Normandiefront

D-Day to Saint-Lô Through German Eyes

By: Vince Milano, Bruce Conner

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Based on firsthand testimony, this is the story of how one German division changed the course of the invasion, and almost the war.

In the cold morning of June 6, 1944, thousands of German soldiers were in position from Port en Bessin eastward past Colleville on the Normandy coast, aware that a massive invasion force was heading straight for them, although according to Allied Intelligence, they shouldn't have been there. The presence of 352 Division meant that the number of defenders was literally double the number expected - and on the best fortified of all the invasion beaches. This infantry division would ensure the invaders would pay a massive price to take Omaha Beach. There were veterans from the Russian front among them and they were well trained and equipped.

What makes this account of the bloody struggle unique is that it is told from the German standpoint, using firsthand testimony of German combatants. There are not many of them still alive and these accounts have been painstakingly collected by the authors over many years....

©2011, 2012 Vince Milano & Bruce Conner (P)2021 Tantor

Phenomenal account from German perspective!

I loved the book from beginning to end. I've now listened to D-Day from US, UK (SAS), French, and German perspectives, and must say that this author captured the humanity in the German ranks very well. A must read if you're a WWII buff.

Needed Two Readers

It would have been better if a German narrator read the German parts. It was hard to differentiate between the American narrative and the German narrative with the same person reading.

Great Book, Excellent Narration

Very interesting account of the 352nd from a perspective we rarely hear. I really enjoyed the book. I’m not sure what kind of incredible standards other listeners have, but the narrator did a really good job in my opinion. He annunciated well, his pace was superb, and his voice was very pleasing to listen to. I don’t know if the German accent was spot-on and I don’t really care. I only speak English and if I can understand the information that is being conveyed, I am good. If real Germans speak with a certain inflection or emphasis … well, okay … cool. I don’t expect non-Germans to speak that way, though, and most English-speakers are not German. Get the German audiobook if that level of authenticity is your thing, otherwise, you’re going to get a non-German sounding things out phonetically. Seems reasonable to me, and dare I say, as a non-German, it’s much easier for me to understand when the narrator speaks like I would if I attempted to read it.

But the notion that the narrator “destroyed” the book is really unfair. In my opinion, he did absolutely no such thing, and in fact made the book more enjoyable for me,

I guess opinions are as varied as the people that hold them.

Details

Well written. Provides details on the Normandy campaign of which I was not aware of.

give up on trying to mimic a German accent

Good overall, but the narrators attempt at German accent is abominable. The end of the book talks about equipment used for about a full chapter...