The French Defeat of 1940: Reassessments

Published by Berghahn Books 1997

The French Defeat of 1940

Reassessments

Edited by: Joel Blatt

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780857457172

Overview
Contents

About this book

Why France, the major European continental victor in 1918, suffered total defeat in six weeks at the hands of the vanquished power of 1918 only two decades later remains moot. Why the stunning reversal of fortunes? In this volume thirteen prominent scholars reexamine the French debacle of 1940 in interwar perspectives, utilizing fresh analysis, original approaches, and new sources. Although the tenor of the volume is critical, the contributors also suggest that French preparations for war knew successes as well as failures, that French defeat was not inevitable, and that the Battle of France might have turned out differently if different choices had been made and other paths been followed.

Author / Editor information

Joel Blatt teaches at the University of Connecticut at Stamford.

Reviews

"This stimulating and valuable collection ... does a superb job of demonstrating the intricacies of this acutely troubling problem." · H-Diplo

"This excellent volume of essays ... the editor and publisher are to be congratulated on a valuable and handsome volume." · The Journal of Military History

"... makes available a rich offering of the latest research on the defeat of 1940." · The International History Review

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Joel Blatt Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Joel Blatt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I Strategy and Scapegoatism: Reflections on the French National Catastrophe, 1940 Nicole Jordan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
II Marc Bloch and the drôle de guerre: Prelude to the “Strange Defeat” Carole Fink Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
III Martyrs’ Vengeance: Memory, Trauma, and Fear of War in France, 1918-1940 Omer Bartov Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
IV Domestic Politics and the Fall of France in 1940 William D. Irvine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
V Edouard Daladier: The Conduct of the War and the Beginnings of Defeat Elisabeth Du Réau Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
VI The Missed Opportunity: French Refugee Policy in Wartime, 1939-1940 Vicki Caron Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	126
VII Prelude to Defeat: Franco-Soviet Relations, 1919-1939 Michael Jabara Carley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
VIII France and the Illusion of American Support, 1919-1940 William R. Keylor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
IX In the Eye of the Beholder: The Cultural Representation of France and Germany by The New York Times, 1939-1940 Robert J. Young Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
X Reflections on France, Britain and the Winter War Prodrome, 1939-1940 John C. Cairns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	269
XI “Fighting to the Last Frenchman”? Reflections on the BEF Deployment to France and the Strains in the Franco-British Alliance, 1939-1940 Martin S. Alexander Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	296
XII French Defeat in 1940 and its reversal in 1944-1945: The Deuxième Division Blindée Philip Farwell Bankwitz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	327
XIII The Trauma of 1940: A Disaster and its Traces Stanley Hoffmann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	354
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	371

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 384
Keywords: History: World War II

eBook

Published: August 1, 1997
ISBN: 9780857457172