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. It went on for over two years and cost several thousand lives. 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, the victor of Verdun, one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. 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 20th century's most one-sided sea battle. British casualties were nil. In the House of Commons, MPs greeted Churchill's brutal resolve not to risk the warships of their very recent ally falling into German hands with cheers and threw their order papers in the air. It is a wound that has still not healed, for undoubtedly these events are better remembered in France than in Britain. Despite the appalling losses on both sides, the war the British and eventually the Americans fought against France in 1940-42 has never been written about as an entity. An embarrassment at the time, its 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.
England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-42
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Review
"Colin Smith, a veteran war correspondent, has built an impressive reputation as a military historian.... a fascinating story." (MAX HASTINGS THE SUNDAY TIMES - 16.08.09 )
"grim revelations about the thousands of allies killed by troops loyal to Vichy." (Our Choice of the Best Recent books THE SUNDAY TIMES - 23.08.09 )
"his descriptions of these obscure battlefield encounters are thrilling and his narrative is spruce and peppery." (CHRISTOPHER SILVESTER THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - 29.08.09 )
"Colin Smith...military historian and reconteur..." "there is much of the flavou of Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy in Smith's delight in arcane detail and rumbustious anecdote." "a narrative of war that has much of Patrick O'Brian about it." "there are few who can, like Smith, bring to life these lesser-known battles and the unknown soldiers, sailors and airmen, most of them dead now, who faced death and won these wars for us then." (CARMEN CALLIL THE GUARDIAN 24.10.09 )
"battles in dramatic detail, using not only official records and personal diaries, but eyewitness accounts from participants" (CHARLES GLASS LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS - December 2009 )
"excellent account of a woefully understudied 'war within a war'...Astonishingly, this is the first book" (ANDREW ROBERTS LITERARY REVIEW - December 2009 )
"Colin Smith's light yet detailed touch superbly outlines a wasteful and depressing story... A quality read with many political and military twists and turns." (SOLDIER MAGAZINE - December 2009 )
"Hidden Gem! Not as widely reviewed as it should have been given its quirky take on the well ploughed field of World War Two studies." (THE OLDIE - December 2009 )
"Smith's considerable achievement is to unmask the reality and make us understand this painful period far better than ever before." (CATHOLIC HERALD - 12.10.09 )
"This well-documented and intriguing history unearths one of the least-known episodes of the Second World War... Smith's writing is dispassionate, his writing robust, his sources well-chosen and well-used and his talent for military history self-evident." (GOOD BOOK GUIDE - SEPT 09 )
"absorbing... a fascinating and compelling read." (WESTERN DAILY PRESS - 19.09.09 )
"a classic on the conflict with Hitlers Vichy allies... a superb book on an astonishing array of long-buried incidents." (OXFORD TIMES 03.10.09 )
"grim revelations about the thousands of allies killed by troops loyal to Vichy." (Our Choice of the Best Recent books THE SUNDAY TIMES - 23.08.09 )
"his descriptions of these obscure battlefield encounters are thrilling and his narrative is spruce and peppery." (CHRISTOPHER SILVESTER THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - 29.08.09 )
"Colin Smith...military historian and reconteur..." "there is much of the flavou of Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy in Smith's delight in arcane detail and rumbustious anecdote." "a narrative of war that has much of Patrick O'Brian about it." "there are few who can, like Smith, bring to life these lesser-known battles and the unknown soldiers, sailors and airmen, most of them dead now, who faced death and won these wars for us then." (CARMEN CALLIL THE GUARDIAN 24.10.09 )
"battles in dramatic detail, using not only official records and personal diaries, but eyewitness accounts from participants" (CHARLES GLASS LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS - December 2009 )
"excellent account of a woefully understudied 'war within a war'...Astonishingly, this is the first book" (ANDREW ROBERTS LITERARY REVIEW - December 2009 )
"Colin Smith's light yet detailed touch superbly outlines a wasteful and depressing story... A quality read with many political and military twists and turns." (SOLDIER MAGAZINE - December 2009 )
"Hidden Gem! Not as widely reviewed as it should have been given its quirky take on the well ploughed field of World War Two studies." (THE OLDIE - December 2009 )
"Smith's considerable achievement is to unmask the reality and make us understand this painful period far better than ever before." (CATHOLIC HERALD - 12.10.09 )
"This well-documented and intriguing history unearths one of the least-known episodes of the Second World War... Smith's writing is dispassionate, his writing robust, his sources well-chosen and well-used and his talent for military history self-evident." (GOOD BOOK GUIDE - SEPT 09 )
"absorbing... a fascinating and compelling read." (WESTERN DAILY PRESS - 19.09.09 )
"a classic on the conflict with Hitlers Vichy allies... a superb book on an astonishing array of long-buried incidents." (OXFORD TIMES 03.10.09 )
Book Description
Genuinely new story of the Second World War - the full account of England's last war against France in 1940-42.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By John Venning
Format:Hardcover
Smith's great skill is to illuminate a complex passage of history with strong, clear narrative, brought to life with a profusion of human detail. The war against Vichy France is often treated as a grim footnote to the larger story of the second world war. It was, after all, fought against what one of the protagonists quoted by Smith exactly described as the 'wrong enemy', so it is hardly surprising that it receives less attention than it deserves. Now we have a detailed and brilliantly assembled account in which the reader gets a clear understanding of the historical context and a real sense of what it might have been like to have been involved. As in all the best narratives, the people are brought vividly to life by Smith's sharp eye for human detail, supplemented by generous quotations from eye witnesses.
A thoroughly good read and a very worthwhile contribution to the understanding of one of the darker strands of the complicated relationship between France and England.
A thoroughly good read and a very worthwhile contribution to the understanding of one of the darker strands of the complicated relationship between France and England.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By M. Hood
Format:Hardcover
Most readers will have their own predetermined views
regarding relationships with the French, as the French will
have with the English. But Smith has assembled a
definitive and impartial account of a very contentious era
with France and England. What he has achieved is an
invitation for us all, English and French, to have a better
in depth understanding of those dark and difficult days of
1940/42.
After outlining the making of the Entente Cordiale in
the first decades of the 20th century, his story starts
first with the Royal Navy's failure to prevent Germany's
invasion of Norway then the French view that Dunkirk's
British Expeditionary Force was in reality little more than
an ill equipped, token army. The defeat of the Allies and
the French surrender was irredeemable. This left the
powerful French navy available for ownership and culminated
in Admiral Somerville's reluctant sinking, with
great loss of life, of his recent allies at Mers el-Kebir .
These events triggered the Vichy French breaking of
diplomatic relations and telegraphed to the world that
England, despite the formidable odds, would never make peace
with Hitler and was prepared to fight on.
Smith possesses the unrivalled ability of maintaining the readers
interest to the point of obsession, and has successfully
resurrected the campaigns of Syria and Madagascar drawing
from the experiences of living participants with vivid first
hand accounts of the kind you rarely find in duller
historical tomes. This is a truly remarkable book
summarising what really took place: a breach of trust
involving both countries.
Jack Riches
regarding relationships with the French, as the French will
have with the English. But Smith has assembled a
definitive and impartial account of a very contentious era
with France and England. What he has achieved is an
invitation for us all, English and French, to have a better
in depth understanding of those dark and difficult days of
1940/42.
After outlining the making of the Entente Cordiale in
the first decades of the 20th century, his story starts
first with the Royal Navy's failure to prevent Germany's
invasion of Norway then the French view that Dunkirk's
British Expeditionary Force was in reality little more than
an ill equipped, token army. The defeat of the Allies and
the French surrender was irredeemable. This left the
powerful French navy available for ownership and culminated
in Admiral Somerville's reluctant sinking, with
great loss of life, of his recent allies at Mers el-Kebir .
These events triggered the Vichy French breaking of
diplomatic relations and telegraphed to the world that
England, despite the formidable odds, would never make peace
with Hitler and was prepared to fight on.
Smith possesses the unrivalled ability of maintaining the readers
interest to the point of obsession, and has successfully
resurrected the campaigns of Syria and Madagascar drawing
from the experiences of living participants with vivid first
hand accounts of the kind you rarely find in duller
historical tomes. This is a truly remarkable book
summarising what really took place: a breach of trust
involving both countries.
Jack Riches
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this an extremely interesting book, particularly for the period when France was initially occupied by the Nazi Germany. The boarding of the French submarine in Portsmouth Harbour and the subsequent loss of life was very revealing about French attitudes to the British at the time, indeed the whole book raised some uncomfortable issues regarding the hostility of some French towards this country.
The campaigns against the Vichy French in Africa were detailed and exciting, but my abiding thought was that so many French and British soldiers lives had been unnecessarily lost.
Prior to reading this book I thought I had a good understanding about World War II, however I was woefully ignorant of most of the events described in this book and although it made, at times, for disturbing reading it was a thoroughly worthwhile read.
The campaigns against the Vichy French in Africa were detailed and exciting, but my abiding thought was that so many French and British soldiers lives had been unnecessarily lost.
Prior to reading this book I thought I had a good understanding about World War II, however I was woefully ignorant of most of the events described in this book and although it made, at times, for disturbing reading it was a thoroughly worthwhile read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Chronicle of a pointless avoidable bloodshed
This book is about a, conveniently forgotten, episode of WW2 when Vichy-France fought the allies, that wanted to bring it to their own camp or, at least, neutralize its military... Read more
Published 16 hours ago by Miquel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bosom enemies
Neighbouring states are like cousins. Sometimes they get on, sometimes they don't. But at the end of the day, they're stuck with one another. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Walter Ellis
4.0 out of 5 stars
Balanced and witty account of two former enemies & allies
When reading other reviews about this book, please consider whether they have actually bought and read the product rather than just looking at the title and complaining. Read more
Published 2 months ago by K McCarthy
5.0 out of 5 stars
England's last war against France by Colin Smith
Colin Smith gives life to a story about which many of us are only vaguely aware. Wars need context. This is especially true when successive British and French post-war governments... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tim Hardinge
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vichy's hate of the British.
Unless one is a historian or has studied military conflicts in detail, it is little known how much the British were hated by the French and particularly the French in uniform from... Read more
Published 3 months ago by VW
5.0 out of 5 stars
A spotlight into one of war's great shadows
The realisation that England and France were fighting each other from 1940 to 1942 may come as a surprise, but Colin Smith offers a fascinating and detailed account of that war... Read more
Published 5 months ago by James Clayton
3.0 out of 5 stars
A neglected bit of history
This is a piece of recent history I had very little knowledge of - how in The Second World War, Britain (and latterly America) found itself in conflict not only with Germany, but... Read more
Published 8 months ago by F.R. Jameson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book about a forgotten war
I've re-read Fighting Vichy a few times and it still astounds me that so many British, American and French troop were killed and wounded fighting each other in air, land and sea... Read more
Published 9 months ago by An English Patient
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well researched account of an overlooked conflict
The title of this book, combined with its unexpected dates 1940-42, are what intrigued me enough to pick it up. Read more
Published 12 months ago by J & K
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Definitive history
I have read a number of books about the shameful Vichy period in the history of France.however few can be more detailed and thoroughly researched than this book. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mb Davis
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