ebooks Blitzkrieg: Myth; Reality; and Hitler’s Lightning War: France 1940 by Lloyd Clark in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A good'unBy W. W. TurnbowClark can be relied on for exhaustive research; scholarly organization; and competent writing. I'm quite glad to have this work on my shelves.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A fresh look into a textbook military victory…By DimitriosI enjoyed this book as the conquest of France is a campaign that has always fascinated me and is rightly considered as the most astonishing military victory of the 20th century. Although a military history fan will rather be hesitant to read another book on a much published subject; Lloyd Clark has found many unturned stones in the heavily explored field of the 1940 campaign in the West. I realized for the first time that Manstein’s brilliant operational idea would not bore fruit if General Halder (the Chief of the General Staff) had not a similar inspiration a few months before Manstein. An underlying thread is how the German High Command simply had more confidence in their plans - with the possible exception of Hitler himself who didn’t quite understand what the revolutionary plan implied even though he gave it the green light in February 1940. Time and time again the Germans carried on regardless; with Rommel; especially; driving his men on with an almost maniacal will – and suffering the worst casualties of all the panzer divisions in the process. Moreover; the German Army fought also better when there was no other way – in fact; the German divisions seemed to knife through the Allied formations with astonishing ease; nearly every time inflicting triple or quadruple casualties than they suffered. They even attacked the Maginot Line frontally capturing 19 out of the 58 fortresses; when there was no solid reason for such a costly effort since the French divisions there were already pinned. (The Germans will do the same again in Greece in April 1941 when they attacked the expertly constructed Metaxas Line even when it was clear that they had it easily outflanked). Of course; all the usual subjects are discussed at length; the 'halt' order; the delicate Ardennes crossing operation; the Meuse bridging operation; the strafing of civilian columns; the Arras counter-attack; the short French-Italian war on the Alps; the Case Red massive attack on France in June 1940 after the successful conclusion of the first phase; and the comparison of waging war methods between France; Germany and Britain. What emerges is a campaign that succeeded almost against the odds; with the professionalism of the Germans outflanking the somewhat staid and even prehistoric machinations of the French top brass and totally demoralizing the Allied political leadership.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good Clear Account of the German Attack on France and the Low Countries in 1940.By Theodore F. SchaafThis is a good clear account of the German attack on France and the Low Countries in 1940. There is considerable discussion of the attitudes and actions of the major players in this account. This is the real strength of this work.The author claims that this work is revisionist and that the infantry elements of the German Army were key elements in the attack. However; this book did not strike me as fundamentally different as the analysis by Liddell Hart; although; there was some difference in emphasis. (Admittedly it has been many years since I read Liddell Hart.There are very good maps conveniently grouped at the beginning of the book