Fontenay-Rauray: Autopsie d'une bataille

TEXT IN FRENCH

This book offers a meticulous study of the fighting at Fontenay-le-Pesnel and at Rauray to the west of Caen, between 25 and 29 June 1944. Both authors, Frédéric Deprun and Baptiste Flotté, wanted to give a precise account of this episode of the Battle of Normandy, starting with Operation Martlet, on the flank of Operation Epsom. Extremely detailed research concentrates on the lynchpin at Rauray and its armour confrontations. A precise chronology has been made of the destruction of the Panther tanks in front of Fontenay by the assaults by the Polar Bears and the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division until they broke through the German defensive line held by the Panzer-Lehr-Division and the 12.SS Panzer- Division “Hitlerjugend”. By the precise localisation of unpublished photographs and an account of the operation from both sides, this three-part study pays particular attention to the relics of the fighting and the testimonies which go with each of the different acts of the battle.