The preparations and then the first 30 days following D Day as seen through the eyes of three school friends. Now fighting in both infantry and a tank crew and of different ranks this story tells of the struggles, the suffering and the horror of warfare as the Allied forces attempt to first land on the Normandy beaches and then start to fight their way inland.
An extremely good read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

I can definitely see this book being read in a college setting. Mr. Goldsworthy clearly knowns his facts about the era and it's easy to get immersed in the time period because of that. I think this is also evident in the way the characters speak. The "chapters" are also broken up by the time and setting which I think is very cleaver. I think that will help readers understand exactly where they are in the story.

Hill 112 (A novel of 1944) is a stunning tale of ordinary young men doing extraordinary things in such circumstances and under such stress scarcely imaginable to those who weren’t there. The narrative thread of the days before and the weeks after the D-Day Landings in Normandy, France on 6 June 1944 is linked by the experiences of three former school friends from South Wales, one in an armoured regiment and two in an infantry battalion, as they faced the horrors of war as the Allies and the Germans fought savagely over small territorial gains in the Normandy countryside. The boredom of waiting to embark for France; the exhilaration of going into battle for the first time; the terrible reality of “kill or be killed”; the pressure and stress of what was literally life or death decision making; the unknowable horror of discovering what bombs and bullets do to a human body; the physical and mental fatigue of repeatedly fighting to stay alive for day after day and week after week; the humour and banter which survived the darkest of human experiences - all are captured vividly and eloquently in this outstanding book. As a bonus, there is an excellent “Historical Note” at the end of the book which provides a clear and concise explanation of the tactical and strategic context in which the Battle for Normandy was fought.

I have no hesitation in giving this highly recommended book a 5 star rating.

Great read of the battle in Normandy in the days after the Normandy landings.
seen through the eyes of three school friends it follows the action to take Hill 112 one of the minor hills across the battlefront as each side in turns assaults retreats and then re-takes it again. Reminded me of the book 'Warrior for the Working day' that I read many years ago by Peter Elstob which followed a tank crew from D Day to the end of the way.
This book follows a Tank crew and Two infantry sections during the first 30 or so days from D Day.
Brings home the sheer stress ordinary men who did extraordinary things for hours on end under extreme stress.

The author made this book a joy. The book is so well written that it really did feel I could have been there. The tone is gentle and it is very much as if I was having my hand held and walked through the sussex coast, the Normandy fields and ultimately hill 112. The key players are well rounded and the every day items that we see through their eyes make the story all the more powerful, be it the vomit flecks on trousers, the churned up earth or the charred and violated shells of men left behind. The camaraderie is shown in all its power and the ending is both beautiful shown through delicate embroidery and heart wrenching with the gore of a shell explosion. An absolute must read.