1940

Hi.
Just reading 'Finest Hour' by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig. What a fantastic book on 1940.
Can anyone recommend any more books written on events that happened in 1940 alone. I've got 'Dunkirk' by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore to read next. I don't know why I get drawn to 1940 so much.
Any help would great, thanks.

 

Any particular subject to do with 1940, or just general?

Within sight of me as I type, I can see

"The Fall of France" by Marix-Evans
"Dunkirk" by R.Jackson
"The Battle for France & Flanders 60 years on" by Brian Bond & Michael Taylor
"The Fight for the Channel Ports" by Michael Glover
"Blitzkrieg in the West Then & Now" - Jean-Paul Pallud
"Dunkirk" - Patrick Wilson
"Calais" - Jon Cooksey
"Boulogne" - Jon cooksey
"France 1940" - Alan Shepperd
"The War in France & Flanders 1939-40" - Major L.F.Ellis (this is also available in it's entirity online, but with B&W maps)

I have quite a few others that aren't in the same room as me now and some may be difficult to find these days , but all of the above should be easy enough to obtain and are recommended in varying degrees. All are useful, but it depends on exactly what you are wishing to read into.

Dave.

 

Any particular subject to do with 1940, or just general?

Within sight of me as I type, I can see

"The Fall of France" by Marix-Evans
"Dunkirk" by R.Jackson
"The Battle for France & Flanders 60 years on" by Brian Bond & Michael Taylor
"The Fight for the Channel Ports" by Michael Glover
"Blitzkrieg in the West Then & Now" - Jean-Paul Pallud
"Dunkirk" - Patrick Wilson
"Calais" - Jon Cooksey
"Boulogne" - Jon cooksey
"France 1940" - Alan Shepperd
"The War in France & Flanders 1939-40" - Major L.F.Ellis (this is also available in it's entirity online, but with B&W maps)

I have quite a few others that aren't in the same room as me now and some may be difficult to find these days , but all of the above should be easy enough to obtain and are recommended in varying degrees. All are useful, but it depends on exactly what you are wishing to read into.

Dave.

Thanks for the reply, Dave.
I'm sort of getting interested in the Evac of Dunkirk at the mo as I don't know that much about it other than the main facts. I wondered how your books on Dunkirk compare?
I think there's a new ATB book on the Battle of France out soon but that will probably be out of my price range at the mo.
It's interesting to learn about the political situation and watch it unfold at No 10 Downing Street during May and early June.

 

My favourite book on the BEF is still Gregory Blaxland's "Destination Dunkirk". If you're able to read it alongside the Ellis Official History and Sebag-Montefiore then you'll have a good overview and plenty of fine detail.

The 1940 campaign in France and Flanders packed a huge amount of movement into just a few weeks and the action cannot be separated from complicated political situation. There's always plenty to think about.

 

I have various works in French which have unfortunately not been translated in English, so very few people outside France care to read them. Hopefully this trend will soon change, and more and more people will be willing to learn from the French perspective, though I partly blame the French publishing firms for not looking "outside the box" when it comes to successfully marketing their books on a more international scale.

In the meantime, an excellent work is:

"The Fall of France - The Nazi invasion of 1940" by Julian Jackson.

Also I recommend:

"Dunkirk -The Patriotic Myth" Nicholas Harman
"Strange Victory" Ernest R. May
"Sixty Days that Shook the West" Jacques Benoist-Mechin*

*This last one is a French account of the chronological (day-by-day) situation, both politically and militarily. Gives a good impression of the disintegration of the French high command. An old publication (1956), it has been translated into English (1963).
Unfortunately it may be difficult to find.

Those are just a few I can think of at this moment.

 

My favourite book on the BEF is still Gregory Blaxland's "Destination Dunkirk". If you're able to read it alongside the Ellis Official History and Sebag-Montefiore then you'll have a good overview and plenty of fine detail.

The 1940 campaign in France and Flanders packed a huge amount of movement into just a few weeks and the action cannot be separated from complicated political situation. There's always plenty to think about.
Thanks Rich. That helps things.

Churchill's Sacrifice of the Highland Division by Saul David too.
This 1940 'thing' is catching isn't it?
I can't explain it Owen, I probably find 1940 one of the most interesting war years. I think the Battle of Britain is just fascinating along with the end to the phoney war. Just reading the early Bomber command stuff of 39/40 is so gripping also.

 

I have various works in French which have unfortunately not been translated in English, so very few people outside France care to read them. Hopefully this trend will soon change, and more and more people will be willing to learn from the French perspective, though I partly blame the French publishing firms for not looking "outside the box" when it comes to successfully marketing their books on a more international scale.

In the meantime, an excellent work is:

"The Fall of France - The Nazi invasion of 1940" by Julian Jackson.

Also I recommend:

"Dunkirk -The Patriotic Myth" Nicholas Harman
"Strange Victory" Ernest R. May
"Sixty Days that Shook the West" Jacques Benoist-Mechin*

*This last one is a French account of the chronological (day-by-day) situation, both politically and militarily. Gives a good impression of the disintegration of the French high command. An old publication (1956), it has been translated into English (1963).
Unfortunately it may be difficult to find.

Those are just a few I can think of at this moment.
Thank you. It's always great to read another country's take on things. I've got some sourcing and reading to do.

 

Could I add the following:

Michael DUNCAN, Underground from Posen (1954)
Michael HEYWORTH: Hazebrouck 1940 (2004)
Sean LONGDEN: Dunkirk. They Men They Left Behind (2008)
Nick MADDOCKS: The West at War 1939 - 1945 (2005)
Julian THOMPSON, Dunkirk: Retreat to Victory (2008)
Patrick WILSON: Dunkirk: From Disaster to Deliverance (1999)

 

It was a time to live in Britain. Traumatic times, when huge changes took place. A time when we stood alone against a tide of evil. An evil that threatened to engulf civilisation, a time that brought down another medieval dark age over the continent of Europe.....
It was a time I live through, and will never forget. At any moment we could be fighting for our very existence....... It is little wonder it is interesting.

It was our finest hour....... It was 68 years ago....I remember it so clearly.
Sapper

 

1940 was certainly the year which posed the greatest threat to England, especially following France's fall. The summer of 1940 must have been a unique experience for anyone living in Europe and not in a good way. Dark times indeed.

 

The summer of 1940 must have been a unique experience for anyone living in Europe and not in a good way. Dark times indeed.


Unless you were German!:p (Mind you, my dad has only good memories of this period - though "damaged goods", he got his dad back whereas so many didn't!)

Dave.

 

Unless you were German!:p (Mind you, my dad has only good memories of this period - though "damaged goods", he got his dad back whereas so many didn't!)

Dave.
Ah yes, the "highwater mark" of the Third Reich I suppose. France gone, Britain Cowed, Russia placated and no threat in the Balkans to worry about. Yes indeed the wehrmacht enjoyed that summer I'm sure. For the Luftwaffe though, it wasnt a very nice time (Thank God)

 

Also, Airey Neave's own eyewitness account of events in Calais "The Flames of Calais", is a good read.

 

Sapper,

A great post.

Regards
Tom