The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy - A Story of Resistance, Courage and Solidarity in a French Village

The fateful days and weeks surrounding 6 June 1944 have been extensively documented in histories of the Second World War, but less attention has been paid to the tremendous impact of these events on the populations nearby. The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy tells the inspiring yet heartbreaking story of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in defense of liberty and freedom. On D-Day, when transport planes dropped paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions hopelessly off-target into marshy waters in northwestern France, the 900 villagers of Graignes welcomed them with open arms. These villagers - predominantly women - provided food, gathered intelligence, and navigated the floods to retrieve the paratroopers' equipment at great risk to themselves. When the attack by German forces on 11 June forced the overwhelmed paratroopers to withdraw, many made it to safety thanks to the help and resistance of the villagers. In this moving book, historian Stephen G. Rabe, son of one of the paratroopers, meticulously documents the forgotten lives of those who participated in this integral part of D-Day history.

Product details

• Authors: Stephen G. Rabe, Rabe Stephen G.
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.2022
• EAN: 9781009206372
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0920637-2
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 240 mm x 30 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Non-fiction book; Oral History, France, European History, True war & combat stories, HISTORY / Military / General, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, Second World War, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Modern warfare, c 1940 to c 1949, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), True war and combat stories, War and defence operations, War & defence operations, Land forces & warfare, Land forces and warfare, WWII; 20th-century American history; military history