After Dunkirk: Churchill's Sacrifice of the Highland Division

by Saul David

On 12 June 1940, more than a week after the last British troops had been evacuated from Dunkirk, the 51st Highland Division was forced to surrender to General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division at the little Norman seaport of St.Valéry-en-Caux. More than 10,000 members of the Division were then taken into five years of captivity.

Leading military historian, Saul David, draws upon over 100 interviews with survivors, unit war diaries, personal letters and journals, as well as official documents and reports, tracing the dramatic story of the Highland Division. He charts the Highland Division’s journey from their arrival in France, through the excitement of patrol operations and its magnificent defensive battles on the Somme and the Bresle, to their final, desperate stand.

'After Dunkirk' is a stunning piece of work that will fascinate anyone interested in the Second World War.

Genres: History, World War II, Military Fiction, War, Nonfiction, British Literature

Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

SAUL DAVID was born in Monmouth in 1966 and educated at Ampleforth College and Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities (History MA and PhD).

An expert in the wars of the Victorian period, he began writing his first history book when he was twenty-five and has since completed eight more. They include: The Homicidal Earl: The Life of Lord Cardigan (1997), a critically-acclaimed biography of the man who led the Charge of the Light Brigade; The Indian Mutiny:1857 (2002), shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature; Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (2004), a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year; and the bestselling Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire (2006). In 2007 he signed a three book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a series of historical novels set in the late Victorian period. The first, Zulu Hart, was published on 5 March 2009 to critical acclaim with The Times describing it as a 'rattling good yarn' with 'a compelling, sexy hero who could give Cornwell's Sharpe a run for his money'. He is currently writing a history of the British Army.

Reviews

[James Lunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into a forgotten episode of WW2. Some maps would have helped to make the action clearer/easier to follow

[Jim Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an episode of WW2 history of which i was only vaguely aware. Eclipsed by the Dunkirk rescue its no surprise that its story isn’t as well known. The author tells the story of the 51st HD in great detail, and as the book drew to a conclusion it was hard not to feel emotional for the men of the regiment, their courage, tenacity and losses, particularly since it is evident from the facts that they were failed by their government and by their French command. They are surely of the three the only ones who come out of this episode with any deserved pride intact.

[Neil S Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book spoiled by too many spelling mistakes.

However is an important book that covers an important and yet forgotten part part of World War 2.

Having met som of the participants mentionedinI the book like Derek Lang and RAAS MacRae and took part in the 1990 anniversary at St Valero it felt almost personal at times.

[TC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good but a bit too much detail in places

[JCB · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 51st Highland Division was not involved in the Dunkirk evacuation (they were 100 miles south). In response to the German advance it was pulled back to form a defensive line along the Somme, where it was attached to the French Tenth Army. After Dunkirk, they were left to defend against the Germans.

In the hope of persuading the French to fight on, it was decided in London not to seriously pursue evacuating these Highland divisions, and to leave them there basically as a support wing for the French, showing to the French that they were not abandoning them. But the battle for France was over already, and the remaining French army and its generals were already packing it in, and giving up - in effect sometimes working at cross purposes with the Highlanders. Ultimately, the divisions were left to run out of food, equipment and ammunition, leaving them little choice other than to surrender, leading to 10K of them being imprisoned, with approx 1000 deaths.

The detail is there in the book, and the battle mechanics/logistics are spelled out (if maybe in too much detail); with the politics being clear that some in the British govt were willing to sacrifice men in order to save their own RAF (men were considered ‘small beer’ to lose when compared to planes; another comment was ‘the cabinet was prepared to sacrifice soldiers ...to sustain French morale’). But while it’s not really as cold blooded as the ‘sacrifice’ invoked in the title, the delay in authorizing an evacuation led to basically the same thing. The author says as much early in the book, and again later in greater detail.

But in its telling, it’s a bit of a slog. Unfortunately, the book only gains life or empathy when the soldiers themselves are quoted, or other contemporaries are brought into the narrative. The writer seems too much involved with primarily the movements and battle actions of the Highland divisions, and not so much the human element - although to its credit, the book mentions the many decorated veterans, and heroic acts involved throughout the book; plus the epilogue does quite an admirable job in its 'human element' sections. However, the somewhat sloppy editing of the book subtracts a bit as well. Misspellings, inaccurate punctuation, grammatical errors etc, seem to pop up regularly.

So a bit of a dry read. 3.5 stars - that high because of the brave Scots who were seemingly abandoned, yet managed to still show incredible displays of bravery, all while keeping the honor of the division intact.

[George Peryer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book but very intense for my first war book. Would defibrillator recommend you know the events of ww2 before reading this book.