Blitzkrieg: Myth, Reality, and Hitler's Lightning War: France 1940 - Hardcover

Clark, Lloyd

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802125131 ISBN 13: 9780802125132

Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press, 2016

Synopsis

The long-accepted view of Hitler's war machine as an unstoppable force in 1940 is called into question in this meticulous, revisionist account of the Battle of France. Showing that the reputation of blitzkrieg is largely myth (propagated by the Nazis), Lloyd Clark argues that the modern German Army was in fact largely on foot, or reliant on horses and bicycles, and the invasion was a highly risky move that succeeded only with the help of luck and Allied mistakes. Off-mint.

About this title

Review:

Praise for Blitzkrieg

"In Blitzkrieg, Clark . . . provides a good battlefield view of a crucial phase of World War II . . . More than earlier studies, like Alistair Horne's To Lose a Battle, Clark focuses not on generals and premiers but on the voices and experiences of the soldiers involved."--New York Times Book Review

"Blitzkrieg is a particularly successful synergy of correspondence and interviews, archival material from four countries, and the massive body of published literature . . . Lloyd Clark--a prolific military historian and a master of sources--makes a strong case for an alternative perspective . . . Blitzkrieg emphasizes operational and tactical evidence to persuasively argue that the 1940 campaign was decided not by tanks and dive-bombers alone, but through an updating of German military experience infused, but not dominated, by technology."--World War II Magazine

"A masterly account teeming with vivid personalities and the usual mixture of heroism, incompetence, and luck . . . Clark provides plenty of juicy details and a mildly controversial reinterpretation."--Kirkus Reviews

"In this new volume, acclaimed historian Lloyd Clark . . . paints a very different look at the German victory . . . Clark does an excellent job of describing the first critical five days of the campaign . . . He highlights multiple opportunities the French and British had to stop the German advance at vulnerable moments . . . Lloyd presents a well-balanced narrative that highlights the knife-edge victory of the German forces."--New York Journal of Books

"This genuinely revisionist account of the Battle of France in 1940 proves a deeply shocking fact--we are essentially still in thrall to the view of Blitzkrieg tactics that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels wanted us to have, even over three-quarters of a century later. Lloyd Clark's brilliant analysis proves that Fall Gelb wasn't all about unstoppable, superior panzers and Stukas, but was in fact an audacious, highly risky infantry-based plan that could have gone badly wrong given a different Allied mindset."--Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War and Napoleon: A Life

"Lloyd Clark has written a lucid, intelligent and thought provoking re-appraisal . . . His ground breaking detailed research will make it the seminal work on the fall of France in 1940. The story of the break-through unfolds at a fascinating and cracking pace . . . Blitzkrieg is a remarkable book."--Robert Kershaw, author of 24 Hours at the Somme, 24 Hours at Waterloo, and It Never Snows in September

"A breakthrough book, bringing the drama of Hitler's May 1940 offensive in France vividly to life--alongside a major re-appraisal of the campaign's significance. Excellent."--Michael Jones, author of After Hitler and Total War

About the Author:

Lloyd Clark is one of the UK's leading military historians. He is is Professor of Modern War Studies and Contemporary Military History at University of Buckingham, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a member of the British Commission for Military History, and historian to the Airborne Assault Normandy Trust. The author of several books, and he has lectured on military history all over the world and is a frequent guide to battlefields on four continents.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0802125131
• ISBN 13: 9780802125132
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480