BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN BATTLE

BRITAIN'S FORGOTTEN BATTLE 

By Adrian & Dawn L. Bridge

In the opening pages of the book it states that this Anglo-Canadian campaign to clear the Germans out of the area between the Mass and Rhine rivers is remembered far more in Europe and Canada, than in Britain. 

With the support of local museums and clearly a great deal of research, the authors explain the planning and the subsequent attack carried out under the name of Operation Veritable.

As each chapter covers a particular aspect of the battle, what is soon clear to the reader is the difficulties the Allied forces had advancing through terrain that had few roads and was also flooded and extremely muddy as the then winter thaw was underway. 

In such a heavily defended area that included the German's West Wall or Siegfried Line, the advancing forces are described at times as fighting for every yard'. 

Involving tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, the eventual Allies success was later described by General Eisenhower as 'some of the fiercest fighting of the war.'

Perhaps strange that a post-read internet search reveals that there are very few books on either Operation Veritable or the battle around the Reichwald Forest.

I found this a most interesting and highly readable account that just proves that for all the literature covering WWII, there are still important stories needing to be shared. 

This hardback book is published by Amberley and is available now. I thank them for this review copy.