56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day: An Independent Infantry Brigade and the Campaign in North West Europe 1944-1945 (Continuum Studies in Military History) Review

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56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day: An Independent Infantry Brigade and the Campaign in North West Europe 1944-1945 (Continuum Studies in Military History) ReviewAndrew Holburn `s account of the 56th Infantry Brigade during the Second World War is a fascinating account and adds to the literature of the Normandy campaign and the fighting across France towards Germany. It fills in, what amounts to be, a hole in the literature of the various campaigns, while adding to the understanding of the brigade, the campaigns, and of the British soldier.
As the work progresses from detailing the tasks of the various battalions, that eventually composed the brigade, from the start of the war to the brigade formation in 1944, one is presented with an interesting picture of life for the British soldier that is not always presented to the reader. While it is made clear that the men were well trained, and the staff officers did an amazing job getting the brigade into shape for war; I feel that the book missed an opportunity (considering its focus) to provide some additional detail on the training and some analysis on it and the doctrine of the infantry battalion and brigade.
Once into the battle the author's writing style, coupled with the testimony of the men who were there paint a very vivid picture of what life was like on the frontline as well as various major offensive and defensive actions: war is hell, and the author and veterans make this known. The author makes it very clear that the German soldier was brave and very able, who on the defence made extensive use of field fortifications making their positions hard nuts to crack. The actions of the brigade also provide a counter position to the common perception of the British infantry being unwilling to fight, engage in house to house or hand to hand fighting with bayonets, or engaging the Germans without better odds; at various times throughout the work these are noted as well as how the brigade fought numerous tactical battles with an enemy that matched them in strength or on several occasions outnumbered them. The book works well to illustrate the point that the men, who were mostly untried in battle, were well trained, withstood the test of combat and became a very capable effective, reliable veteran unit. However with so much being described one feels that maps are desperately needed to keep up with what is being described, and unfortunately they lacking throughout the book; in addition there is neither photographic evidence nor diagrams and in sections these would be an invaluable supplement to the text to gain a better understanding of what is being described.
The personal testimony also portrays the officers and men within the rifle companies generally getting along with one another, and a deep respect from the ranks for their NCOs and officers; a position that seems to counter, again, the common view of "lower class men" being in a different world to the "upper class officers" with neither getting along. The work notes how both the other ranks and officers were very well trained; officers went to dedicated training schools or ended up being promoted from the ranks as the war progressed, with most of the units being of a relatively young age. While in the most part this testimony moves the narrative along enriching it, in places it does seem somewhat reparative and used to pad out sections. All in all the authors interviewing has added invaluable information, from the men who were there, to the historical record.
I do have a few problems with the work. In the early stages of the work the author makes various claims on British weaponry but does not really elaborate on his position or provide a footnote for further reading, two points stand out: he notes a semi-automatic rifle was in developed between the wars but provides no further information on it or what happened to it, and notes that the 6 pounder anti tank gun did not really do a thorough job but to my understanding it was a weapon still up to the job even in the latter stages of the war; it would have been nice to see some more information to explain this position. In addition various abbreviations are used throughout the work that are not in the abbreviation glossary that makes it somewhat puzzling at times to understand what is being referred to. Also the author has picked up the habit of referring to German weaponry by the slang names the British infantry of the time gave them, rather than calling the weapons what they actually are i.e. referring to the MP40 as Schmeisser, and the MG42 as a Spandau. Finally in places one feels that the reader is not clued into the bigger picture of why the brigade is undertaking tasks, granted in most of the work the reader is however in small sections you end up wondering why the brigade is holding a static line and patrolling and then suddenly they are part of a push to capture a ridgeline etc.
However these small niggles should not distract from the point that the book is a well a sourced and researched work, which provides a graphic account of the war from the brigade's point of view, and fills in a hole in the historiography. This work therefore is a valuable asset, if rather over priced at the time of the reviewer writing, for anyone interested in the brigade, its composite units, or a new perspective of the campaigns in France and the Low Countries.56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day: An Independent Infantry Brigade and the Campaign in North West Europe 1944-1945 (Continuum Studies in Military History) OverviewThis study traces the journey made by the three battalions of the 56th (Independent) Infantry Brigade from 1940 through to the Normandy landings. >

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