Blitzkrieg

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

By: Lloyd Clark

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a military offensive in France and the Low Countries that married superb intelligence, the latest military thinking, and new technology. It was a stunning victory, altering the balance of power in Europe in one stroke, and convincing the entire world that the Nazi war machine was unstoppable. But as Lloyd Clark, a leading British military historian and academic, argues, much of our understanding of this victory, and blitzkrieg itself, is based on myth.

Far from being a foregone conclusion, Hitler's plan could easily have failed had the Allies been even slightly less inept or the Germans less fortunate. The Germans recognized that success depended not only on surprise, but on avoiding being drawn into a protracted struggle for which they were not prepared. And while speed was essential, 90% of Germany's ground forces were still reliant on horses, bicycles, and their own feet for transportation. There was a real fear of defeat. Their surprise victory proved the apex of their achievement; far from being undefeatable, the France 1940 campaign revealed Germany and its armed forces to be highly vulnerable.

©2016 Lloyd Clark (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great analysis

Clark's analysis pushes past the normal quick, easy conclusions about the France 1940 campaign and develops a nuanced view of the downfall of a great power. The analysis was punctuated by accounts from the time that underscored the leaders views as events unfolded. Overall, very good read.

Excellent book on tactics & strategy.

I cannot say that I agree with all the analysis in this book, because the author's focus left some of the wider causes for how the Battle France played out. But I can tell you that this is an excellent study to showcase the relationship between tactical decisions and the success or failure on the strategic objectives. it is laid out in this text better than in most histories of battles and military histories of wars. The author pinpoints choices and actions which through a clear light on this relationship.

There is one thing, which the author does raise; though with not as much firmness as it deserved as as caveat to this tactical and strategic victory that should be stressed. Tactically it there is little to suggest that the German military was not fully prepared for this battle, However, there was one strategic error in both the planning and the delivery of the operation. Perhaps a knock-out blow against Britain would not have been a proper matter to squeeze into a plan as sweeping as Case Red. However, did beg the question of "now what?" From a strategic standpoint, the absence of any real material idea on what to do since Great Britain would remain in the war and the Battle of France, though it left Germany in a position to move forward in the war against Britain. We can say it may be easy to understand why Germany did not believe Britain "really did not matter" once France was knocked out of the war. But that presumption proved to be a vital failure on the part of the German war plan,

how the Germans produced a miraculous victory.

I enjoyed very much this book. The Reader had a phenomenal inflection in his voice that's kept you on the edge of your seat. in this book you discover not only the cost of appeasement and short-sightedness but also the failure of the Germans to be flexible and not try to reproduce that which was miraculous. what worked in France would not work in Russia.

Thorough examination of Germany’s success and France’s failure

Very well presented study of Germany’s tactical approach to the invasion of France. The author demonstrates how French strategy and doctrine facilitated the German invasion and allowed it to be a stunning success. Briefly looks at the political aspect of the campaign and the Allies’ disjointed efforts to meet Germany’s attack.

Very good and detailed about the Fall of France

There are countless of books in the American English book market about the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg (and I have read many), but I have been searching for years to find a good detailed book about the Fall of France during WW2 - which consisted of over a month of continuous fighting.

Almost all books that cover the Fall of France are written from the British point of view and basically just cover the evacuation of Dunkirk as if that is the only consequential event - and leave many questions such as how did the allies lose when they had superior equipment.

Fortunately, this book did cover the military operations in the deep detail that I have been looking for all these years. I finally have a much better understanding of what actually happened during this battle. As such, I am giving this book 5 stars - not saying that there aren't better books on this subject, but I haven't found them yet.

interesting info

I enjoyed the details that were missing from other narratives. This wasn't just about German Blitzkieg beating France. There was a lot more reasons as to why France succumbed to the invasion.

different view tactile

I enjoyed the military approach to this, and seeing the strategy on both sides, and constant second guessing.

Boring

What would have made Blitzkrieg better?

Ahh the agony. Dry........poorly written. An incredible historical piece of history, turned into a rambling piece of dribble.