Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man - Softcover

Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674029712 ISBN 13: 9780674029712

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2008

Synopsis

In May of 1940, the armies of Nazi Germany were marching through France. In the face of this devastating advance, one of World War II's greatest acts of heroism would be a retreat: the evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk.

In Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man, we are given an unprecedented vision of these harrowing days. Hugh Sebag-Montefiore has created a bold and powerful account of the small group of men who fended off the German army so that hundreds of thousands of their comrades could exit this doomed land. These brave troops, members of the British Expeditionary Forces and the French army, held a series of strong points inland, allowing the rest of the battered battalions to escape to the coast. Those that remained were ordered to fight to the last man.

Much has been written about the efforts of the Royal Navy in shuttling soldiers to safety, but here we are given an unparalleled look inside this massive operation and the invaluable role played by the BEF. Without the ferocity and bravery of the officers and ordinary soldiers on the ground, the German army would likely have encircled nearly half a million Allied soldiers. The loss of these battalions, Sebag-Montefiore argues, could have dramatically changed the direction of the war, and enabled Hitler to invade a weakened Britain.

This is military history at its best: a judicious analysis of the movement of the war, and a vivid feel of what it was like to be on the front line. Sebag-Montefiore brings these men--the forgotten heroes of Dunkirk--to life, and it is their valiant exploits and devotion to their brethren that form the heart of this important book.

About this title

Review:

İFull of¨ exemplary research and clear-eyed analysis. -- Jonathan Bouquet "The Observer" (05/21/2006)

Sebag-Montefiore tells İthe story of Dunkirk¨ with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail and an inexhaustible appetite for tracking down the evidence. The result can sometimes read like one damn thing after another, but the sense of confusion, anxiety, uncertainty and intrepid courage which characterised this disastrous campaign is captured more successfully than in any other existing account. The strength of Sebag-Montefiore's book rests on the accounts of those who fought. These are poignant in the extreme. There was no shortage of suicidal bravery. Troops at Arras were ordered to "fight to the last man and the last round," and in many cases they did so. -- Richard Overy "Daily Telegraph" (05/27/2006)

Sebag-Montefiore exploits a gap in the voluminous Dunkirk historiography for this first-rate account of the British troops that stayed behind to protect one of history's most dramatic and timely rescues...Drawing upon exhaustive research, the author portrays rescue in vivid, often harrowing, terms. (starred review)

Few accounts İof the Battle of Dunkirk¨ supply details of the determined defense of the corridor through which the trapped army retreated. Journalist Sebag-Montefiore's book falls into that category and therefore fills an important gap. The author uses a wide variety of new or little-used primary sources, including personal interviews, official reports, and soldiers' unpublished accounts. He ably marshals these sources to create a vivid and gripping description of engagements in which British units, against overwhelming odds, held their positions for precious hours so their comrades could be brought to safety. -- Richard Fraser "Library Journal" (11/01/2006)

interleaves the military with the political.

narrative...Several fine books have been written about it, but none better than this.

tide. The author has brought together scores of personal accounts to impressive, moving effect.

northwestern France and the people who planned and executed them...This book is a tour de force.

upon exhaustive research, the author portrays rescue in vivid, often harrowing, terms. (starred review)

escape route...Sebag-Montefiore's level of detail, knowledge and compassion [provides] for readable wartime history.

About the Author:

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore is a journalist and the author of the critically acclaimed Enigma: The Battle for the Code.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0674029712
• ISBN 13: 9780674029712
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 720