NORMANDY 1944: The Battle for Caen - Images of War series

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Caen, a D-Day objective on 6 June 1944, did not fall to the British and Canadian troops of Second Army until 6 August, by which time much of the city had been reduced to rubble. Describes the two-month struggle was a crucial stage in the Normandy campaign. Includes 200 photographs.

Shows the opposing forces, conditions, terrain, equipment, and weaponry deployed - and it illustrates just how intense and protracted the fighting was on the ground. The reasons for the slow Allied advance have been hotly disputed. Deficiencies in British and Canadian equipment and tactics have been blamed, as has the tenacity of the German resistance. Ultimately a sequence of Allied operations sapped the defenders' strength - Perch, Martlet, Epsom, Windsor, Charnwood, Jupiter, Atlantic, and Goodwood.