AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR Adolf Hitler invaded Western Europe on 10 May 1940. After breaking through the supposedly impenetrable’ Ardennes, Erwin Rommel was at the forefront of the Wehrmacht’s audacious drive through France. Rommel, who had no prior experience leading an armoured division in combat, moved with such speed and nerve that he frequently surprised French units by arriving far earlier than expected. Crossing the Meuse River, we follow Rommel in what he referred to as practically a lightning Tour de France’ as he pushed through northern France to the English Channel. His spectacular victory at the coastal port of Saint-Val ry-en-Caux was crowned by the capture of Cherbourg. Following the armistice, Rommel was involved in re-enacting certain battles, such as crossing the Somme, for the documentary Sieg im Westen (Victory in the West). This is the story of Rommel and the 7th Panzer Division the so-called Ghost Division’ in France, 1940. AUTHOR: Over the past thirty years David Mitchelhill-Green has travelled the globe in search of lost stories from the Second World War. His photographic investigations have featured in the magazine After the Battle and national newspapers. David is the author of Rommel in North Africa; With Rommel in the Desert; Air WAR over North Africa; Fighting in the Ukraine and Tobruk 1942. Several years in Japan led to an interest in Japanese history and the co-authoring of Castles of the Samurai and Samurai Castles. David lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife Jennifer and two children.
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