To Lose a Battle: France 1949

This is a fascinating review of France between its victory in 1918, and its fall in the summer of 1940. The first half of the book deals with the social and political upheaval in France during the interwar years, and the demise of French military power. The second half covers the debacle from the onset of the 2nd World War through France's fall. Very well written, fascinating and informative. The first book I read by Alistair Horne, and it got me hooked.

As with the first two books of his Franco-German trilogy (the first two are The Seige of Paris and the Commune, dealing with Paris in 1870-71, and The Price of Glory, about the Battle of Verdun in WWI), Horne provides an authoritative and eminently readable account of the events as hey unfolded (very rapidly), and you get a good feel for the key players on each side of the conflict and how they acquitted themselves (one surprise: I finished with more respect for Lord Gort, the British commander, than I thought I would).It's unfortunate that this book is out of print; hopefully, it can be reissued and packaged with the first two volumes of the trilogy in the near future.

It's a shame this book is out of print. Horne's book is the best treatment of the Battle of France I've come across so far.Horne prelude's the battle very well with his analysis of French culture and politics during the inter-war years. His detailed descriptions of the major engagements are well written and obviously researched. His conclusions are not forced but seem to flow naturally.The only aspect of the book that I would have altered is to tone down some of Horne's politically conservative prejudices. However, a dozen or so passages does not invalidate this excellent book. Highly recommended.

Alistair Horne's story is an honest look at a battle that has been largely sterotyped and forgotten by the American Public. Post war authors have tended to deal with The Battle of France as a forgone conclusion. We have long been treated a vision of the German Army completly overwhelming the Allies while most of the Frence Army was performing garrison duty. Horne reminds us that it was the Allies who had the Germans outnumbered in both troops and tanks, even without the fortress troops. Horne also notes that the French High Command thought that they were winning while the German High Command was convinced that things would soon go wrong. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about World Two than the general works that simply rehash old well known stories.

Alistair Horne does a masterful job in distilling the political, military and social aspects of the Third Republic's collapse in his third book on the Franco-German wars. Starting with the "Grandeur and Misery of Victory" following the Allies' victory in WW1, Horne traces the path that led to the shattering defeat of the French at the hands of the nation that they had humbled less than 25 years previously. Horne examines the men and women whose influence on events was so important, and avoids the dry recitation of times, places and names as he brings the Battle of France to life not only on the battlefields but in the streets, bedrooms, and ministerial offices where fateful decisions were made and battles lost...or won.