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Countdown to D-Day
- The German Perspective
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 28 hrs and 53 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Military & War
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Summary
In December 1943, with the rising realization that the Allies are planning to invade Fortress Europe, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is assigned the title of General Inspector for the Atlantic Wall. His mission is to assess their readiness.
His superior, theater commander, crusty old Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, who had led the Reich to victory in the early years of the war, is now fed up with the whole Nazi regime. He lives comfortably in a plush villa in a quiet Paris suburb, waiting for the inevitable Allied invasion that will bring about their final defeat.
General der Artillerie Erich Marcks, badly injured in Russia, is the corps commander on the ground in Normandy, trying to build up the coastal defenses with woefully inadequate supplies and a shortage of men to fulfill Rommel's demands. Marcks is convinced that the Allies will land in his sector, but no one higher up the chain of command seems interested in what he thinks.
Countdown to D-Day takes a detailed day-to-day journal approach, tracing the daily activities and machinations of the German High Command as they try to prepare for the Allied invasion.
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- P Foster
- 24-03-20
Great book.
Excellent book. It is a pity that the narrator seems unable to correctly pronounce a single foreign word !!!
2 people found this helpful
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- PD AmazonBuyer
- 09-05-20
Shame - potentially interesting topic spoilt.
The subject is potentially fascinating, especially for those keen on the history of the events of June 1944. However, the insistence on writing the chapters in the present tense ruins it. Why do this? It makes the flow disjointed. Coupled with the monotone reader it spoils what I hoped would be a good audiobook. After just two chapters I couldn’t take any more and abandoned it. Real shame.
1 person found this helpful
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- Loves Latin
- 02-08-20
Forest or trees
This extremely long book covers in excruciating detail the German preparations for the allied D-Day landings of June, 1944. The site was expected to be Normandy but could have been elsewhere in occupied Europe so we hear about motor trips all over Europe, including the names of hotels and dinner menus. We get detailed descriptions of French chateaux and mansions where commanding officers lived and worked. We get a good sense of the infighting and jealousies among top generals. If there is one important narrative in this mass of detail, it is about General Rommel, who comes across as a decent human being, a man to whom all who have served under him are fiercely devoted. Many of his letters to his wife are reproduced in the book. The author clearly likes him. Thus, it is surprising that after the D-Day narrative , no mention of Rommel's tragic end a few months later is made. This is definitely a book for students of the June, 1944 Allied landings.
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- E. Ronakov
- 01-08-20
Incredible
Another rock start performance by Roger Clark, who never stumbles over German words 18 letters in length. Margaritis paints a phenomenal portrait of the inner workings of the Reich leading up to and through the first days of the D-Day invasion. Details abound, without diving too far into the weeds. Bravo!
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- Frank W McGovern
- 03-05-20
Great
Very informative and learned a lot of new things very good on the perspective of the Germans
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- rschroeder08
- 29-04-20
its was really good
I really like hearing the other side of stories. Knowing both sides gives you a better understanding of history .
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- minneaa
- 14-04-20
Unexpectedly good !
Enjoyed the book immensely. It is a detailed account of the days leading the the Normandy invasion, delivered in a absorbing manner. One of the readings you wish would never end. Highly recommended to military history enthusiasts.
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- jacob
- 24-10-19
should have included Rommel in the title...
book is pretty much about Rommel... not impressed at all. at the least it should have been called Rommel and the count down to D-day