Assault Division: A History of the 3rd Division from the Invasion of Normandy to the Surrender of Germany (Spellmount Classics)

This book, first published in 1947, and therefore not reliant on secondhand sources, details the full story of one Division, the 3rd from its preparations for the Normandy landings through to the reduction of the city of Bremen and the surrender of Germany. The author, who served in the Division, is able to describe events from the point of view of the fighting man. This is a true classic of military writing and a book of major importance. It is the story of their training for the amphibious assault on Hilter's Atlantic Wall, very thoroughly planned and rehearsed in the months before D-Day. The Division's commander at the outset of the war was 'Monty', Major General B L Montgomery, who was succeeded by Major General T G Rennie and Bolo Whistler, a distinguished armoured brigade commander from the North African campaign. The Division's assault on Sword Beach on D-Day was remarkably successful, though the follow through to take the city of Caen that day proved altogether too 'aspirational' for one division. Later in the campaign, the 3rd Division was particulary proud of its conduct in the battles for Overloon and Venraij, and in the even more intense fighting between the Maas and the Rhine.

Norman Scarfe landed on D-Day with the 3rd Division, later writing its history in 1947. Having read History at Oxford he moved to Suffolk and has since worked on Suffolk history. He is the author of several Shell Guides.