The reluctant enemies: The story of the last war between Britain and France, 1940-1942

by Warren Tute

This book tells for the first time the full story of one of the most tragic, yet one of the least remembered conflicts of the Second World War. After the fall of France, Britain was effectively at war with her great European ally, beside whom she had until very recently been fighting and with whom she still - she believed - shared a common purpose. This book illuminates the dilemma in which the ministers of the Vichy French government found themselves; duty impelled their loyalty to a sham government, common sense told them - or should have told them - otherwise. So one of its themes is the desperate no-man's-land between necessary collaboration and true betrayal, a policy which some members of the Vichy governments, believing as they did that the allies were doomed, did not hesitate to follow. Warren Tute entered the Navy in 1932 and served on HMS Ajax and on the staffs of General Eisenhower and Lord Mountbatten, and who was present at some of the events which he describes in this book. The narrative is peopled with sketches of the main participants, and communicates the authentic flavour of the tragic confrontation of erstwhile allies. Was it all the result of an accidental arrangement of historical circumstances? Or was it, in some mysterious way, a final conflict with our historic enemy across the Channel, the last armed clash between the Gallic and the Anglo-Saxon temperaments? Everyone who reads this book will be able to make up his or her own mind, and will leave it with a reinforced impression of the responsibilities and decisions - decisions to which there may be no right answers - which are forced on individuals in time of war.

Genres: France

334 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Warren Tute was born in County Durham in 1914. He entered the Navy in 1932, retiring in 1946, a career which included service on Earl Mountbatten's staff and a part in North African, Sicilian, and Normandy landings. After the war he was under contract to the late Ted Kavanagh of ITMA fame, writing for radio and television.

Over 30 of his works have been published. World sales of his books were well over the million, the most successful of his novels being The Rock, The Cruiser, Leviathan, The Golden Greek and The Admiral. .

At London Weekend Television he was Head of Scripts and originated The Commanding Sea television series for the BBC and co-authored the book with Clare Francis.

Reviews

[Nick Boldrini · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about an aspect of World War II that I knew little about - the opposition of certain elements in Vichy to the Allies, and the fighting between Vichy and the Allies. This is more of a political book in that the fighting is dealt with adequately, but not in great detail, but I did learn more about the goings on at Dakar and in Syria than I knew before. Reasonably written, the author tends to foreshadow things too much so after repeatedly telling you that a major figure is assassinated, it has no shock factor, which it would have done at the time.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book on the little written about conflict between Britain and Vichy France.