10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent history of obscure World War 2 battles, October 8, 2009
This review is from: England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-1942 (Hardcover)
England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-1942 by Colin Smith is a well written and informative overview of the battles fought between England and Vichy France in World War Two.
Following the German invasion of France in 1940 a new French government was established in Vichy, under Marshall Petain, to govern southern France and its foreign colonies. Vichy France was theoretically neutral but clearly "collaborating" with the Germans. As such it didn't declare war on England but Vichy's leaders were universally anti-English and seemed to take far too much pleasure at the thought of an England occupied by the Germans.
The book is divided into several sections. It begins with an overview of the creation of Vichy France, its leaders and their relations with the Germans. The second section deals with the English concerns about the French navel fleet, second most powerful in the world, falling into German hands and the subsequent sinking of much of that French fleet by the British at Mers el-Kebir (Algeria). The next section centers on the unsuccessful attempt by English forces to capture Dakar (Senegal) to prevent that port from being used by the Germans for submarine attacks in the South Atlantic. The next section concerns the English efforts to oust the Vichy forces in Syria and Lebanon to secure English positions in Egypt and access to Middle East oil. Another section deals with the English capture of the port of Diego Suarez (beloved by those of us who grew up reading pirate stories) and subsequently the island of Madagascar to prevent it from being used to support Japanese submarines, then threatening English routes to India. Finally the book concludes with the English-American invasions of Morocco and Algeria in order to cut off the Germany Army under Field Marshall Rommel. It was this final action which caused Germany and Italy to invade southern France and reduce Vichy France to figurehead status.
I felt that the author was successful in keeping a good balance amongst the material. The author includes the background, the personalities, the on-ground events and the individual stories without dwelling excessively on any element. Although the author is English I don't think there is any bias against the French per se. Stories of individual bravery are predominantly English but the French officers and forces are generally portrayed as professional. There is some implication that the French colonial soldiers might not have always behaved as professionally. Obviously the Vichy government has been labeled by history as "collaborators" and so negative (but not excessively harsh) portrayals of Petain and Laval are hardly surprising. Similarly de Gaulle is accurately portrayed but, hesitant to commit (Free) French to fight (Vichy) French but first in line to pick up the spoils in the name of France, is probably not attractive in the eyes of Anglo-Saxon readers.
These events were largely unknown to me and obviously there are other books that may cover events or personalities in more detail. All in all I felt the book was a very professional presentation of a relatively obscure aspect of World War Two and recommend it to readers interested in the subject.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MASTERPIECE, September 1, 2011
I would highly recommend all of Colin Smith's books as he combines a roving reporter's eye with an erudite historical knowledge and weaves a story not only highly informative , but highly readable too , making his books a joy to read
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
England's Last War Against France, December 22, 2010
This review is from: England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-1942 (Hardcover)
Superb account of a twisted time in the history of WWIi. Well written and compelling. One of my better Amazon book purchases among many.
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