Roads to Falaise - Ken Tout

The twin armoured advances of Goodwood' and Cobra', unleashed six weeks after the Allied landings in Normandy in June 1944, were intended to trap a German army within a wider pincer movement. Myths that have grown up since the end of the Second World War suggested that Goodwood', a British initiative, foundered while Cobra', undertaken by the Americans, prospered. The author contends, however, that together these operations provided the impetus for a series of advances, culminating in the encirclement and ultimate destruction or capture of many German formations within the notorious Falaise Pocket in August 1944.

Combining narrative with eyewitness accounts of those who were at the sharp end', Ken Tout explodes the myths surrounding these operations and claims Goodwood' made an important advance without heavy loss. Credit is given to soldiers on both sides, American, British, Canadian and German, for their resolute efforts in almost impossible situations. The author gives particular attention to headquarters' spin doctors' and the dissemination of information within the Allied armies, which helped to obscure the true objectives of Operation Goodwood'.