NOW AVAILABLE IN A PAPERBACK EDITION!
Divided on D-Day
How Leadership Failures Threatened the Normandy Invasion
by Edward E. Gordon & David Ramsay
Publisher: Prometheus Books
May 2023
- Presents a cogent analysis of the myriad obstacles the Allied leaders faced in the planning and execution of the Normandy campaign.
- Focuses on the conflicting egos, personal and national rivalries, and professional abilities of the major Allied commanders. Contends that their lack of cooperation and bad decisions lengthened the war, increased casualties, and allowed the later Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
- Provides insightful answers to the many controversies surrounding the Normandy campaign.
Divided on D-Day‘s coauthor is the late David Ramsay, the son of Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay who was the naval-commander-in-chief for the Normandy Invasion and who earlier directed the Dunkirk evacuation.
- Hear an On the Bookshelf Podcast in which Doc Kirby interviews Ed Gordon on key contentions in Divided on D-Day.
- View the video of Ed Gordon’s interview on Author’s Voice.
- See Ed Gordon’s responses to questions on Divided on D-Day posed by Brian Feinblum on BookMarketingBuzzBlog.
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Read “The British Army in Normandy: Winning the War the Wrong Way,” in Finest Hour (International Churchill Society) that further focuses on why it took the Allies two months to break out of Normandy.
- Read “Churchill and Roosevelt: The Struggle over D-Day Alternatives,” in Finest Hour Extras that centers on American and British conflicts over how to defeat the Nazis in Europe.
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Reviews and Endorsements:
“As an historian and director of a military museum I highly recommend this book. It is well researched and documented. This book now sits on my desk for easy access.”
— Peggy Hennelly-Maniates, Executive Director, Wright Museum of World War II, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
“Another Anglo-American triumph! In Divided on D-Day, Edward E. Gordon and David Ramsay storm history’s beaches and shatter lingering myths about the greatest amphibious invasion of all time. Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, and the rest receive an honest appraisal by an exceptional British-American team of historians. Rich in detail, Divided on D-Day blends operational grandeur with the clashing personalities of Operation Overlord’s leaders.”
— Jonathan W. Jordan, bestselling author of Brothers, Rivals, Victors and American Warlords
“This is one of the most profound what-if books written on World War II.”
— Alan Axelrod, author of The Real History of World War II and Patton’s Drive
“Offers an excellent synthesis and new insights not previously considered on Allied strategy and operational planning based on the personalities and interactions of the commanders who made them.”
Read the entire review.
— Jerry D. Linaburg, New York Journal of Books
“The first Anglo-American team to produce a general history of the Normandy Campaign. … A great strength of the book is the synthesis of the last two decades of scholarly and popular writing on its subject. … Gordon and Ramsay have written an eminently readable one-volume study of the planning and execution of the Normandy Campaign … [that] will position Divided on D-Day as the book to be quoted as we reflect on D-Day’s [75th] anniversary.”
— Thomas E. Hanson, Michigan War Studies Review
“Bold and engaging, Divided on D-Day brings renewed attention to the personalities surrounding Operation Overlord and the Allied campaigns in France and the Low Countries during World War II. With its share of heroes, including Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and the often overlooked Sir Bertram Ramsay, this book does not necessarily overturn existing historiography but highlights interpersonal conflict. … A quick and lively read.”
— James Villanueva, Captain, US Army
“This fast-paced and engrossing study of the Normandy campaign’s major leaders illustrates how the interaction of their heavyweight personalities shaped the results. Edward E. Gordon and David Ramsay know their facts, and readers will enjoy assessing their conclusions.”
— David Freeman, editor, Finest Hour, journal of the International Churchill Society
“References to the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’ notwithstanding, the partnership between Britain and the United States during World War II was marked by frequent disagreements, quarrels, and even occasional bitterness. Each country needed the other, of course, so the disputes never quite derailed the alliance. In this new book, two scholars—one American and one British (in fact, the son of the Allied naval commander at Normandy, Sir Bertram Ramsay)—show just how close the Allies came to fracturing. The authors’ vivid portraits of the key figures in the D-Day campaign are entirely convincing.”
— Craig L. Symonds, author of Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings
“A meticulously researched examination of the key personalities in the Normandy campaign and their campaign highs and lows. Some readers will disagree with the authors’ assessments, but with hundreds of supporting quotes from participants, the authors have provided substance and weight to their arguments. None of the Allied commanders were without flaws, and with the events seventy-three years in the past, it is time for a fresh study. Provocative and sometimes scathing, this book will create debate and reevaluation, and that can only be a positive thing.”
— Paul Woodadge, Normandy tour guide and author
“Gordon and Ramsay meticulously cover the major ground and naval decisions that shaped the war across northwest Europe.”
— Conrad Crane, World War II Magazine
“The key elements of this book are the intricate portraits drawn of the D-Day leaders. … The authors provide a fair and evenhanded assessment of all the leaders they describe. … The level of detail given and the quality of sources utilized are excellent, including an exhaustive review of personal journals, historical expert testimony, and thirty outstanding maps.”
— Richard A. McConnell, Finest Hour Magazine
“The two authors cogently scrutinize the personality clashes, national rivalries, and disparate combat styles of the Allied leaders. … Divided on D-Day raises important points not often considered in other histories, revealing to the reader less familiar (but intriguing) facets of the story. … Deserves the attention of both the serious World War II buff and the casual reader.”
— John Long, Education Director, National D-Day Memorial
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