The French naval bases at St. Nazaire and Lorient, occupied by the Germans in June 1940, quickly became the homes of massive U-boat fortresses--nearly indestructible submarine pens, built by mostly slave labor. The Royal Air Force began an all-out bombardment of the two ports. Despite their extensive efforts--and those of the Americans who joined them in 1942--the fortresses would survive, surrounded by the decimated French towns and countryside. This is the story of what was, perhaps, the longest ongoing battle in Europe during the Second World War, seen through the eyes of someone who...

Put simply, this book provides a detailed overview of the battles that make up the Cotentin Peninsula Campaign, an important part of the invasion of Normandy. While historians often cite specific examples of the fighting that took place on the peninsula, most treat the battles as individual events or singular parts of the overall Normandy campaign. In this work Bradham takes a different approach, focusing on the unique set of battles that had to be fought before the Allies could call their foothold on Normandy secure.

Bradham not only discusses the strategy used to secure the peninsula,...