This book is the third in a series of books from Osprey that are being republished in hardcover and released as a fortnightly series that can be bought from your local bookshop with the first one costing $4.95 NZD, the second and third costing $19.95 NZD together and the fourth to sixth costing $19.95 each together with a DVD ( thereafter all $19.95 per book for a total of 75 books ). This series covers the major battles of World War Two and are also available in their original softcover format. I thought that as I go through this series I would do an accompanying brief review of each book in turn.
This third issue in the series is a little out of order chronologically as it covers the German occupation of Denmark and Norway which started prior to Fall Gelb, the occupation of the low countries, which is covered in the second volume. But they are close enough timewise as to not matter. It comes ( as do all the books in this series ) in a hardcover and provides writen commentary combined with colour maps depicting a chronology of events, black and white period photos, and a couple of two page spread colour artists paintings. Authored by Douglas Dildy, a retired U.S.A.F.Colonel and historian.
With only 96 pages, and only 87 of those the actual subject including photos, maps and drawings, this was never intended to be a completely in depth study of the battle, but what you do get is a very good overview of the lead-up, the invasion, the smaller battles within, and the conclusion, with sufficient detail to give the reader the feeling that they have been given a very good education of the core issues and events.
The book opens with a concise but helpful explanation of the origins of the conflict and just why Germany needed to occupy Norway, before going on to do comparrisons of the opposing commanders, opposing plans and opposing armies which covers not just the Germans, Norwegians and Danes, but the allied Expeditionary Forces including the RAF and Royal Navy. There is also a chronology of events plus a very good, and very useful, order of battle covering all the participants.
From there we enter into the actual campaign which covers the German invasion by sea and by air, the Royal Navy’s early interdiction, the British counter invasion and the various sea battles that took place in the Fjords which were as much a part of the overall battle as were the various engagements on land. The coverage is very good, especially considering the constraints of the book’s size.
The book then wraps up with a brief look at the outcomes for the participants, some of the lessons learnt, especially by the allies, and interestingly a brief look at the battlefield as it is today which apparently has changed least in Narvik. Also very useful is a compendium of recommended reading which lists books covering the various participant perspectives.
So I found this to be a very good book that gives an accurate, informative, and most importantly balanced account of one of the lesser known clashes of the Second World War, albeit one that contributed greatly to how various aspects of the war were later to be fought ( the negative impact on German Naval abilities for example ) . Equally important is that the style of writing makes this an easy read where so many historical text may be informative but seem like an effort to absorb.
So whether you buy it as part of the fortnightly series or just pick up the softcover version this is a very good short history of the first real meeting of German Forces with Allied forces in combat on land, at sea, and in the air.
.
Author : Douglas C. Dildy Publisher : Osprey Publishing Pages : 96 containing B&W photos and colour maps and drawings Binding : Hardcover Size : 195mm x 251mm ISBN : NA as book sold as part of a fortnightly series .Click on thumbnails to enlarge image ( opens in new window )
