The French Defeat of 1940: Reassessments (History)

"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 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. Joel Blatt teaches at the University of Connecticut at Stamford. Introduction / Joel Blatt Strategy and scapegoatism : reflections on the French national catastrophe, 1940 / Nicole Jordan Marc Bloch and the drôle de guerre : prelude to the "strange defeat" / Carole Fink Martyrs' vengeance : memory, trauma, and fear of war in France, 1918-1940 / Omer Bartov Domestic politics and the fall of France in 1940 / William D. Irvine Edouard Daladier : the conduct of the war and the beginnings of defeat / Elisabeth du Reáu The missed opportunity : French refugee policy in wartime, 1939-1940 / Vicki Caron. Prelude to defeat : Franco-Soviet relatons, 1919-1939 / Michael Jabara Carley France and the illusion of American support, 1919-1940 / William R. Keylor In the eye of the beholder : the cultural representation of France and Germany by The New York Times, 1939-1940 / Robert J. Young Reflections on France, Britain and the winter war prodrome, 1939-1940 / John C. Cairns "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. French defeat in 1940 and its reversal in 1944-1945 : the Deuxième Division Blindée / Philip Farwell Bankwitz The trauma of 1940 : a disaster and its traces / Stanley Hoffmann. First published in 1998, the French debacle of 1940 is re-examined, using fresh analysis, original approaches and new sources. Although the tenor is critical, the contributors suggest the 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 followed. This text reconsiders the catastrophe that befell France in 1940. Topics covered in the text include domestic politics, the conduct of war, American and British support and the cultural representation of France and Germany by the New York Times