Dünkirchen 1940

The German View of Dunkirk

Dünkirchen 1940 cover

Description

'Kershaw's book is a welcome rebalancing; a thoughtful, well-researched and well-written contribution to a narrative that has long been too one-sided and too mired in national mythology.' The Times

The British evacuation from the beaches of the small French port town of Dunkirk is one of the iconic moments of military history. The battle has captured the popular imagination through LIFE magazine photo spreads, the fiction of Ian McEwan and, of course, Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Hollywood blockbuster. But what is the German view of this stunning Allied escape? Drawing on German interviews, diaries and unit post-action reports, Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning history of a battle that we thought we knew.

Dünkirchen 1940 is the first major history on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk. As supreme military commander, Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium, but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk – the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape – they came to a shuddering stop. Only a detailed interpretation of the German perspective – historically lacking to date – can provide answers as to why.

Dünkirchen 1940 delves into the under-evaluated major German miscalculation both strategically and tactically that arguably cost Hitler the war.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Dunkerque, France
List of Illustrations
List of Maps

Chapter 1: Führer Weather
Chapter 2: Landser
Chapter 3: The Sea
Chapter 4: 24 May, The Day of the Halt Order
Chapter 5: Panzers Against Ports
Chapter 6: Running the Gauntlet
Chapter 7: Sea, Air and Land
Chapter 8: The Great Escape, 1 June
Chapter 9: Elusive Victory

Postscript: Dünkirchen
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published Mar 12 2024
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 352
ISBN 9781472854391
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 16-page plate section in black and white
Dimensions 8 x 5 inches
Series General Military
Short code GNM
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Robert Kershaw

A graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw j…

Resources

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