To Lose a Battle (94 page)

Stackelberg, K. von,
Ich War Dabei, Ich Sah, Ich Shrieb
(Berlin, 1940).

Starcke, Gerhard,
Die Roten Teufel sind die Hölle!
(Berlin, 1941).

Stoves, Rolf,
I Panzer division, 1935–1945
(Bad Nauheim, 1962).

Strohmeyer, Kurt,
Stukas
(Berlin, n.d.).

Supf, Peter,
Das Buch der Deutschen Fluggeschichte
(Berlin, n.d.).

Taylor, A. J. P. (1),
English History
, 1914–1945 (Oxford, 1965).

— (2),
Origins of the Second World War
(London, 1961).

Taylor, Telford,
The March of Conquest
(New York, 1959).

Teissier du Cros, Janet,
Divided Loyalties
(London, 1962).

Terraine, John,
The Right of the Line – The Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939–1945
(London, 1985).

Thompson, Laurence,
1940
(London, 1966).

Tippelskirch, Admiral Kurt von,
Geschichte des Zweiten Weltkriegs
(Bonn, 1951).

Tissier, P.,
The Riom Trial
(London, 1942).

Tournoux, J. R.,
Pétain and de Gaulle
(London, 1966).

Tschimpke, Alfred,
Die Gespenster-Division
(Munich, 1940).

U.S.A.F.,
German Air Force Operations in Support of the Army
(U.S.A.F., 1962).

Vasselle, Pierre (1),
La Tragédie d’Amiens: mai-juin 1940
(Amiens, 1952).

— (2),
La Bataille au Sud d’Amiens, 20 mai–8 juin
(Paris, 1948).

Voisin, Pierre,
Ceux des Chars
(Lyons, 1941).

Walter, G.,
Histoire du Parti Communiste Français
(Paris, 1948).

Warlimont, Gen. W.,
Inside Hitler’s Headquarters, 1939–1945
(London, 1964).

Waterfield, Gordon,
What Happened to France
(London, 1940).

Webster, Sir Charles and Frankland, Noble,
The Strategic Air Offensive against Germany, 1939–45
(London, 1961).

Weiss, Wilhelm (ed.,)
Der Krieg im Westen
(Munich, 1941).

Werth, Alexander,
The Last Days of Paris
(London, 1940).

Westphal, Gen. S.,
The German Army in the West
(London, 1951).

Weygand, Gen. M. (1),
Recalled to Service
(London, 1952).

Weygand, J. (2),
The Role of General Weygand
(London, 1948).

Wheeler-Bennett, John W.,
The Nemesis of Power
(London, 1953).

Winterbotham, F. W.,
The Ultra Secret
(London, 1974).

Wittek, E. (ed.),
Die Soldatische Tat: Berichte von Mitkampfern des Heeres in Westfeldwg, 1940
, hrsg. vom Generalstab des Heeres (Berlin, 1941).

Young, Desmond,
Rommel
(London, 1950).

Part Two: Periodicals and Miscellaneous Sources

History

Stolfi, R. H. S., ‘La Bataille de France 1939–1940’, No. 4, 1975.

Journal of Contemporary History

Shlaim, Avi, ‘Prelude to Downfall: the British Offer of Union to France, June 1940’, Issue 3, July 1974.

L’Armee: La Nation

Lt.-Gen. Nyssens, ‘Lord Gort avait raison’, May 1953.

Major Jean Godet, ‘Rommel en Belgique’, July–Aug. 1958.

Revue Défense Nationale

Gen. Ély, ‘La leçon qu’il faut tirer des opérations de 1940’, Dec. 1953.

Revue d’Histoire de la Deuxiéme Guerre Mondiale

R. Villate, ‘Le changement de commandement de mai 1940’, Jan. 1952.

Louis Marin, ‘Gouvernement et commandement, mai-juin 1940,’ Oct. 1952.

Lt.-Col. le Goaster, ‘L’action des forces aériennes’, June 1953.

P. Dhers, notes on the Comité de Guerre du 25 mai 1940, June 1953.

Jean Vanwelkenhuyzen, ‘L’alerte du 10 Janvier 1940’, Oct. 1953.

J. M. d’Hoop, ‘La politique française du réarmement’, April 1954.

J. Willequet, ‘La politique belge d’indépendance, 1936–40’, July 1958.

Gen. Rollot, ‘La bataille de Sedan’, Oct. 1958.

Gen. Rollot, ‘L’offensive de Sedan: les rapports franco-belges’, April 1960.

Gen. Tournoux, ‘Les origines de la ligne Maginot’, Jan. 1959.

E. Wanty, ‘La défense des Ardennes en 1940’, April 1961.

Gen. de Cosse-Brissac, ‘L’armée allemande dans la campagne de 1940’, Jan. 1964.

Lt.-Col. le Goyet, ‘La percée de Sedan, 10–15 mai 1940’, July 1965.

Boudot, Françoise, ‘Sur les problèmes du financement de la défense nationale (1936–40)’, Issue 81, 1971.

Coinet, J. P., ‘Marcel Déat et le Parti Unique (été 1940)’, Issue 91, 1973.

Collotti, Enzo, ‘L’occupation allemande, la résistance, les alliès; essaies d’historiographie’, Issue 92, 1973.

Revue Historique de l’Armée

Gen. Guderian, ‘La campagne de France’, vol. 1, 1947.

Lt.-Col. d’Ornane, ‘Le XIX Corps blindé allemand dans les Ardennes en 1940’, vol. 3, 1955.

Col. P. Lyet, ‘Témoignages et documents, 1939–40’, vol. 1, 1960.

Lt.-Col. le Goyet, ‘Le XIе Corps Armée dans la bataille de la Meuse, 10–15 mai, 1940’, vol. 1, 1962.

Col. P. Lyet, ‘A propos de Sedan, 1940’, vol. 4, 1962.

Lt.-Col. le Goyet, ‘Contre-attaques manquées, Sedan, 13–15 mai 1940’, vol. 4, 1962.

Col. P. Lyet, ‘Les Tirailleurs malgaches á Monthermé, mai 1940’, vol. 4, 1963.

Lt.-Col, le Goyet, ‘L’engagement de la 2
^e
Division Cuirasséa Française’, vol. 1, 1964.

Lt.-Col. le Goyet, ‘Rethel 1940’, vol. 4, 1964.

Col. Cailloux, ‘Campagne de France 1940: la contre-attaque qui n’eut jamais lieu, 19–25 mai’, vol. 3, 1966.

Susbielle, Général de, ‘Chasseurs à pied, cavaliers et blindés du combat: Canal des Ardennes. 16–23 Mai 1940’, Issue 2, 1972.

Debyser, Felix, ‘Psychose collective et verité historique: les attaques aériennes sur la Loire et la centre de la France en Juin 1940’, Issue 3, 1972.

Van der Tuim, Dr H., ‘La défense de Bergen op Zoom par l’armée française (Mai 1940)’, Issue 2, 1973.

Alte Kamaraden

‘Über die Maas am 15 Mai 1940’, no. 9, 1959.

Deutsche Soldaten-Zeitung

A. Rothe, ‘So war die erste grosse Panzer schlacht…’, May 1952.

Militär-Wochenblatt

Sergeant-Major Schulze, ‘Erste Einfass vor Sedan’. April 1941.

Maj.-Gen. Aschenbrandt, ‘Der Einsatz der französischen 4 Panzer-Division’, July 1942.

First Lt. Grubnau, ‘Brückenschlag über die Maas westlich Sedan für den Übergang einer Panzer-Division’. Jan. 1941.

Militärwissenschaftliche Rundschau

Lt.-Col. Soldan, ‘Der Durchbruch über die Maas am 13 Mai 1940’, Nov. 1940.

Individual account from the war on the West Front, 1940.

More individual accounts, 1940.

Schweizerische Militär-Zeitschrift

Ulrich Liss, ‘Der französische Gegenangriff gegan den deutschen Maas-Druchbruch im Mai 1940’, 1958.

Contemporary newspapers and magazines

Federal German Archives, Koblenz; War Diaries of German units.

Supplement to the
London Gazette.
10 October 1941 (Lord Gort’s dispatches).

Alexander, Martin (1). La Faillite de la méc dans les Armées françhises et britanniques entre 1935 et 1940 – une étude comparative, unpublished dissertation, Oxford University, 1978.

— (2), Maurice Gamelin and the Defence of France, unpublished dissertation, Oxford University, 1982.

Reference Notes

The foregoing Bibliography contains the principal published works, books, periodicals and unpublished official sources, used either to a greater or lesser extent by the author. But it represents only the small visible tip of the iceberg of an immense volume of words which have been written about the Fall of France, in all its aspects. Works relating to the ‘Fifth Column’ alone would easily fill the preceding pages several times over.

As far as source material is concerned, the book falls into two fairly independent sections: 1919–40 (Part One), and the battle itself (Part Two). Of the great mass of histories and memoirs covering the inter-war period from which I have directly or indirectly benefited, I have not attempted to list the more obvious; the titles appended below refer chiefly to works quoted or specifically alluded to, and which I feel may be of use to a reader desirous of reading further.

In Part Two, there are certain works which I have kept by my side throughout, and can recommend for their particular value. One of the best military sources on the campaign from the French side remains Colonel Goutard (the English edition, however, is a heavily abridged version of the French); he is fair, generally accurate and critical enough not to have endeared the author to the French military establishment. Less accurate and more biased, but of considerable interest in the chronological relation of political events, is Benoist-Méchin (also reduced in translation, from three volumes to one). On the German side, Werner Haupt’s
Sieg ohne Lorbeer
is one of the best general accounts of the campaign. Another source used extensively throughout is General Roton, who is particularly useful on French High Command decisions; meanwhile, for details of the actions in which they themselves were involved, Rommel and Guderian (2) are indispensable and generally trustworthy. Considering the little time that Rommel had to bother with keeping up a diary, as an eye-witness account he remains quite outstanding.
I have also made constant and extensive use of the War Diaries of various German units, now located in the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz. Among the most interesting of these is a bound copy of Rommel’s own orders and reports, together with situation maps kept up in his own hand,
¹
which was presented to Frau Rommel by the 7th Panzer and subsequently handed by her to the Bundesarchiv. For a pictorial memory of the campaign, I used the numerous illustrated volumes produced on either side, and derived particular value from the official German film,
Sieg im West
, the first of the major wartime documentaries, which – despite its propaganda content – contains excellent material.

Much of the mass of battle accounts requires to be treated with suspicion. Many are based, second-hand, on other (second-hand) narrations, and have not necessarily gained accuracy in the retelling. Some written very close to events have the invaluable stamp of the unprocessed, fresh memory – such as Clare Boothe’s impressions and William Shirer’s
Berlin Diary.
Others inevitably suffer from the distortion of the passions of the moment – such as the bitter post-defeat reminiscences of French writers who tend to see a Fifth Columnist and a traitor in every command post, or the boastful, superman accounts emanating from Nazi Germany and often published for propaganda purposes when the war was going against Hitler. Nevertheless, neither of these categories is without value. For the reasons outlined in the Preface, I have been wary about using unpublished ‘I was there’ material; on the other hand, my researches were helpfully supplemented by the responses to various correspondence and interviews on specific points. I have referred to these below under the general title of ‘personal correspondence’.

On specific and recurrent war topics, there were also certain standard books used consistently.
For fighting on the French Ninth Army front (up to May 16th)
: Doumenc and Menu.
The Second Army Front:
Ruby, Grandsard and Menu.
The war in Northern Belgium and Holland
: Prioux, Ellis, Fechner, Christophe.
The war in the air
: d’Astier, Paquier (1), Bekker, Richards (for R.A.F. especially), Seive, Salesse, Tissier, Accart. In the source notes below, therefore, I have not necessarily made repeated allusion to these works each time the relevant topic comes up; and similarly with the general references (e.g. Goutard) mentioned earlier. The following notes list solely the principal source material utilized in each chapter. Works to be found in the Bibliography bear the
author’s name only; where there are more than one by the same author, the appropriate number is given; where a work is not listed in the Bibliography, the title is given in full.

Part One

Chapter 1
The 1919 Victory Parade:
Illustrated London News, The Times, Le Matin, Le Figaro.
French post-war illusions and stresses: Chastenet (1) & (2), Brogan, Taylor (2), Churchill i.

Chapter 2
The French Army, Verdun and the Maginot Line: Rocolle, de Gaulle (1), Beaufre, Prételat, Horne (
The Price of Glory
), Rowe, Rodolphe. State of Army in 1935: Chastenet (1) & (2), Brogan, Ruby, Beaufre. Armoured doctrine and foreign policy: Conquet, Guderian (1), Taylor (2), Reynaud (1), Liddell Hart (1), Namier. Hitler reoccupies Rhineland: Shirer (1) & (2), Churchill i, Armengaud, Taylor (2), Reynaud (1), Grandmougin, Beaufre, Osterkamp, Rocolle.

Chapter 3
Hitler rearms: Shirer (1) & (3), Wheeler-Bennett, O’Neill, Klein, Gauché, Demeter (
The German Officer Corps
). Guderian and the Panzerkorps: Guderian (1) & (2), Michael Howard (ed.) (
The Theory and Practice of War
), Rauschning. The revolutionary Wehrmacht: Shirer (1) & (2), Wheeler-Bennett, Taylor (2), O’Neill, Churchill i, Prittie, Guderian (1). Anti-militarism in France: Chastenet (1) & (2), Fauvet, Beauvoir. French political scandals: Chastenet (1) & (2), Grandmougin, Pertinax, Bois. Beginnings of ‘civil war’: Horne (
The Price of Glory
and
The Fall of Paris
), Pertinax, Taylor (1), Chastenet (1) & (2), Brogan, Lévy, Fauvet, Montreuil, Grandmougin, Walter, Ehrenburg.

Chapter 4
French industrial unrest and the Popular Front: Montreuil, Walter, Lévy, Chastenet (1) & (2), Grandmougin, Fauvet, Beauvoir (
The Blood of Others
), Pertinax. France rearms: Roton, Conquet, Rowe, Serre, Goutard (1), Pertinax, Reynaud (1), Tissier, Namier, Conquet, Tournoux, de Gaulle (1), Mengin, Gamelin i & ii, Beaufre, Grandmougin, Chastenet (2), Gauché. The Luftwaffe: Lee, Galland, Heinkel, Osterkamp, Bongartz, Bekker, Seive,
Taylor (1), Douglas, d’Astier, François-Poncet. The French Air Force: d’Astier, Maurois, Brogan, Seive, Churchill i, Tissier, Gamelin i, Armengaud, Paquier, Salesse. Widening political rifts in France, the ‘Fifth Column’: Brogan, Namier, Chastenet (2), Spears i, Pertinax, Lévy, Bloch, Rauschning, Menu, Bayet, Abetz, Bois. Fall of Popuar Front and rise of Communists; Chastenet (2), Grandmougin, Lévy, Walter, Fauvet, Rossi, Beauvoir, Pertinax. The rush towards war: Taylor (2), Chastenet (2) & (3), Pertinax, Churchill i, Klein, Reynaud (1), Fabre-Luce, Shirer (1).