Dunkirk and France 1940 Campaign Books

Sorry, on the last blog, missed out, between 13th/18th Hussars and prior "put in the first counter attack at 18.00 hrs" prior to

 

Couple of new 1940 books on the horizon

The Royal Navy at Dunkirk: Commanding Officers' Accounts of British Warships in Action During Operation Dynamo
By Martin Mace

Mar 2017 Frontline 256 pp

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1473886724/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_emwa?_encoding=UTF8&colid=XIVH9ILEJ4RE&coliid=I34CBYE2N18Z0F

Battle for the Escaut: The Dunkirk Campaign 1940
By Jerry Murland

Nov 2016 Pen & Sword 176 pp

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1473852617/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=XIVH9ILEJ4RE&coliid=I1USEMZ3RMUGVX

 

Well found - I've been waiting for Jerry's Battlefield Guide on the Escaut

 

I've walked the banks of the Escaut many times having read 10th Inf Bgd war diaries and the regimental histories. I've also spoken at length with one of the veterans who was a lieutenant in the DCLI and, as a rearguard, was one of the last to pull out from the positions on the canal. I am looking forward to reading this new account of the action with interest, and hope to get a wider overview of proceedings. Any excuse to go back there is welcome. It is such a calm and tranquil place now that it is hard to imagine the events of May 1940.

 

This one seems to have escaped notice but despite the price is worth looking at for it's analysis of the BEF's weaknesses in depth.

'The British Expeditionary Force 1939-40' by Edward Smalley

 

Battle for the Escaut

 

Going back to the Escaut in October and taking my teenage daughters to show them the old battlefields. No doubt they will moan - until they stand on the very spot where I am sure (or as sure as you can be when relying on archival research and veterans memories) that their great grandfather's RSigs squadron took a hit from a German artillery shell and sustained wounds from which he later died! It would have been nice to have Jerry Murland's book for the photos but that will be another visit. Will visit Sjt Harold Gibbs' grave too - always a moving experience.

 

This is disinformation:
The fact that the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk in May-June 1940 has achieved the status of a legend. Whilst the part played by the 'Little Ships' in that 'miracle' is equally well known, the role of the Royal Navy's warships - the destroyers, minesweepers and personnel ships - is often overlooked. Indeed, more than 300,000 troops out of a total of 338,226, were evacuated from the harbour at Dunkirk in these vessels. In the weeks after Operation Dynamo, the Admiralty issued an order requiring the Commanding Officers of those British warships involved to submit a report detailing their actions. Described in their own words, with the events still fresh in their minds, the result is a vivid record of the chaos, improvisation, skill and bravery that all combined to rescue the basis of an army that helped carry Britain through the dark months and years that followed. It is a record that forms the basis of this book.

The personnel ships mentioned above were merchant ships, manned by civilians. In all the Merchant Navy evacuated just over 91,000 troops from Dunkirk. They went on to save about 240,000 people from other parts of France, about 140,000 of these being British servicemen.

 

Some more 1940 books and one 1939 one from Pen & Sword



May 2017

May 2017

Aug 2017

 

Thanks for the heads-up, Drew:

Written as a dramatised documentary, very much inspired by Das Boot:

www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Stephen-Alan-Hastings/dp/1540888452/

Three civilian rivermen are asked to deliver a boat downriver for undisclosed Admiralty use and are offered 28-days work for the Royal Navy, but the task becomes an epic adventure into the horrifying flaming, pulsating heart of a major battle to rescue troops from the beaches at Dunkirk.

The true story of Tigris One at Dunkirk.

 

Bit late in the day but there are a couple of other books that you may be interested in:-

A Cornish Hotchpotch by Major General David Tyacke
Lt Tyacke, as he was then, was serving with 2 DCLI (10th Inf Bgd) in the fighting withdrawal. This is a collection of his memoirs, latterly as Governor of Singapore. The first part is about his service in the BEF and withdrawal to Dunkirk. A fascinating chap who I had the rare pleasure of taking out to a pub lunch. What vivid crisp memories he had and recalls many incidents not published in any other history. It was he who unlocked the secret to my own grandfather's injusry and later death on 27th May 1940. An interesting read.

Five Days to Live by Robin Medley
Robin Medley was a 2nd Lt in 2 Beds&Herts (10th Inf Bgd) and likewise gives a vivid personal account of the Phoney War and then the action of May/June 1940. I also had the pleasure of meeting him and accompanied him on his guided tour for Royal Anglian vets around the Belgian battlefields of 1940. A very interesting tour in itself, presided over by a very prickly and formal Brigadier. The book is an absorbing personal account.

Cap Badge by Robin Medley
Similar to Cap badge as above but covers the period 1939-47 for the Beds & Herts Regiment.

Dunkirk; Old Men Remember by Cmdr SA Nettle
Not read yet but a small paperback collection of veteran accounts of the evacuation from Dunkirk and some recall the earlier events leading up to their time on the beaches.

Finally there are some books published in Belgium about the war

La Belgique en Guerre; Hier et Aujourd’hui. Published by Editions Krigjer
No 2 Bruxelles. - P Taghon & JL Roba. Also volumes on Dinant and Charleroi
In French but some good photos of the towns as they were then.

Hope this adds to the treasure trove already compiled.
Martin

 

Many thanks - I've just ordered A Cornish Hotchpotch. I already have the other English books

 

here is a rather interesting book on this period, written by a member of the 18th Division in 1941.
It is a little bit too propaganda for some, but has some interesting stories and pictures of the fighting all the way through France and Belgium.
My interest was for the descriptions of the fighting around Ypres between 26-29th of May.

does anyone have an English translation? its a devil to even read to put into google translate!!

 

Coming in May 2017
Air Battle for Dunkirk 26 May - 3 June 1940
Norman Franks
Grubb Street
ISBN 9781910690475
224pp
Paperback
£10

 

That must be another edition as I've had a copy of that for a few years.

 

Deleted

 

I’ve spent the last couple of evenings having a very enjoyable trawl through the pages of this thread. I’ve been ‘collecting’ books on Dunkirk (and other campaigns, ahem) for the last thirty odds years – my wife greets each new purchase with “what do you want another…” (this may be familiar to some of you).

Inevitably I’ve spotted titles here that were new to me and essential purchases have just been made (I used to enjoy rummaging in second-hand book shops but Abebooks has made life easier!)

I’m not sure whether Drew5233 ever did get a copy of Return via Dunkirk, or the follow up ‘Battle Dress’ but, if not, do dive in- I promise it’s worth it (the other three books by Gun Buster I find less enjoyable; as the war unfolds his cynicism, refreshingly absent from his early works, comes more and more to the surface.)

I note that a couple of people have commended ‘With Pennants Flying’ – couple of good chapters on events in 1940. If armour is an interest then I would point you in the direction of Rude Mechanicals’ by A.J.Smithers. Covers tank maturity in WWII with some interesting stuff on 1940 in there.

Anyway, long may this forum theme last!

Cheers

Andrew

 

Thanks Andrew

 

You're welcome!

This thread has been running through my head all day - somewhere along the line I note you've picked up a copy of Army Battlefield Guide: Belgium and Northern France by Richard Holmes - other books of his that cover the 1940 period (to a greater or lesser extent) are War Walks, War Walks 2 and Fatal Avenue: all worth a read, possibly from the library in the first instance.

His 'Riding the Retreat', covering the British withdrawal from Mons in 1914, is an excellent read on a 'general interest in matters military basis'.

Reading through these threads you appear to fall into the category of ‘book junkie’ for which there is no known cure (not that I’d want one).

Cheers

Andrew

 

Road to Dunkirk currently going for 99p in the Kindle store.