Lightining War: Blitzkrieg in the West, 1940

by Ronald E. Powaski

This is the dramatic story of the German defeat of the Allies in northern France and the Low Countries in 1940. Covering the campaign as a whole, it examines the issues from all sides, including those of the French, British, German and other involved nations.

Genres: World War II, History, Military History, Nonfiction

388 pages, Hardcover

First published December 18, 2002

Reviews

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightening War is a good analysis of the German invasion of France in 1940. The leaders and strategies of both the Germans and the Allies is evaluated. A good read for the World War II buff.

[Abir Jilan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An introductory description of the 1940 blitzkrieg campaign, in which the French republic fell and initiated the infamous nazi puppet Vichy rule. The accounts of the major battles are concise and full of personal experiences. Special mention to the chapter on the evacuation from Dunkirk.

[Ozymandias · Rating 3 out of 5]

What this book does very well is tell the tale of Germany's conquest of France in WW2. The book reads almost like a fictional account, with scene changes and personal anecdotes mixed in with the big-picture narrative. To further enhance the novelistic nature, rather than a flowing progression of discussions the book switches between what are essentially separate scenes. The most memorable moments are repeated in detail (particularly anything with great quotable lines) and the narrative is clear and easy to follow. Like a story.

The flip side of this, of course, is that the book is pretty short on analysis. Why blitzkrieg was so successful is never really explained, with the main idea seeming to be that it was largely Germany's tactical decisions that brought them victory. In many ways this is simply an abridgment of Shirer's The Collapse of the Third Republic, whose maps and other diagrams are used throughout.

This is clearly a popular history and makes no pretense to be anything more than a good nonfiction yarn. This accounts for the otherwise bizarre decision to end the book with the evacuation of Dunkirk, while France remains locked in combat as the blitzkrieg rolls towards Paris. It provides a feel-good ending to an otherwise depressing story at the expense of leaving a misleading view of the western campaign.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Lightning War" offers a vivid description of how the Wehrmacht defeated the Allied armies in the opening stage of the battle for France. The book includes details not found in other accounts, such as a detailed account of the defeat of the Netherlands in the first days of the battle. Powlanski does a fine job of showing the battle from both the Allied and German perspectives, and gives a balanced review of how both armies fared in the battle. My only complaint is that the later stage of the battle (the fighting in France after the Dunkirk evacuation) is given a brief summary instead of a more in-depth study. Still, this is a great read and should be read by anyone who wishes to see how Allies lost this historic battle.