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Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man tells the story of the rescue in May 1940 of British soldiers fleeing capture and defeat by the Nazis at Dunkirk. Dunkirk was not just about what happened at sea and on the beaches. The evacuation would never have succeeded had it not been for the tenacity of the British soldiers who stayed behind to ensure they got away. Men like Sergeant Major Gus Jennings who died smothering a German stick bomb in the church at Esquelbecq in an effort to save his comrades, and Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews VC who single-handedly held back a German attack on the Dunkirk perimeter thereby allowing the British line to form up behind him. Told to stand and fight to the last man, these brave few battalions fought in whatever manner they could to buy precious time for the evacuation. Outnumbered and outgunned, they launched spectacular and heroic attacks time and again, despite ferocious fighting and the knowledge that for many only capture or death would end their struggle. 'A searing story . . . both meticulous military history and a deeply moving testimony to the extraordinary personal bravery of individual soldiers' Tim Gardam, The Times 'Sebag-Montefiore tells [the story] with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail and an inexhaustible appetite for tracking down the evidence' Richard Ovary, Telegraph Hugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and then an author. He wrote the best-selling Enigma: The Battle for the Code. One of his ancestors was evacuated from Dunkirk.
701 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
13 books43 followersHugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and historian. He has written for the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Independent on Sunday, and Mail On Sunday. His first book Kings On The Catwalk: The Louis Vuitton and Moët-Hennessy Affair was published in 1992.
Bletchley Park, the backdrop to much of the action in his first history book Enigma: The Battle For The Code (published in 2000), used to be owned by Hugh’s great great grandfather, Sir Herbert Leon. Hugh’s father, Stephen, used to stay at Bletchley Park every Christmas, at a time when the house was humming with servants, and when the garden was tended by no less than forty gardeners. During the run up to the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma codebooks from German U-boat U-110, Hugh was commissioned by Bletchley Park to supply the text and photos for an exhibition describing the capture.
The location for the climax of his next book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man (published in 2006), also summoned up forgotten memories within Hugh’s family. His cousin Denzil Sebag-Montefiore lost his precious ivory backed hair brushes engraved, with his initials, which had to be thrown into the sea at Dunkirk, along with other heavy items in his backpack, so that he would be more buoyant. He eventually made it back to England, after being heaved into one of the boats ferrying British soldiers out to the larger ships waiting off shore. Another cousin, Basil Jaffé, passed the time waiting to be rescued from the shallows near one of the Dunkirk beaches by reading his miniature edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
Hugh’s next book will tell the story of another great British military enterprise: the 1916 Battle of the Somme. It is to be published by Penguin in July 2016, at the beginning of the Somme centenary.
From http://www.hughsebagmontefiore.com/th...
Bletchley Park, the backdrop to much of the action in his first history book Enigma: The Battle For The Code (published in 2000), used to be owned by Hugh’s great great grandfather, Sir Herbert Leon. Hugh’s father, Stephen, used to stay at Bletchley Park every Christmas, at a time when the house was humming with servants, and when the garden was tended by no less than forty gardeners. During the run up to the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma codebooks from German U-boat U-110, Hugh was commissioned by Bletchley Park to supply the text and photos for an exhibition describing the capture.
The location for the climax of his next book, Dunkirk: Fight To The Last Man (published in 2006), also summoned up forgotten memories within Hugh’s family. His cousin Denzil Sebag-Montefiore lost his precious ivory backed hair brushes engraved, with his initials, which had to be thrown into the sea at Dunkirk, along with other heavy items in his backpack, so that he would be more buoyant. He eventually made it back to England, after being heaved into one of the boats ferrying British soldiers out to the larger ships waiting off shore. Another cousin, Basil Jaffé, passed the time waiting to be rescued from the shallows near one of the Dunkirk beaches by reading his miniature edition of Shakespeare’s plays.
Hugh’s next book will tell the story of another great British military enterprise: the 1916 Battle of the Somme. It is to be published by Penguin in July 2016, at the beginning of the Somme centenary.
From http://www.hughsebagmontefiore.com/th...
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August 17, 2025
Celebrating Defeat
The German invasion of France on 10/05/1940, where the Wehrmacht’s blitzkrieg bowled over the Dutch, Belgian, French and British armies feels to me in someways like the war in between the First and Second World Wars. It picks up where 1918 left off. The BEF has gone to France once again. Tommies are there carrying their Lee Enfield rifles and wearing their steel rimmed helmets getting outperformed by their Teutonic rivals. The French, with no appetite to fight, again feels like it did in 1917 and 1918. On the verge of throwing in the towel. This was the part of the war before the Japanese sweep down the Pacific and took away the old colonies of the European powers. America was not yet in the war and like in 1918, Russia was out of it.
The Fall of France was a military disaster with the French and British being pushed back to the English Channel, surrounded and trapped. However, through good luck for the allies or bad decision making from the Axis high command, over 330,000 soldiers were evacuated. This has become one of the most celebrated and famous episodes of the war. There is something very British about the celebration of this famous defeat. Ask most British people today and they’ll know about Dunkirk (regardless of the Christopher Nolan film), whilst most haven’t heard of the fall of Singapore. But it was much more than Operation Dynamo, Winston Spencer Churchill’s ingenious plan to use civilian boats to ferry the broken soldiers back across the channel. This was a battle that took place for a month, with the last soldiers leaving the beaches of northern France on 04/06/1940.
Sebag-Montefiore’s book is much of the ilk of his Somme narrative. A view of the battle from the ground. Those who were there tell us the story. It is one of tanks and aircraft as much as the infantry. Civilians are caught up in this war as much as military men. We learn that the Tommy is quick to escape to the French brothels, catching venereal diseases which equal devastation as German bullets. There are pockets of resistance and building to building fighting in the multiple French towns and villages where many allies soldiers were brutally shot even after surrender. Ahead of the BEF is General Viscount Gort, who had an impossible task of trying to stop the German war machine. The failure ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the war.
What is great about Dunkirk is the interweaving of politics and military history. The British were forced to use the Royal Airforce to protect French soldiers. This left the left flank exposed, where King Leopold III of the Belgians disgraced himself and surrendered to the Germans. This would never be lived down and eventually forced him to abdicate in 1951 in favour of his son. We also learn of the pressure WSC was under, Viscount Halifax was still looking for a peace solution and was putting feelers out to the Italians for a mediated peace. Would WSC cave in? When told there were no reserves and England would be left wide open, he decided to get who he could out. This put huge stain on the relationship with the French. As the boats came, British soldiers simply pushed the French troops aside in the desperate scramble. Luftwaffe continually strafed the beaches, the men below could only wait and curse the absence of the RAF.
When the boats did come and the men arrived back in the UK, most were appalled by their drunkenness, gauntness and shell shock. But the evacuation was celebrated, to the shock of the government. Militarily it had been a disaster and WSC had to remind the British public wars aren’t won by running way. Around 240 ships were lost, most famously with HMS Lancastria bring bombed before it was about to set sail. Over two thousand of the five thousand on board died as a result. As Sebag-Montefiore writes, the tanks stopped in order for the infantry to catch up. At the time this made sense militarily. Herman Göring’s Luftwaffe could move in and destroy the static human targets on the beaches. But dive bombing was just not as effective on moving targets, such as the boats.
Overall Dunkirk was a great read. It contains a lot of information, all of which I feel I still haven’t digested. From the German officers being captured with imminent invasion planes, which in the end fooled the allies as Joachim Ribbentrop openly stated they were ‘out of date’ to the extensive fighting across a huge area of northern France, much of it the old battlefields of the WWI. I will definitely read this again.
The German invasion of France on 10/05/1940, where the Wehrmacht’s blitzkrieg bowled over the Dutch, Belgian, French and British armies feels to me in someways like the war in between the First and Second World Wars. It picks up where 1918 left off. The BEF has gone to France once again. Tommies are there carrying their Lee Enfield rifles and wearing their steel rimmed helmets getting outperformed by their Teutonic rivals. The French, with no appetite to fight, again feels like it did in 1917 and 1918. On the verge of throwing in the towel. This was the part of the war before the Japanese sweep down the Pacific and took away the old colonies of the European powers. America was not yet in the war and like in 1918, Russia was out of it.
The Fall of France was a military disaster with the French and British being pushed back to the English Channel, surrounded and trapped. However, through good luck for the allies or bad decision making from the Axis high command, over 330,000 soldiers were evacuated. This has become one of the most celebrated and famous episodes of the war. There is something very British about the celebration of this famous defeat. Ask most British people today and they’ll know about Dunkirk (regardless of the Christopher Nolan film), whilst most haven’t heard of the fall of Singapore. But it was much more than Operation Dynamo, Winston Spencer Churchill’s ingenious plan to use civilian boats to ferry the broken soldiers back across the channel. This was a battle that took place for a month, with the last soldiers leaving the beaches of northern France on 04/06/1940.
Sebag-Montefiore’s book is much of the ilk of his Somme narrative. A view of the battle from the ground. Those who were there tell us the story. It is one of tanks and aircraft as much as the infantry. Civilians are caught up in this war as much as military men. We learn that the Tommy is quick to escape to the French brothels, catching venereal diseases which equal devastation as German bullets. There are pockets of resistance and building to building fighting in the multiple French towns and villages where many allies soldiers were brutally shot even after surrender. Ahead of the BEF is General Viscount Gort, who had an impossible task of trying to stop the German war machine. The failure ultimately sidelined him for the rest of the war.
What is great about Dunkirk is the interweaving of politics and military history. The British were forced to use the Royal Airforce to protect French soldiers. This left the left flank exposed, where King Leopold III of the Belgians disgraced himself and surrendered to the Germans. This would never be lived down and eventually forced him to abdicate in 1951 in favour of his son. We also learn of the pressure WSC was under, Viscount Halifax was still looking for a peace solution and was putting feelers out to the Italians for a mediated peace. Would WSC cave in? When told there were no reserves and England would be left wide open, he decided to get who he could out. This put huge stain on the relationship with the French. As the boats came, British soldiers simply pushed the French troops aside in the desperate scramble. Luftwaffe continually strafed the beaches, the men below could only wait and curse the absence of the RAF.
When the boats did come and the men arrived back in the UK, most were appalled by their drunkenness, gauntness and shell shock. But the evacuation was celebrated, to the shock of the government. Militarily it had been a disaster and WSC had to remind the British public wars aren’t won by running way. Around 240 ships were lost, most famously with HMS Lancastria bring bombed before it was about to set sail. Over two thousand of the five thousand on board died as a result. As Sebag-Montefiore writes, the tanks stopped in order for the infantry to catch up. At the time this made sense militarily. Herman Göring’s Luftwaffe could move in and destroy the static human targets on the beaches. But dive bombing was just not as effective on moving targets, such as the boats.
Overall Dunkirk was a great read. It contains a lot of information, all of which I feel I still haven’t digested. From the German officers being captured with imminent invasion planes, which in the end fooled the allies as Joachim Ribbentrop openly stated they were ‘out of date’ to the extensive fighting across a huge area of northern France, much of it the old battlefields of the WWI. I will definitely read this again.
July 26, 2017
It's no walk on the beach to give Hugh his due now that there's the movie Dunkirk to compare him to.
He gives us not just Dunkirk! He gives us the entire 1940 campaign! From archives on both sides of the Meuse. The Mechelen Affair taking of the 'impregnable' fortress of Eben-Emeal are particularly done in beautiful detail thanks to newly uncovered material. Undoubtedly this is why the atmosphere tastes different from To Lose a Battle, more comprehensive. The fever of impending defeat among the Allied High Command is less hot than the victory fever of Edwin Rommel as he races ahead of the order to halt the Panzers. Hitler intervened in this manner several times in the course of the campaign in sudden fear of losing his preciously husbanded armour to a cut-off.
Few such counterattacks materialized and none succeeded, but that doesn't mean the French Army and BEF were always on the run. Like I pointed out for the Schlieffen Plan and the Marne, ye ol' map fails to convey the blood its unstoppable arrows are painted with. The anxiety is palable among German recollections when a stealthy river crossing suddenly turned contested. For all the legendary Luftwaffe air supremacy and scything Blitzkrieg, a lot of bitter fighting marked the river-by-river jump between lines of resistance. The wealth of first-hand accounts is peppered with Lewis gun bullets and shrapnel from Sedan to Arras.
It is also stained with SS atrocities, such as the Totenkopf's at Le Paradis, that call bull on the theory that such massacres were confined to the Normandy campaign and beyond under the "dehumanizing" influence of SS service on the Russian Front. Their hands were red by the time the tanks made several general stops in front of the marshy lowlands near the North-French coast, not only by order of the Führer but by their generals also, who preferred to infiltrate such terrain by infantry.
So what about Dunkirk ? Honestly, Dunkirk has more Dunkirk in it. The RAF remains too hidden behind the greasy clouds of burning oil, the prevalence of passenger ships and military vessels in the evacuation over those glory-hogging "Little Ships" is too faint and we don't spend enough time shuffling along the sands as it is. The Men They Left Behind come into a deserved spotlight near the end, in particular the 51st Highland Division of WWI fame.
This is one of those books where 3.5 stars would say it all : excellent quality, but doesn't quite deliver on its cover. It's like Dunkirk: Retreat to Victory 's big brother.
He gives us not just Dunkirk! He gives us the entire 1940 campaign! From archives on both sides of the Meuse. The Mechelen Affair taking of the 'impregnable' fortress of Eben-Emeal are particularly done in beautiful detail thanks to newly uncovered material. Undoubtedly this is why the atmosphere tastes different from To Lose a Battle, more comprehensive. The fever of impending defeat among the Allied High Command is less hot than the victory fever of Edwin Rommel as he races ahead of the order to halt the Panzers. Hitler intervened in this manner several times in the course of the campaign in sudden fear of losing his preciously husbanded armour to a cut-off.
Few such counterattacks materialized and none succeeded, but that doesn't mean the French Army and BEF were always on the run. Like I pointed out for the Schlieffen Plan and the Marne, ye ol' map fails to convey the blood its unstoppable arrows are painted with. The anxiety is palable among German recollections when a stealthy river crossing suddenly turned contested. For all the legendary Luftwaffe air supremacy and scything Blitzkrieg, a lot of bitter fighting marked the river-by-river jump between lines of resistance. The wealth of first-hand accounts is peppered with Lewis gun bullets and shrapnel from Sedan to Arras.
It is also stained with SS atrocities, such as the Totenkopf's at Le Paradis, that call bull on the theory that such massacres were confined to the Normandy campaign and beyond under the "dehumanizing" influence of SS service on the Russian Front. Their hands were red by the time the tanks made several general stops in front of the marshy lowlands near the North-French coast, not only by order of the Führer but by their generals also, who preferred to infiltrate such terrain by infantry.
So what about Dunkirk ? Honestly, Dunkirk has more Dunkirk in it. The RAF remains too hidden behind the greasy clouds of burning oil, the prevalence of passenger ships and military vessels in the evacuation over those glory-hogging "Little Ships" is too faint and we don't spend enough time shuffling along the sands as it is. The Men They Left Behind come into a deserved spotlight near the end, in particular the 51st Highland Division of WWI fame.
This is one of those books where 3.5 stars would say it all : excellent quality, but doesn't quite deliver on its cover. It's like Dunkirk: Retreat to Victory 's big brother.
August 24, 2025
‘…At one point I caught sight of one of our companies advancing on my right, possibly to try and relieve the pressure on our A Company. They advanced with bayonets fixed, bloody heroes the lot of them, against tanks. Bayonets! I don’t know what happened to them, must have been mown down.’
Fascinating account of the Dunkirk evacuation focussing on the issues that led to it. Also the brave rear guard actions to prevent the Germans encircling the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Enabling the saving of 288,000 vs the 45,000 that had been estimated. The author in his acknowledgments at the end mentions his reading of the ‘Snow Goose’ as a child. Also discussions with Ian McEwan who wrote ‘Atonement’ and told him where to find material on 1940’s nurses.
This is the 75th anniversary edition of the Author’s work published in 2015. He has stripped out pages of notes to make way for more first account details from soldiers. The book at 742 pages is meaty but includes photos (some graphic) and maps. At the end there are some updates on what happened to some of the characters mentioned. And more detailed longer Personal accounts. There is also a postscript view of why the Germany Panzer divisions stopped their advance. Thought to have been a ‘Halt order’ by Hitler to rebuild peace talks. But German battle plans show it was believed that the BEF tank divisions were stronger than in reality. Whatever the reason this was the turning point that saved lives.
So many sad and gallant stories as well as German atrocities. A poignant memory of the pilot landing his plane with at least 16 bullet holes. Then having to travel back to Martlesham Heath base in East Anglia to take off again. I was reading this part on a break in …Martlesham Heath.
Sebag-Montefiore superbly captures the event. I was reminded of Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor in style, pace and exposition. Recommended.
Fascinating account of the Dunkirk evacuation focussing on the issues that led to it. Also the brave rear guard actions to prevent the Germans encircling the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Enabling the saving of 288,000 vs the 45,000 that had been estimated. The author in his acknowledgments at the end mentions his reading of the ‘Snow Goose’ as a child. Also discussions with Ian McEwan who wrote ‘Atonement’ and told him where to find material on 1940’s nurses.
This is the 75th anniversary edition of the Author’s work published in 2015. He has stripped out pages of notes to make way for more first account details from soldiers. The book at 742 pages is meaty but includes photos (some graphic) and maps. At the end there are some updates on what happened to some of the characters mentioned. And more detailed longer Personal accounts. There is also a postscript view of why the Germany Panzer divisions stopped their advance. Thought to have been a ‘Halt order’ by Hitler to rebuild peace talks. But German battle plans show it was believed that the BEF tank divisions were stronger than in reality. Whatever the reason this was the turning point that saved lives.
So many sad and gallant stories as well as German atrocities. A poignant memory of the pilot landing his plane with at least 16 bullet holes. Then having to travel back to Martlesham Heath base in East Anglia to take off again. I was reading this part on a break in …Martlesham Heath.
Sebag-Montefiore superbly captures the event. I was reminded of Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor in style, pace and exposition. Recommended.
December 31, 2007
A meticulously researched history of the retreat & evacuation of British & French troops from France in 1940 - almost an hour by hour narrative. Extensive use of official documents, unit war diaries (British, French & German) and personal narratives. Does not neglect the political story for the more dramatic military events. Highly recommended.
February 24, 2014
I'm not really a fan of military history. -- all the details about different army units which I never can keep straight ( batallions, regiments,divisions etc.) and their movements and the thicknesses of tank armor ( of the latter esp. there seems to be a good deal in this book) have always left me pretty much cold, so the first 200 pages were pretty hard slogging. Around there, however, the individual stories and narratives (German as well as British and French, with a handful of other nationalities as well) start to get gripping, and the pace of my reading started to pick up. Many, many soldiers died in this period, however, and the numbers take their toll. I had to put the book down a couple of times to get some distance.
The author takes the long view to his story, because this is really a story of the British Expeditionary Force's invasion and retreat, not just Dunkirk itself, title notwithstanding. And he is definitely patriotic. He kept referring the spirit of the true British soldier and the British Armed Forces. My one area of disagreement, however, is that he was rather more forgiving of British war crimes than German ( though, at least as he tells it, the German incidents were larger). Still, he deals with Germans well. This is all the more admirable given that the author is a British Jew who lost two cousins in the war.
The author takes the long view to his story, because this is really a story of the British Expeditionary Force's invasion and retreat, not just Dunkirk itself, title notwithstanding. And he is definitely patriotic. He kept referring the spirit of the true British soldier and the British Armed Forces. My one area of disagreement, however, is that he was rather more forgiving of British war crimes than German ( though, at least as he tells it, the German incidents were larger). Still, he deals with Germans well. This is all the more admirable given that the author is a British Jew who lost two cousins in the war.
July 22, 2017
While rooted in the British tradition for celebrating defeats ( loose the battles, win the war) this elegantly constructed, thoroughly researched and well written volume manages to provide both a crisp overview of the defeat of the British and French armies in May-June and a series of lucid portraits of primarily British combatants.
Having read the book you will have both a sense of the lasting controversies at the political,strategic and operational level and a enduring - and no way - glorified impression of the bloody and painful carnage that hides between the anti-septic arrows and lines of the by the way excellent maps.
Highly recommended
Having read the book you will have both a sense of the lasting controversies at the political,strategic and operational level and a enduring - and no way - glorified impression of the bloody and painful carnage that hides between the anti-septic arrows and lines of the by the way excellent maps.
Highly recommended
November 20, 2020
What a slog it turned out to be, the book I mean.
After reading 5 books in June, this one took me almost a month to finish. The author obviously loves stories and eyewitness accounts, and this book is filled with them. There's literally hundreds of them and at some point it just gets overwhelming. Instead of having few characters to follow we get machine gunned with people and events who at least I forgot almost instantly.
It almost feels like, that the author having done all the work with his material couldn't make the hard decision to cut some of it off. Instead it's story after story after story after story; so many brains blown of, horses killed, men driven over by tank tracks etc. Even on the last pages we get more new characters and stories, not even trying to tie it all up. In the epilogue the author tells about what happened to the people after the war, but I couldn't remember any of the characters apart from the generals and admirals.
And to make matters somewhat more muddled, the notes were omitted in my edition in favor of MORE eyewitness accounts. Unlike in some history books, the notes in this book were quite often interesting(they're available for free in the authors web page) and occasionally had more interesting information than the actual text. Then again some of the notes were just more stories.
The silver lining in this book was the way it used it's maps. There's whopping 40 pages of maps and they're on average somewhat useful. The thing that stands out is the way the author uses maps. In those maps he has marked all most of the biggest events he writes about and in what chapter that happens. Also in the beginning of all chapters he lists what maps are useful to look at. These are something I would wish everyone would start using when writing military history.
Shame that in my edition the best maps are those that are spread into two pages and therefore lose some of their detail(because how paperback-book works).
Even with the better-than-average maps the amount of eyewitness accounts made it really hard to follow where and what was going on and how it affected the bigger picture. I feel like that I have less understanding of the whole Case Yellow than I had before this book. And this book seriously made me question why do I read military history.
After reading 5 books in June, this one took me almost a month to finish. The author obviously loves stories and eyewitness accounts, and this book is filled with them. There's literally hundreds of them and at some point it just gets overwhelming. Instead of having few characters to follow we get machine gunned with people and events who at least I forgot almost instantly.
It almost feels like, that the author having done all the work with his material couldn't make the hard decision to cut some of it off. Instead it's story after story after story after story; so many brains blown of, horses killed, men driven over by tank tracks etc. Even on the last pages we get more new characters and stories, not even trying to tie it all up. In the epilogue the author tells about what happened to the people after the war, but I couldn't remember any of the characters apart from the generals and admirals.
And to make matters somewhat more muddled, the notes were omitted in my edition in favor of MORE eyewitness accounts. Unlike in some history books, the notes in this book were quite often interesting(they're available for free in the authors web page) and occasionally had more interesting information than the actual text. Then again some of the notes were just more stories.
The silver lining in this book was the way it used it's maps. There's whopping 40 pages of maps and they're on average somewhat useful. The thing that stands out is the way the author uses maps. In those maps he has marked all most of the biggest events he writes about and in what chapter that happens. Also in the beginning of all chapters he lists what maps are useful to look at. These are something I would wish everyone would start using when writing military history.
Shame that in my edition the best maps are those that are spread into two pages and therefore lose some of their detail(because how paperback-book works).
Even with the better-than-average maps the amount of eyewitness accounts made it really hard to follow where and what was going on and how it affected the bigger picture. I feel like that I have less understanding of the whole Case Yellow than I had before this book. And this book seriously made me question why do I read military history.
August 3, 2012
A poignant read of the shambolic defence offered during the German invasion of France in WWII, leading to the need to evacuate French and BEF troops via a hodge podge armada of ships. What was sad is the breakdown of Anglo-French relations as the war rapidly deteriorated, leading to miscomm between commanders and dooming men to be surrounded by the enemy. Equally sad was that pride and ego prevented earlier withdrawals which could have saved more troops to fight another day. I guess it is true the real nature of any relationship only surfaces when subject to real pressure - and sad to say the anglo- french relationship nearly broke. There was a story of how the captain allowed a boy to board the Lancastria with his dog, but the ship was bombed later and sank with 2/3 of her passengers - I wonder if the boy and dog made it out.
May 25, 2016
A brilliant book.
I felt totally immersed in the many battles and rearguard actions of the BEF, desperate fighting often against overwhelming odds. So many human stories, and acts of incredible courage. I felt so proud of these British men.
Also, it was very interesting to experience the relationship between the English and French, the cultural differences and aspects of the alliance.
The only thing about the book I didn't so much like was that I times I felt I lost or didn't understand the big picture, instead learning so much about minor details. Like when the Germans broke through at Sedan, I wondered why didn't the French just send in their armoured divisions or more of their army, which was huge. Instead it seemed just a few rag tag soldiers and that seems to have cost them the whole war. It didn't make a lot of sense to me.
I felt totally immersed in the many battles and rearguard actions of the BEF, desperate fighting often against overwhelming odds. So many human stories, and acts of incredible courage. I felt so proud of these British men.
Also, it was very interesting to experience the relationship between the English and French, the cultural differences and aspects of the alliance.
The only thing about the book I didn't so much like was that I times I felt I lost or didn't understand the big picture, instead learning so much about minor details. Like when the Germans broke through at Sedan, I wondered why didn't the French just send in their armoured divisions or more of their army, which was huge. Instead it seemed just a few rag tag soldiers and that seems to have cost them the whole war. It didn't make a lot of sense to me.
October 7, 2015
This book took me all summer to read!
A detailed account of the events leading up to, and including, the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk in 1940.
I was disappointed that throughout the book the reader is informed that more detailed info could be found in the notes at the back of the book, but the notes weren't included in this edition. Really annoying!
I really enjoyed the personal accounts in the appendix.
Worth the long summer read!
A detailed account of the events leading up to, and including, the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk in 1940.
I was disappointed that throughout the book the reader is informed that more detailed info could be found in the notes at the back of the book, but the notes weren't included in this edition. Really annoying!
I really enjoyed the personal accounts in the appendix.
Worth the long summer read!
April 23, 2019
I found this read incredible. The research, knowledge and craftsmanship in the way the events have been brought together are outstanding. The sense of foreboding is palpable and you really get a sense of what it must have been like to be on the receiving end of the advancing menace of the Wehrmacht/SS.
However futile all war is it never ceases to amaze me the bravery people shown in the most horrific and hopeless situations.
Well deserving of 5 stars
However futile all war is it never ceases to amaze me the bravery people shown in the most horrific and hopeless situations.
Well deserving of 5 stars
September 29, 2017
Don' t be fooled by the title, not a lot of the book happens at Dunkirk. Most of the book is the story of fighting the Germans through Belgium and France slowing their progress so that the BEF and French troops can be evacuated from Dunkirk. The book is a balanced blend of detailed military history interspersed with individual soldier's stories.
December 9, 2010
Continuing with my quest to read more specific books about WWII, I decided to take on the story of Dunkirk. As a student of the American school system, Dunkirk is one of those things that I could (prior to reading "Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man")tell all I knew about it in one sentence: A large segment of the British army was cornered early in the war and, had the Germans not hesitated, would have been captured or killed and the outcome of WWII might very well have been different. So, not wanting to wade into a shallow pool, I jumped right into the deep end and selected a monumental, highly acclaimed history of the whole Dunkirk saga, told in a whopping 720 pages! Fortunately, more than 100 pages are notes, maps and the index!!!)
In any event, I am definitely glad I read this book. Told in a compelling style, this book was relatively easy to read. Although there is an enormous amount of detail, it never seems to get bogged down (which cannot be said for France's and England's tanks that were trying to defend against the German onslaught). Peppered with anecdotes from soldiers' diaries and notes from the front, you really get a sense of what it was like (for better or worse) to have been on the battle lines during this scary time for the Allies. There is also a very good discussion of the politics and diplomacy among England, France and Belgium, and a very interesting beginning in which a German officer tried to tip off the Allies to the invasion that was about to begin, but no one believed him. You get to know some of the Allied generals (and particularly the failings of the ones who blundered badly at the beginning) and at the end of the book there is a section that describes what happened to some of the main players after the war.
If you are interested in WWII and are past the general survey stage, I highly recommend this book (if you have the time to read it!).
In any event, I am definitely glad I read this book. Told in a compelling style, this book was relatively easy to read. Although there is an enormous amount of detail, it never seems to get bogged down (which cannot be said for France's and England's tanks that were trying to defend against the German onslaught). Peppered with anecdotes from soldiers' diaries and notes from the front, you really get a sense of what it was like (for better or worse) to have been on the battle lines during this scary time for the Allies. There is also a very good discussion of the politics and diplomacy among England, France and Belgium, and a very interesting beginning in which a German officer tried to tip off the Allies to the invasion that was about to begin, but no one believed him. You get to know some of the Allied generals (and particularly the failings of the ones who blundered badly at the beginning) and at the end of the book there is a section that describes what happened to some of the main players after the war.
If you are interested in WWII and are past the general survey stage, I highly recommend this book (if you have the time to read it!).
January 26, 2011
When we think of Dunkirk, it is the saga of the little ships and news reel images of the human moles and of the weary evacuated soldiers disembarking at Dover. But Hugh Sebag-Motefiore has focussed on those troops who held the perimeter at great personal cost to keep the passage open for the retreat of the BEF and French. This is a well researched detailed story of incredible heroism, and increasing distrust and paranoia as the Anglo-French alliance broke down.
August 28, 2013
This is not a poorly written book and can be quite captivating. It is clearly well-researched and for one unfamiliar with Dunkirk, has provided much information. However I'm not sure how I would rate it if I would like to see a perspective from the author. He has not done much analysis and has instead included a lot of verbatim quotes from different sources. While these make the book lively, it is unfortunate that such good data was not exploited to provide a perspective.
July 10, 2014
Great book, very well researched and solidly noted. Other reviews address how good, the title is. I couldn't agree. I will comment a bit on reading this via e-book. I don't recommend it. Simply put, it is too danged hard to flip between notes, maps, and text. I found it impossible to resume my place if some little detail needed researching. I think I'll stick to fiction on the e-book and save my shelfspace (what's that?) for the non-fiction.
July 28, 2011
I really liked this book. This was the first that I read other than a smaller paperback earlier. I really enjoyed how they tied all the action in together and tried to outline the complexities among the French, Belgian, and English forces. I do recommend this book as a way of starting to understand the magnitude of the disaster in the west as well as the miracle of the evacuations.
January 29, 2016
enjoyed the book and information provided within, lots of good stuff to use for wargaming scenarios for either games or minis.
only negative is that all the maps are in the back i prefer them located in the chapter that needs the map
only negative is that all the maps are in the back i prefer them located in the chapter that needs the map
February 22, 2016
Fascinating read. It includes many tales of bravery and mini-battles that I was not aware of. I highly recommend this book for those wanting to find out more about this episode of WW2.
July 21, 2017
Well written, account of the evacuation of Dunkirk
In WWII. Excellent research and detailed description of the tireless fight of the brave soldiers. Even if you, are not a war book fan this book will grab and hold your attention. One of the best I've ever read.
In WWII. Excellent research and detailed description of the tireless fight of the brave soldiers. Even if you, are not a war book fan this book will grab and hold your attention. One of the best I've ever read.
November 4, 2019
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore in this stirring and meticulously researched account, narrates the gallantry, grit and gumption of the British Expeditionary Forces ("BEF") in their fierce albeit futile defense of France from rampaging German forces, before a miraculous evacuation back to British shores via Dunkirk.
What makes this 75th Anniversary Edition an absolutely must have is the space devoted to various first hand accounts as described by a few of the valiant survivors, of the bruising battle that has acquired such mystique and acclaim so as to secure its place firmly in the pantheons of legendary folklore. The spare, unflinching and almost matter-of-fact manner in which the soldiers describe their encounters with death (or near death as would be more appropriate), desolation, destruction, and deceit makes one doff his hat in undisguised admiration of the sincere heed paid to the call of duty. The complete absence of vanity or gloat in the words of those who were still lucky to survive Dunkirk speaks volumes about the character of the rank and file forming an essential part of the BEF.
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's renown as a formidable military historian finds complete vindication in this stupendous work. A research that leaves no stone unturned, unearths exploits hitherto recorded, events long buried under the fast passage of time and evidence either deliberately concocted or deceitfully hidden, depending upon the relevant motive. Each significant conflict, in addition to being explained in great detail is ably supplemented by maps charting out the exact position of each regiment, location of each town and the territory of each significant advance and retreat. Similarly each strategic bridgehead and canal with key crossing points are sketched out in the aforementioned maps. The reader can seamlessly visualize the gripping conflict between the warring forces by taking prompt recourse to these invaluable illustrations forming part of the Appendix to the book. Montefiore also does a magnificent work in ruthlessly highlighting the political indecisiveness of the Allies, pathetic co-ordination between the forces at the front and the General Headquarters at the peak of battle, heated skirmishes between the English and French military leaders over issues of both trivial and vital importance and the mad scramble to form part of the ultimate evacuation from Dunkirk, that has the Allies astonishingly inflicting physical injuries on each other. All these disgruntlements, disagreements and derelictions, combined together to precipitate an already calamitous situation thereby leading to the capitulation of a wilting France to the determined advances of Hitler’s forces.
The most hear warming as well as heart rending moments in the book deal with the courageous exploits of individual soldiers and cornered regiments in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and irredeemable adversity. The refusal to back down by the 51st Highlanders Division in spite of complete hopelessness, thereby allowing numerous BEF soldiers to be extricated from the killing fields of France into the relative safety of Great Britain (although only to live to fight another day), is just one example provided in the book exemplifying what the author terms the inimitable bulldog determination of the British. The indiscriminate butchery of captured English Prisoners-Of-War at Le Paradis and the wanton massacre of their counterparts surrendering at Wormhoudt makes for some extremely uncomfortable and squirming reading. Relying on new sources and documents, Sebag-Montefiore reveals the sadistic streak running through the vengeful SS Troops that led to humanitarian concerns and Prisoner Of War conventions being disdainfully disregarded.
'Dunkirk' is an absolutely indispensable read not only for all military history buffs but also for every one curious to know more about one of the most epochal events surrounding World War II. It is seventy seven years since the last BEF soldier scrambled aboard a destroyer ferrying him back to his Motherland. It is also seventy seven years since the last British and French soldiers either gave up their lives or gave themselves up to the Germans, but not before every last man stood his ground in a fight for the finish thereby ensuring that thousands of their country men could escape towards the prospects offered by relative safety. This sacrifice transcending every other form of nobility still continues to embellish the character and cause of every single soldier who represented his country at Dunkirk with pride in his heart and flag on his sleeve.
'Dunkirk' – Tribute to a sacrifice of the highest order.
What makes this 75th Anniversary Edition an absolutely must have is the space devoted to various first hand accounts as described by a few of the valiant survivors, of the bruising battle that has acquired such mystique and acclaim so as to secure its place firmly in the pantheons of legendary folklore. The spare, unflinching and almost matter-of-fact manner in which the soldiers describe their encounters with death (or near death as would be more appropriate), desolation, destruction, and deceit makes one doff his hat in undisguised admiration of the sincere heed paid to the call of duty. The complete absence of vanity or gloat in the words of those who were still lucky to survive Dunkirk speaks volumes about the character of the rank and file forming an essential part of the BEF.
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's renown as a formidable military historian finds complete vindication in this stupendous work. A research that leaves no stone unturned, unearths exploits hitherto recorded, events long buried under the fast passage of time and evidence either deliberately concocted or deceitfully hidden, depending upon the relevant motive. Each significant conflict, in addition to being explained in great detail is ably supplemented by maps charting out the exact position of each regiment, location of each town and the territory of each significant advance and retreat. Similarly each strategic bridgehead and canal with key crossing points are sketched out in the aforementioned maps. The reader can seamlessly visualize the gripping conflict between the warring forces by taking prompt recourse to these invaluable illustrations forming part of the Appendix to the book. Montefiore also does a magnificent work in ruthlessly highlighting the political indecisiveness of the Allies, pathetic co-ordination between the forces at the front and the General Headquarters at the peak of battle, heated skirmishes between the English and French military leaders over issues of both trivial and vital importance and the mad scramble to form part of the ultimate evacuation from Dunkirk, that has the Allies astonishingly inflicting physical injuries on each other. All these disgruntlements, disagreements and derelictions, combined together to precipitate an already calamitous situation thereby leading to the capitulation of a wilting France to the determined advances of Hitler’s forces.
The most hear warming as well as heart rending moments in the book deal with the courageous exploits of individual soldiers and cornered regiments in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and irredeemable adversity. The refusal to back down by the 51st Highlanders Division in spite of complete hopelessness, thereby allowing numerous BEF soldiers to be extricated from the killing fields of France into the relative safety of Great Britain (although only to live to fight another day), is just one example provided in the book exemplifying what the author terms the inimitable bulldog determination of the British. The indiscriminate butchery of captured English Prisoners-Of-War at Le Paradis and the wanton massacre of their counterparts surrendering at Wormhoudt makes for some extremely uncomfortable and squirming reading. Relying on new sources and documents, Sebag-Montefiore reveals the sadistic streak running through the vengeful SS Troops that led to humanitarian concerns and Prisoner Of War conventions being disdainfully disregarded.
'Dunkirk' is an absolutely indispensable read not only for all military history buffs but also for every one curious to know more about one of the most epochal events surrounding World War II. It is seventy seven years since the last BEF soldier scrambled aboard a destroyer ferrying him back to his Motherland. It is also seventy seven years since the last British and French soldiers either gave up their lives or gave themselves up to the Germans, but not before every last man stood his ground in a fight for the finish thereby ensuring that thousands of their country men could escape towards the prospects offered by relative safety. This sacrifice transcending every other form of nobility still continues to embellish the character and cause of every single soldier who represented his country at Dunkirk with pride in his heart and flag on his sleeve.
'Dunkirk' – Tribute to a sacrifice of the highest order.
August 17, 2016
Absolutely wonderful! I read this over a few days and have missed it since finishing it last Friday. Sebag-Montefiore blends the personal memoir with the political and introduces a varied set of characters. A vast and gripping story, the book covers the arduous journey, both physically and psychologically, that faced the French and British soldiers retreating to Dunkirk Beach in order to be evacuated to safety. There are so many strands to this tale, from the retreating soldiers, to the German soldiers pursuing them, to the sailors on the destroyers waiting to pick up thousands and the brave volunteers who played ferry with their rowing and fishing boats from the beach to the bigger ships. Then there are the medical staff the politicians and the commanders ... honestly if I had the time right now I'd pick it up and start it all over again. The text is amply complimented by a great selection of photographs including one of the stranded souls standing on the sinking Lancrastia. Most of this story was new to me and now I find that there will be a Christopher Nolan film about Dunkirk out in 2017. Highly recommended!
October 31, 2012
I knew very little about Dunkirk so decided to do something about it by buying this book. An extraordinary piece of writing giving at once a day-in-the-life of view of the lads in the foxholes to the overall strategic view of the unfolding campaign. The book spares the reader none of the savagery and futility of armed conflict but also shows you the heroism shown by individual men. For those wanting to understand the first few months of the costliest conflict in human terms the world has ever known you could do no better than to pick up this book.
February 20, 2017
My favorite books on history successfully blend historical facts and personal stories of real people involved. This book on the battle of Dunkirk at the beginning of WWII accomplished this feat perfectly. In reading this book, I felt like I got a great overview of the events while also seeing the battle through the eyes of the participants. This is an important chapter in the history of WWII and I think this book is probably the best document of it around. It is a hard, tragic story brilliantly told through this excellent book.
December 23, 2024
Extremely well researched and cover most events in the Battle of France. The focus is on telling the story from the perspective of "common soldiers", but the actions (and inactions) of the generals and politicians are there too. Many horrific scenes but also many examples of amazing bravery and high spirit against the odds. I can fully recommend this book – you will learn new things even if you have read several books before about the Battle of France.
July 25, 2007
A well researched book which deals with all aspects of the battle from grand strategy to the micro-tactical. It attempts to deliver the atmosphere and impact of a Martin Middlebrook or Anthony Beevor treatment, but ultimately fails to do so by repeated mis-emphasis and understatement. Nevertheles I have not read a better treatment of this battle.
December 20, 2016
Absolutely fantastic, comprehensive coverage of what occurred in Europe before, during, and after Operation Dynamo.
January 10, 2018
A good history is immersive. It’s easy to sputter and choke as an immense wave of details washes over you, but if you are interested enough, engaged enough, you learn how to take it in—assimilate it—almost as if you have learned to breath underwater. DUNKIRK—FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN is impressively researched and annotated and certainly can swamp you with facts: names, dates, locations and landscapes, troop missions and movements, weaponry and the relative wisdom of those involved all swirl into a dense and vivid presentation. The history however is leavened with enough humanity, tales of bravery and stupidity, that you remember these facts work in service of a greater ambition. To show how history is propelled by a few people, carries many more with its passion but most people are just trying to get out of the way before it crushes them.
A good history also deflates myths. Prior to reading DUNKIRK-FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN, I could draw only the barest sketch of the events surrounding the massive WWII rescue operation. I was aware that a flotilla mixing personal and naval crafts ran stranded soldiers from a disintegrating wartime France back to England in just the nick of time. In my mind it was mostly civilian boats with the almost cartoonish image of the last English soldier escaping unscathed as the Germans run toward the docks shaking their heads and their fists. Rarely is history so clean. The first best way the author deals with this is by saving the actual evacuation for the end of the book. Instead, the evacuation looms in the back of your mind while you live through the early days of the war where the seeds were sewn for catastrophe. The frustration builds as the early political failings and arrogant military fumblings are exposed by the Nazi Blitzkrieg. Once the Germans finally attack, the narrative that spoke in days and hours drops down to an almost minute by minute recreation of events. What fascinated me most during this portion of the book was how it was not so much that the Blitzkrieg was unstoppable (and it may have been) but at how many junctures early in the war entire campaigns turned on the greatness or failings of a few people. And sometimes simple bad timing. This reminded me of the much more familiar territory of the D-Day landings. While history now lends the landings a gravitas of inevitability, success was far from assured. The luck that many German leaders, tanks and troops happened to be in the wrong place at the right time was just as important as the months of planning that went into the landings. Imagine this is true of most wars but likely underappreciated.
The human toll is horrific before the city of Dunkirk is even mentioned—already destroying any remaining romantic myths about this rescue. While the story remains both intriguing and devastating through to the last of the book, it is as we approach Dunkirk that the two major flaws pop up in the book. Early on it is teased that the Germans made a mistake by not addressing the city of Dunkirk earlier with sufficient force. Almost nothing is said after that about the German decision process leading to their not fully appreciating the military importance of Dunkirk. Many other parts of the book benefit from the German perspective and the minute by minute tale continued and I kept waiting, but this discussion never materialized—and it was largely why I read the book! The second flaw may be more personal to my curiosity but also early in the book, the involvement of the individual civilian boat owners was teased but during the actual recovery effort they were given short shrift.
All historians have agendas—at least authors certainly do—and I understand choices have to be made but I would have been happy with two paragraphs for flaw one and two or three more anecdotes for flaw two. I know that newly discovered information regarding the troops sacrificed and left behind so that as many other soldiers as possible could escape was a selling point for this particular take on Dunkirk, but I still felt a little cheated at the end. That being said, I highly recommend this un-sanitized take on Dunkirk for anyone who wants an in depth look at this story in particular or a greater understanding of the mechanics of warfare in general.
A good history also deflates myths. Prior to reading DUNKIRK-FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN, I could draw only the barest sketch of the events surrounding the massive WWII rescue operation. I was aware that a flotilla mixing personal and naval crafts ran stranded soldiers from a disintegrating wartime France back to England in just the nick of time. In my mind it was mostly civilian boats with the almost cartoonish image of the last English soldier escaping unscathed as the Germans run toward the docks shaking their heads and their fists. Rarely is history so clean. The first best way the author deals with this is by saving the actual evacuation for the end of the book. Instead, the evacuation looms in the back of your mind while you live through the early days of the war where the seeds were sewn for catastrophe. The frustration builds as the early political failings and arrogant military fumblings are exposed by the Nazi Blitzkrieg. Once the Germans finally attack, the narrative that spoke in days and hours drops down to an almost minute by minute recreation of events. What fascinated me most during this portion of the book was how it was not so much that the Blitzkrieg was unstoppable (and it may have been) but at how many junctures early in the war entire campaigns turned on the greatness or failings of a few people. And sometimes simple bad timing. This reminded me of the much more familiar territory of the D-Day landings. While history now lends the landings a gravitas of inevitability, success was far from assured. The luck that many German leaders, tanks and troops happened to be in the wrong place at the right time was just as important as the months of planning that went into the landings. Imagine this is true of most wars but likely underappreciated.
The human toll is horrific before the city of Dunkirk is even mentioned—already destroying any remaining romantic myths about this rescue. While the story remains both intriguing and devastating through to the last of the book, it is as we approach Dunkirk that the two major flaws pop up in the book. Early on it is teased that the Germans made a mistake by not addressing the city of Dunkirk earlier with sufficient force. Almost nothing is said after that about the German decision process leading to their not fully appreciating the military importance of Dunkirk. Many other parts of the book benefit from the German perspective and the minute by minute tale continued and I kept waiting, but this discussion never materialized—and it was largely why I read the book! The second flaw may be more personal to my curiosity but also early in the book, the involvement of the individual civilian boat owners was teased but during the actual recovery effort they were given short shrift.
All historians have agendas—at least authors certainly do—and I understand choices have to be made but I would have been happy with two paragraphs for flaw one and two or three more anecdotes for flaw two. I know that newly discovered information regarding the troops sacrificed and left behind so that as many other soldiers as possible could escape was a selling point for this particular take on Dunkirk, but I still felt a little cheated at the end. That being said, I highly recommend this un-sanitized take on Dunkirk for anyone who wants an in depth look at this story in particular or a greater understanding of the mechanics of warfare in general.
June 6, 2017
I haven't really read any military history before, and if this is a representative example I don't think I'll read any more. I understand the value of research and how facts and statistics can aid our understanding of complex events, but there's a limit to how much I can read about troop numbers, supply lines and the thickness of tank armour before my eyes glaze over. And there's a *lot* of that kind of thing in here.
The actual evacuation at Dunkirk only occupies about 50 pages near the end of the book, which means that the other 400-odd pages are devoted to a series of skirmishes and incursions along the Franco-Belgian border. When Sebag-Montefiore quotes directly from primary sources - journals kept by the soldiers themselves about their experiences - it suddenly comes to vivid life. And I liked the occasional cuts back to the debates in Chirchill's war room, which provide some valuable political context. And the accounts of the deteriorating relations between the UK and France over alleged French incompetence and cowardice are interesting.
But the author seems a little hypocritical in some regards: if Germans kill unarmed British soldiers it's a disgusting war crime, but if the Brits do the same to the Germans it's quickly glossed over with little more than a furrowed brow and some mutterings about how it was unfortunate but understandable.
On the whole I felt confused and uninvolved, and think I'll probably enjpoy the upcoming movie more.
The actual evacuation at Dunkirk only occupies about 50 pages near the end of the book, which means that the other 400-odd pages are devoted to a series of skirmishes and incursions along the Franco-Belgian border. When Sebag-Montefiore quotes directly from primary sources - journals kept by the soldiers themselves about their experiences - it suddenly comes to vivid life. And I liked the occasional cuts back to the debates in Chirchill's war room, which provide some valuable political context. And the accounts of the deteriorating relations between the UK and France over alleged French incompetence and cowardice are interesting.
But the author seems a little hypocritical in some regards: if Germans kill unarmed British soldiers it's a disgusting war crime, but if the Brits do the same to the Germans it's quickly glossed over with little more than a furrowed brow and some mutterings about how it was unfortunate but understandable.
On the whole I felt confused and uninvolved, and think I'll probably enjpoy the upcoming movie more.
July 31, 2017
I got this book because I wanted to read something on Dunkirk before seeing the film. The book was not about what I thought it would be about, the evacuation. It was about the other side of it, the struggle to be able to evacuate. This was written from the land side of the evacuation. The author, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore from a Jewish family of wealth, with deep roots in England --he had two of his relatives at Dunkirk, is a great writer and this book was obviously a work of love and respect.
It is a long book, with incredible detail. It puts together the intimate style of those war writers who write from the perspective of the individual solider, the style of those who give a picture of the political infighting behind the choice of perspective, the style of those who give the tactics involved in. And it gives the haunting refrain of losing, of alliances splitting, of failure because of the incapacity to foresee and the incapacity to understand. The insight into the falling apart of the French left me deeply saddened.
I have to admit that I skimmed parts of the book because it was too long but became enthralled at the heroism, revolted by the carnage, angry at the lawlessness of the Germans and, on occasion ashamed by the British.
This is a superb book, well written.
It is a long book, with incredible detail. It puts together the intimate style of those war writers who write from the perspective of the individual solider, the style of those who give a picture of the political infighting behind the choice of perspective, the style of those who give the tactics involved in. And it gives the haunting refrain of losing, of alliances splitting, of failure because of the incapacity to foresee and the incapacity to understand. The insight into the falling apart of the French left me deeply saddened.
I have to admit that I skimmed parts of the book because it was too long but became enthralled at the heroism, revolted by the carnage, angry at the lawlessness of the Germans and, on occasion ashamed by the British.
This is a superb book, well written.
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