
6 - The German Occupation
10 - The Atlantic Wall
14 - German soldiers' military equipment
16 - The Resistance in Normandy
18 - Distinguishing between the Waffen-SS and the Heer
20 - Code name: "Overlord"
22 - Lying in wait
24 - Map of operations
26 - British airborne operations
30 - The alarm is raised
32 - American airborne operations
38 - Landing operations
40 - Utah Beach
42 - Omaha Beach
46 - American soldiers' military equipment
48 - Gold Beach
50 - Sword Beach
54 - Juno Beach
58 - Allied tanks
62 - The German paratroopers
66 - Allied aircraft
68 - German aircraft
72 - Helmets
76 - Individual weapons
86 - Collective weapons
96 - The Battle of the Hedgerows
98 - German tanks
104 - The art of camouflage
106 - The Waffen-SS
109 - The Mulberries
110 - US troops in Normandy
112 - Medical services
114 - Allied logistics
118 - An entire army surrounded
120 - The turning point of the War
122 - Tens of thousands of deaths
125 - Acknowledgements
126 - Participating museums
Wargamers normally settle for using color drawings as reference when painting their figures... but what if you could fly to France, and tour the D-Day museums for visual references?
That's basically what D Day Normandy provides - page after page of color photos from five French museums and various private collectors, supplemented by the occasional period photo, map, reenactment photo or model photo.
Armoured Corps Tank Commander (p.58):
The soldier is wearing an M-1924 black milled woollen beret with the armoured unit insignia, a rubber-coated canvas-lined suit and regulation black leather laced boots. The holster for the Webley Mk IV revolver with hammer (not visible) was specific to tank crews. Attached to the M-1937 belt, it is worn low down the leg so it can be drawn from a sitting position. Notice the revolver wrist strap tied around the right epaulette. The crew member is carrying a pair of regulation 2.5 x 50 binoculars and has kept his headphones with him.
While the book provides a sketch of the history of the Normandy Campaign, this is primarily used as a framework to discuss the uniforms and equipment of the soldiers. For example, The Battle of the Hedgerows section provides one page of historical summary, one page with photos of British and Canadian division patches, and two pages displaying uniforms with commentary (2nd Panzer oberleutnant and motorized NCO).
Lying in Ambush in the Sunken Roads (p.94):
The IF 8 infantry trailer could carry up to 772lbs of equipment including weapons, ammunition and supplies, etc. Mounted on tyres, it could be towed by a vehicle, horses or simply pulled by hand. In this photo, a Panzerschreck 54 is resting on the trailer.
This book is a translation of a 2004 French version, but the translation is well done. One curiosity is that the Table of Contents is near the end of the book.
Reviewed by 
Editor in Chief Bill 
.