Defeat and division France at war, 1939-1942

In Defeat and Division, Porch (emer., Naval Postgraduate School) comprehensively examines France during WW II. The first of two volumes, this study begins in 1939 and concludes with Operation Torch in November 1942. Organized chronologically and topically across 10 chapters, it seeks to correct the episodic nature of most histories of wartime France and to recalibrate longstanding postwar narratives. Porch incorporates all three branches of the French military, but this is not an operational military history that focuses tightly on battles, strategy, and command. Instead, it delves into civilian and military figures whose actions and personalities influenced the course of the war, including Paul Reynaud, Maxime Weygand, François Darlan, Philippe Pétain, and Charles de Gaulle. Furthermore, Porch argues that events in France were anything but static during these years. This expansive study also considers the experiences of POWs and resistors, concepts of masculinity, and the actions of French forces in North Africa during the Anglo-American operation to liberate France through the Armée d'Afrique. The level of detail in this analysis is exceptional, making it less suited to readers without a solid foundational understanding of France during this period. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and faculty. --Meredith L. Scott, United States Air Force Academy