France 1940: Defending the Republic

209 Pages·2015·0.816 MB·English

by  Philip Nord

FRANCE 1940
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F RANCE
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DEFENDING THE
REPUBLIC
PHILIP NORD
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW HAVEN AND LONDON
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Copyright © 2015 Philip Nord
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in
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Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd
Printed in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
Nord, Philip G., 1950-
France 1940 : defending the republic / Philip Nord.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-300-18987-2 (cl : alk. paper)
1. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—France. I. Title.
D755.2.N67 2015
940.54’214—dc23
2014047023
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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In memory of my father
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Strange Defeat? xi
PART I WAR PREPAREDNESS 1
1 Diplomacy 3
2 Armaments and Morale 31
PART II THE BATTLE OF FRANCE 59
3 Battle Plans 61
4 Lightning War 86
PART III DEATH COMES TO THE REPUBLIC 105
5 Armistice 107
6 The Road to Vichy 133
Conclusion: The 1940 Syndrome 153
Notes 167
Index 178
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a special debt of gratitude to two Princeton
colleagues, Paul Miles and Steven Kotkin, who read the
manuscript through from beginning to end. Their
informed counsel toughened up the argument and saved
me from all too many mistakes. I also had occasion to turn
for help to Claire Andrieu and David Cannadine, who
were generous with their time and expertise. This project
got under way while I was a Florence Gould Fellow at the
National Humanities Center in North Carolina. My
thanks to the NHC for affording me the opportunity to
explore a path I would not have otherwise explored. My
warm thanks also to my editors at Yale University Press:
Heather McCallum, whose encouragement and guidance
were essential to bringing the project to fruition; and
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