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Author: Jonathan Sutherland Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1848843364 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 222
Book Description
"At the beginning of World War II the French faced the German invasion with 4,360 modern combat aircraft and 790 new machines currently arriving from French and American factories each month. When the phony war finally ended, some 119 of 210 squadrons were ready for action on the north-eastern front. The others were reequipping or stationed in the French colonies. Of the 119 squadrons France could bring into action only one-fourth of the aircraft were battle-ready.With France overrun by June 1940, what remained of the French air force was either concentrated in the unoccupied zone or had been hastily redeployed to the colonies. Nonetheless, in retaliation for the British attack on the French fleet in Oran, French bombers, based in French Morocco, carried out retaliatory air raids over Gibraltar. The Armee de l'Air de Vichy was born and would fight to the best of its ability against the Free French's allies in theatres as distant as north-west Africa, Syria, Lebanon, Madagascar and the Far East. Not only would they take to the skies against the British and later the Americans, they would also willingly take part in aerial duels against Free French pilots.Only a handful of books have been written on French aircraft, but never has there been a complete history of the operations of the Vichy Air Force and its fratricidal war. This title literally spans the globe, examining forgotten air combats. It is also important to note that many of the Vichy pilots that survived the air combats later volunteered to join the Free French and would fight with great courage and distinction alongside the very pilots that they had been trying to kill.rnrnThis book describes all major theatres of combat, examines the aircraft flown and lengthy appendices cover operational units, victory credits and the Aeronautique Navale"--Dust jacket.
Author: Jonathan Sutherland Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1848843364 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 222
Book Description
"At the beginning of World War II the French faced the German invasion with 4,360 modern combat aircraft and 790 new machines currently arriving from French and American factories each month. When the phony war finally ended, some 119 of 210 squadrons were ready for action on the north-eastern front. The others were reequipping or stationed in the French colonies. Of the 119 squadrons France could bring into action only one-fourth of the aircraft were battle-ready.With France overrun by June 1940, what remained of the French air force was either concentrated in the unoccupied zone or had been hastily redeployed to the colonies. Nonetheless, in retaliation for the British attack on the French fleet in Oran, French bombers, based in French Morocco, carried out retaliatory air raids over Gibraltar. The Armee de l'Air de Vichy was born and would fight to the best of its ability against the Free French's allies in theatres as distant as north-west Africa, Syria, Lebanon, Madagascar and the Far East. Not only would they take to the skies against the British and later the Americans, they would also willingly take part in aerial duels against Free French pilots.Only a handful of books have been written on French aircraft, but never has there been a complete history of the operations of the Vichy Air Force and its fratricidal war. This title literally spans the globe, examining forgotten air combats. It is also important to note that many of the Vichy pilots that survived the air combats later volunteered to join the Free French and would fight with great courage and distinction alongside the very pilots that they had been trying to kill.rnrnThis book describes all major theatres of combat, examines the aircraft flown and lengthy appendices cover operational units, victory credits and the Aeronautique Navale"--Dust jacket.
Author: Maurer Maurer Publisher: ISBN: Category : United States Languages : en Pages : 856
Book Description
This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.
Author: Stephen M. Cullen Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1472827732 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 50
Book Description
After the Fall of France in 1940, a new puppet state was set up in the south. Officially known as the French State, it is better known as Vichy France. This collaborationist Vichy regime's armed forces were more active and usually more numerous than German troops in the task of hunting down and crushing the maquis - the French Resistance guerrilla forces This book will cover the organization and operations of Vichy French Security Forces, including: the new Vichy Police Nationale, particularly their Groupes Mobiles de Reserve, the Service d'Ordre Légionnaire , and the Milice Francaise, a ruthless anti-Resistance militia armed partly with British weapons captured from SOE airdrops. Fully illustrated throughout with contemporary photographs and commissioned artwork, it tells the story of Occupied France from the perspective of those who sought to keep it in German hands.
Author: Michael S. Neiberg Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674258568 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 321
Book Description
Shocked by the fall of France in 1940, panicked US leaders rushed to back the Vichy governmentÑa fateful decision that nearly destroyed the AngloÐAmerican alliance. According to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the Òmost shocking single eventÓ of World War II was not the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but rather the fall of France in spring 1940. Michael Neiberg offers a dramatic history of the American responseÑa policy marked by panic and moral ineptitude, which placed the United States in league with fascism and nearly ruined the alliance with Britain. The successful Nazi invasion of France destabilized American plannersÕ strategic assumptions. At home, the result was huge increases in defense spending, the advent of peacetime military conscription, and domestic spying to weed out potential fifth columnists. Abroad, the United States decided to work with Vichy France despite its pro-Nazi tendencies. The USÐVichy partnership, intended to buy time and temper the flames of war in Europe, severely strained AngloÐAmerican relations. American leaders naively believed that they could woo men like Philippe Ptain, preventing France from becoming a formal German ally. The British, however, understood that Vichy was subservient to Nazi Germany and instead supported resistance figures such as Charles de Gaulle. After the war, the choice to back Vichy tainted USÐFrench relations for decades. Our collective memory of World War II as a period of American strength overlooks the desperation and faulty decision making that drove US policy from 1940 to 1943. Tracing the key diplomatic and strategic moves of these formative years, When France Fell gives us a more nuanced and complete understanding of the war and of the global position the United States would occupy afterward.
Author: John D. Grainger Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1783830794 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 345
Book Description
After the surrender of the French government in May 1940, the British were concerned that the resources of the French Empire, and particularly the powerful French fleet, would be put at the disposal of the Germans. The British, dependent upon their naval power and the resources of the Empire and Commonwealth to continue the war, sought to neutralize the threat of the French fleet and saw an opportunity to gobble up certain French colonies for themselves. Thus, even while Britain was locked in a deadly struggle with Nazi Germany, she continued the centuries-old imperial rivalry with her nearest neighbor and recent allies. The British attack on the French Mediterranean fleet at Mers el Kebir is well known, but less often remembered are the British operations against Vichy forces in West Africa, Syria and Madagascar. As the latent threat of the French fleet was the chief source of British concern, the conflict was largely a naval one, but there were substantial land operations in Syria and Madagascar. In Syria and Lebanon, Operation Exporter pitted 20,000 British, Indian, Australian and Free French troops against 35,000 Vichy French who fought with much greater skill and determination than expected. Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar, saw three brigades of infantry, supported by light tanks, make the first large scale British amphibious assault since the ill-fated Gallipoli landings in WWI. John D Grainger narrates and analyses all the British operations, by land, sea and air, against the French up to the Anglo-American Torch landings in North Africa. He reveals the initial reluctance of the British forces to really get stuck into their erstwhile allies and the reverses that resulted from underestimating the will of the Vichy French to fight. The complicating factor of De Gaulle's Free French is another major theme. Above all, what emerges is that these are fascinating campaigns in their own right that have been unduly neglected.
Author: André Jouineau Publisher: ISBN: 9782915239492 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Thanks to this second volume, every single one of France's combat aircraft (fighters, bombers and recce aircraft) in the early years of W.W.II is now offered to the international audience, including the lesser known types. Each type is featured with an historical text, period photographs and color profiles.
Author: Stephen Bourque Publisher: Naval Institute Press ISBN: 1612518745 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 343
Book Description
An important rethinking of the Normandy war narrative Beyond the Beach examines the Allied air war against France in 1944. During this period, General Dwight David Eisenhower, as Supreme Allied Commander, took control of all American, British, and Canadian air units and employed them for tactical and operational purposes over France rather than as a strategic force to attack targets deep in Germany. Using bombers as his long-range artillery, he directed the destruction of bridges, rail centers, ports, military installations, and even French towns with the intent of preventing German reinforcements from interfering with Operation Neptune, the Allied landings on the Normandy beaches. Ultimately, this air offensive resulted in the death of over 60,000 French civilians and an immense amount of damage to towns, churches, buildings, and works of art. This intense bombing operation, conducted against a friendly occupied state, resulted in a swath of physical and human destruction across northwest France that is rarely discussed as part of the D-Day landings. This book explores the relationship between ground and air operations and its effects on the French population. It examines the three broad groups that the air operations involved, the doctrine and equipment used by Allied air force leaders to implement Eisenhower’s plans, and each of the eight major operations, called lines of effort, that coordinated the employment of the thousands of fighters, medium bombers, and heavy bombers that prowled the French skies that spring and summer of 1944. Each of these sections discusses the operation's purpose, conduct, and effects upon both the military and the civilian targets. Finally, the book explores the short and long-term effects of these operations and argues that this ignored narrative should be part of any history of the D-Day landings.
Author: Robert O. Paxton Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 140087839X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 491
Book Description
In June 1940 the French Army that Europe had known and feared since Louis XIV vanished in the most overwhelming defeat ever suffered by the military force of a modern nation. This is the story of what really happened to that army. Originally published in 1966. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Author: Jonathan Sutherland
Author: Jonathan Sutherland
Author: Maurer Maurer
Author: Maurer Maurer
Author: 
Author: Stephen M. Cullen
Author: Michael S. Neiberg
Author: John D. Grainger
Author: André Jouineau
Author: Stephen Bourque
Author: Robert O. Paxton