num_pages: 748
description: By the beginning of July 1944 the Allied forces had successfully landed in northern France.  Yet, although D-Day had been a monumental success, their journey was far from over.  How did the Allied forces drive back the Nazi’s from their strongly entrenched positions in northern France all the way to the German border?  This is the main question that is answered with Martin Blumenson’s brilliant study, Breakout and Pursuit, which covers the period from 1st July to 11th September 1944.  The allied forces had to work together to overcome tremendous difficulties as they fought against battle-hardened troops.  Virtually every sort of major operation involving co-ordinated action of the combined arms is found: the grueling positional warfare of the battle of the hedgerows, the breakthrough of the main enemy position, exploitation, encirclement, and pursuit, as well as a number of actions falling under the general heading of special operations — an assault river crossing, the siege of a fortress, and night combat, among others.  Blumenson states that he wished this book would be of interest to the general reader “who may be motivated by curiosity and the hope of learning in some detail about the conduct of the campaign, the expenditure of men and materiel, and the problems that face military leaders engaged in war.”  Martin Blumenson was an American military historian who had been the historical officer of both the Third and Seventh Armies in World War Two. He wrote a number of prominent books on World War Two, including a biography of Patton and a number of campaign histories. He was awarded the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize for lifetime achievement from the Society of Military History in 1995. His book Breakout and Pursuit was first published in 1960 and he passed away in 2005. 
title: Breakout and Pursuit: The United States Army in World War II, The European Theater of Operations
publisher: Macedon Printing