The first of two volumes, Monty’s Normandy Hammer traces the major operations fought by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds’ II Canadian Corps in July 1944. Thrust into the epicentre of the action on the eastern flank, II Canadian Corps planned and executed two major operations to expand Second British Army’s elbow room in the bridgehead even while holding the panzer divisions of the vaunted I SS Panzer Corps in place near Caen. Operation ATLANTIC, tied in with Operation GOODWOOD, completed the clearance of Caen and established bridgeheads over the Orne. Operation SPRING was a great holding attack to support Montgomery’s main effort of the entire campaign, the breakout launched by the Americans codenamed COBRA.

Rickard goes into exceptional detail and paints a fresh picture of Simonds as a corps commander and his role in achieving Montgomery’s army group strategy. Monty’ Normandy Hammer is an insightful study of command at various levels. The follow-on volume will trace the fortunes of II Canadian Corps in the climatic battles in August.