Publisher's Synopsis
By mid-June, 1944, just a week and a half after D-Day, the Third Reich was desperately struggling in France to throw the Western Allies back into the sea before they could consolidate of their foothold on the European continent. As the Allies continued to build up and move inland, Adolf Hitler became more and more agitated, both with the situation, and the failure of his two field marshals there. In charge of all German units in France was crusty old Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, the army commander famous for the many victorious campaigns he had led early in the war. Leading the troops at Normandy was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the legendary "Desert Fox," the Führer's military protégé since the beginning of the war. Believing that his field marshals were growing pessimistic, Hitler suddenly, impulsively, decided to find out himself what the situation was, and to instill in his generals a tenacious resolve to win. So in an unprecedented move and to the amazement of all, he gathered up his command entourage and flew across Germany into France to meet the two field marshals. This article is the story of that unusual conference, recounted in detail in its entirety for the first time. Using a number of sources, it relates Hitler's second and last wartime trip into France, and tells of the beginning of a serious rift between the Führer and his two field marshals in the West-a grudging resentment that would have serious consequences for all three.
