Chronology of Failure

by Hamilton Fish Armstrong

CHRONOLOGY OF FAILURE BY HAMILTON FISH ARMSTRONG FOREWORD IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES I have attempted to piece together a daybyday account of the thirty days war which followed the German attack on the Low Countries on May 10, and of the chief political events during that time and in the ensuing period of the French collapse. Related events in other coun tries, including the United States, are also indicated. G aps remain in both the military and the political story. We still lack accurate information about the strength and disposition of the Allied troops on May 9 and about many of their subsequent movements, especially in the very first days of the campaign. Also, despite the inside stories being printed in various mag azines, there remain important uncertainties about the behavior of various French political leaders, especially between the departure of the French Government for Tours on June 10 and the time the armistices with Germany and Italy came into effect early on June 25, The account does not pretend to be more than an advance catalogue of the materials which historiansif there are to be historianswill later on examine and recxamine. I simply attempt to record the main matters that we now know or think we know to put them into order and to emphasize the points which seem to have been decisive. The story is based partly on press accounts, partly on my own conversations and observations during the short time that 1 was in France just before the fall of Paris, and partly on information supplied from various private sources. 1 am much indebted to Mr. Charles F. Johnson for assistance in the compilation of material, to Mr. Melville J. Rugglcs and Mrs. Marjorie P. Coxe for help in checking it and to Miss Elizabeth King Simeon for prepar ing the index. The printed sources which have been particu larly useful are the Bulletin of International News1 published in London by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the New York Times, the New York Herald Tribune,, the Chicago Daily News, the Times of London and Le Temps of Paris. The chronology is reprinted, with some revisions, from For eign Affairs. The introductory chapter and the two chapters at the end are new. The first describes the situation in the Allied camp on the eve of the great Nai offensive of May ro. In the others I try to discover the reasons for the French catas trophe and point out some lessons which may be of use to us in the United States today. H. F. A. CONTENTS THE SETTING FOR THE GERMAN ATTACK THE INVASION OF THE LOW COUNTRIES THE COLLAPSE OF HOLLAND AND BELGIUM THE BATTLE OF FLANDERS THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AT TOURS THE FRENCH REQUEST FOR AN ARMISTICE THE ARMISTICE WITH GERMANY AND ITALY PEACE WHY DID FRANCE FALL? WHAT ARE THE LESSONS FOR US? INDEX

Genres: History

216 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006