OxBlog

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

# Posted 2:45 PM by Patrick Porter  

MY KINGDOM FOR A 'PLANE: Mark Grimsley speculates that one accident was the difference between the survival and the fall of France, and maybe the scale of the Holocaust. Its a provocative piece, but I'm skeptical.
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Comments:
Leaving aside whether his theory is valid, the article contains some interesting information.

The battle lasted from May 10, 1940 to June 22, 1940, and during that time, Grimsley notes that, the French lost 240,000 men (I presume he means killed).

It would appear that at least 240,000 Frenchmen thought France was worth dying for.

Not included in the article but included here as trivia is the fact that 140,000 French troops were evacutaed at Dunkirk. A large number were repatriated to Vichy France later.

What a waste of space.
 
This whole controvery was laid to rest with Freiser and Greenwood's work on Case Yellow.

http://www.amazon.com/Blitzkrieg-Legend-1940-Campaign-West/dp/1591142946

The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West

Case Yellow had many things in its favor and everyone should read the book. The German command chose Case Yellow because wargames showed it had a much better outcome and because the German Officer-Intellectuals pushed it very hard.

The French fought hard in many locations but were undone by their Operational Commanders who were too slow to think and much slower to act.
 
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