Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, by Anthony Saunders, is a well-researched and written story of how Germany tried to prevent an invasion by the Allies in France. Saunders has clearly spent a great deal of time researching the details of Hitler’s plan to make Europe impenetrable, and we are shown how no expense in lives or money was spared to try and make the impossible, possible.

At some points, you almost feel sorry for the Germans (almost) trying so hard to come up with the perfect defences that would work. General George S. Patton III said it best however; “Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.”

In spite of the amazing technological advances made by Germany during the war, Hitler seemed to think he was fighting the First World War all over again by building incredible fortifications that would for the most part, be simply bypassed. Sadly, a great many Allied soldiers died fighting through some of them, but there could be no doubt to the final outcome. Hitler would have done much better by either strengthening the Siegfried Line, or building strong defenses further inland, allowing the Allies to land, and then pushing them back into the sea before they could prepare to move off the beaches. Thankfully, strategy was not his strong suit.

Anthony Saunders book is a must-read for anyone interested in warfare, defences or military history. It is a fascinating read—even knowing how the story ends. ( )