TO DIE FOR SAINT-LÔ

The capture of Saint-Lô, an important road and rail junction, was vital to the development of the offensive aimed at breaking through the German front. 12,000 American soldiers would pay with their lives for the taking of this city. Day by day, the attacks carried out by American units are described step by step: the 30th, 9th, 35th, 29th and 2nd Infantry Divisions, the 3rd Armored Division, and the Tank Destroyer battalions. Nearly 40 unit diaries were consulted, and individual accounts enrich the narrative of each operation. On the German side, given the fragmentary nature of the archives, the author focuses particularly on Kampfgruppe Heintz and Kampfgruppe Kentner — providing numerous previously unpublished details — and the engagements of elite units such as Fallschirm-Aufklärungs Abteilung 12. A veteran of this unit, a sniper, provides his testimony. The reader will also follow the commitment of SS-Kampfgruppe Wisliceny. Heinz Macher, commanding the 16./Deutschland, whom Didier Lodieu met, entrusted him with his company's war diary for the duration of the battle… The author finally recounts the engagement of Panzer-Lehr and the fighting for Hill 192, with veterans of Fallschirmjägerregiment 9. Format 230x310 mm 176 pages 300 photographs and 12 maps