England's Last War Against France : Fighting Vichy 1940-42

Genuinely new story of the Second World War - the full account of England's last war against France in 1940-42. Most people think that England's last war with France involved point-blank broadsides from sailing ships and breastplated Napoleonic cavalry charging red-coated British infantry. But there was a much more recent conflict than this. Under the terms of its armistice with Nazi Germany, the unoccupied part of France and its substantial colonies were ruled from the spa town of Vichy by the government of Marshal Philip Petain. Between July 1940 and November 1942, while Britain was at war with Germany, Italy and ultimately Japan, it also fought land, sea and air battles with the considerable forces at the disposal of Petain's Vichy French. When the Royal Navy sank the French Fleet at Mers El-Kebir almost 1,300 French sailors died in what was the twentieth century's most one-sided sea battle. British casualties were nil. It is a wound that has still not healed, for undoubtedly these events are better remembered in France than in Britain. An embarrassment at the time, France's maritime massacre and the bitter, hard-fought campaigns that followed rarely make more than footnotes in accounts of Allied operations against Axis forces. Until now.Author: Smith, Colin,author Contributors: Smith, Colin,author Binding: paperback Number Of Pages: 528 Publication Date: Release Date: Languages: English,Published,English,Original Language,Englis Model: Published/Release Date: 24 Jun 2010 Format: Paperback / softback Publisher/Studio/Brand: Orion Publishing Co Author/Director/Artist: Colin Smith Dimension (cm): 150x200x20 mm Package Dimension (cm): 40x214x134 mm Item Weight (g): 300 Package Weight (g): 581