England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy, 1940-1942

Thursday 02/11/2010 The undeclared war between Britain and Vichy France is covered in well written detail by this book. This is little known history and for most folks unknown history. The information presented is well researched and has much to teach todays diplomats, government and military leaders. I recommend this book be read with an open mind and objective point of view. The leadership France and Britain can't be judged 70 years after the fact. Enjoy the book. I did!!

"England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy, 1940-1942" (every time I see that title, I feel the urge to somehow reach into the publisher's graphic design department and rearrange the title to "Fighting Vichy: England's Last War Against France, 1940-1942"; this is the only book I can recall where the sentence-like explanatory part is the main title rather than the subtitle) is Colin Smith's account of the war between the Commonwealth and Vichy France in the years between France's surrender in 1940 and the dissolution of an independent Vichy state in 1942, following the successful invasion of North Africa by Anglo-American forces. This is an aspect of World War II that is usually only given token coverage in the main narrative, with the popular memory holding Charles De Gaulle's Free French government-in-exile as the true successor to the Third Republic, with Petain's Vichy a suborned minion of the Fuhrer. As Smith reminds us, Petain, in the summer of 1940, was recognized as France's head of state by virtually the whole apparatus, including most of the military and colonial leadership. Petain's government, while not simply a pure puppet, was at odds with the United Kingdom, and Smith here gives us a comprehensive look at how the two erstwhile allies fought it out. It provides an invaluable new perspective on the war, particularly for the period when the British Commonwealth fought on alone. After a short prologue, the first part of the book, "The Making and Breaking of the Entente Cordiale" covers roughly the first half of the 20th century, sketching broadly the political life of the latter years of the French Third Republic, the strains that were present in the Anglo-French alliance through World War I, the interwar period, and up until the collapse of the French Army before the Wehrmacht. Smith does a commendable job of giving the reader a good sense of why so much of France, particularly the senior members of the military, were so ready to simply give up the fight against Hitler, rather than do what the British hoped by setting up a government-in-exile in Algeria (which was, after all, considered part of France proper in this period) and continuing the war from there. The controversial figure of Marshall Philippe Petain, brought into government by Premier Paul Reynaud to stiffen some spines, only to be revealed to be among the bendiest men present, is of particular interest. Conservative and at least somewhat anti-Semetic, like much of the military and society in general, Petain thought that liberalism had weakened France, and that Britain had not pulled their weight and allowed France to fall (perhaps not without some cause, given the pathetically small army that Lord Gort had brought over). When Vichy came into existence, the Churchill (possessed of what Smith calls a "sliver of ice" that was probably necessary under the circumstances) ordered the Royal Navy to intercept and either capture, neutralize, or sink the French Navy b

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 t