It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Its impact is so profound is that even inspired at least one book title, "Strange Victory," by Ernest May. A renowned historian and Resistance fighter — later executed by the Nazis — analyzes at first hand why France fell in 1940.Marc Bloch wrote Strange Defeat during... Free shipping over $10. There may also have been a defeatist attitude, partly based on a memory of terrible losses during World War I. First couple of chapters on the military failings of the French Army in facing the Germans in WWII is pretty standard fare - fighting the last war, overly bureaucratic, etc. Penned in what the author, Marc Bloch, confessed was “a white heat of rage,” the resulting book, L’Étrange défaite, or Strange Defeat, remains among the most incisive analyses of … There were plenty of tanks and planes produced. 2 Reviews. Buy a cheap copy of Strange Defeat book by Marc Bloch. Even in the most abject moments of defeat, I don't think Bloch ever wavered in the belief that the Germans would eventually have to go. It takes a peculiar sort of courage to write the eye-witness history not only of a defeat, but of the comprehensive collapse of the country one loves, at the hands of an enemy one hates and despises from the depths of one's soul. Messages sometimes failed to reach their destinations in a timely manner or at all. Book of the day Fiction Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan review – brilliantly strange Set across nine decades in an Edinburgh tenement, this haunted panorama is a dazzling outsider history In reading it, I found that it was also a war memoir with absurdist themes. A very interesting and entertaining view of the French defeat by the Germans in 1940. However, this is only part of the story. August 2000. By the second half of the book, I was highlighting passage after passage, wanting to post them to show the applicability of the lessons of the past to today. Much of the analysis is about Fench military politics in the period before the war and why the outcome was pre-ordained by the decisions the French made. But the fact is that there is a great deal of repetition and it is hard to draw our the relevant lessons. Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch (6 July 1886 in Lyon – 16 June 1944 in Saint-Didier-de-Formans) was a medieval historian, University Professor and French Army officer. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. While some forces fought bravely, others retreated before contact with the enemy. They began on the morning of January 7 right after two French Muslim terrorists infiltrated the offices of Charlie Hebdo in the Marais and killed twelve people. For example, Bloch critiques the production of French industry, when it later became clear that this was not a problem. Marc Bloch wrote Strange Defeat during the three months following the fall of France, after he returned home from military service. But the fact is that there is a great deal of repetition and it is hard to draw our the relevant lessons. Those would be more on the just 3-star level. He's a fascinating person as he later fought in the French Resistance and I wish he had survived (he was shot by the Gestapo in 1944) so that we could see if his opinion had changed with time. This is his first-order diagnosis of why the French military was so utterly unprepared for the war of movement that unfolded in the May 1940, despite having seen the adequate warnings of what it could look like in Poland in September 1939. My main reason for finding and reading this book is that it often shows up in citations and direct quotations in other histories on the fall of France in 1940. Among them were, I believe, the backwardness of the French Army of the 1930's. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Strange Defeat: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940 at Amazon.com. He was unique in every way. Bloch was a founder of the Annales School, best known for his pioneering studies French Rural History and Feudal Society and his posthumously-published unfinished meditation on the writing of history, The Historian's Craft. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the French collapse in 1940. It takes a peculiar sort of courage to write the eye-witness history not only of a defeat, but of the comprehensive collapse of the country one loves, at the hands of an enemy one hates and despises from the depths of one's soul. He was captured and shot by the Gestapo during the German occupation of France for his work in the French Resistance. He gives an insider's viewpoint and is cynically funny, which I didn't expect. This small book of three parts was written by Marc Bloch immediately after the capitulation of France to Nazi Germany on June 22, 1940. Bloch was a veteran of World War I, and due to patriotic reasons, remained as a reserve officer between World War I and II, while earning a living as a professor and historian. (He relates how cadets of Samur were being killed on the Loire while Nazis cut their escape route over bridges in Nantes that were off limits to and undefended by French Army), Bloch approaches a subject matter which, I feel, few writers of his time could have with the same extraordinary level of emotional collectedness, clarity, or finesse—the complete disintegration of one’s nation, both military and social. Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France Ernest R. May Review by Roger Bishop. This book was written after the defeat and before he joined the Resistance (in whose service he was captured, tortured and killed by the Gestapo). Welcome back. Other forces had developed field radios for troops and tanks. 5.0 out of 5 stars IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY FATEFUL PREDICAMENTS. Man, this book is hard to beat. What seems to have been missing was clear, innovative thinking. So moving !!! Years ago I read somewhere that it is beneficial to read books in topical clusters, i.e., that are somehow connected to one another. But Chapter 3, where he covers their shortcomings as a people in recognizing the German threat and in being prepared to adequately deal with it, that is worth the time to read for sure. An English translation was published by W. W. Norton in 1968. I read Bloch as a medieval historian back in graduate school. I just completed my World War 2 cluster with “Strange Defeat”, Marc Bloch’s analysis of why it was so easy for Nazi Germany to conqueror France. i highly recommend the Audible copy of Case Red by Robert Forczyk, which mentions this book in detail. This is one of the books that helped me understand. Among the many possible and traditional villains of French political life, all come in for condemnation save, curiously, the Church (which he never mentions). The book was published in 1946; in the meanwhile, Bloch had been tortured and shot by the Gestapo in June 1944 for his participation in the French resistance. A police dragnet spread out as the killers veered through the city before they escaped in the direction of Reims. The main thesis of the book is that the French leadership failed to recognize that "the whole rhythm of modern warfare had changed its tempo." Bloch is an historian who fought in WWI and WWII and writes this in reflection on France's qui. Strongly recommended, but you may find it too close for comfort to things you see in the world around you today. The analysis in its third section could equally apply to events from 2016 onwards. This is a short book and is an extraordinary read - particularly in these times. Bloch approaches a subject matter which, I feel, few writers of his time could have with the same extraordinary level of emotional collectedness, clarity, or finesse—the complete disintegration of one’s nation, both military and social. The end gets a bit dense about French society and politics, but the overall perspective is well worth this short read. He never let me forget that he was a Jew, but a Jew whose loyalty was always to France and the French Republic that opposed the Nazi conquest. However, his experience in both wars against Germany give his perspective you'll rarely find anywhere else in personal histories. No one escapes his wrath: not the general staff, not the field commanders, not the industrialists, not the proletarians, not the intellectuals, not the newspapers, not the English. Strange Defeat (French: L'Étrange Défaite) is a book written in the summer of 1940 by French historian Marc Bloch.The book was published in 1946; in the meanwhile, Bloch had been tortured and executed by the Gestapo in June 1944 for his participation in the French resistance.An English translation was published by W. W. Norton in 1968. I can not recommend it highly enough. This page works best with JavaScript. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Refresh and try again. The French were still relying on runners and carrier pigeons. Bloc is a brilliant writer with good historical insight. Accessible and concise, the book offers a wide-ranging synthesis of key themes and events. In his passionate memoir about the defeat and betrayal of France in May-June 1940, Strange Defeat, the historian March Bloch, a man of the decent and moderate Left, lamented such blind pacifism and the concomitant dismissal of the legitimacy and dignity of patriotism and national loyalty. A brief account of hell, written from hell, by a man who (as we know with hindsight) was bound for hell on earth at the hands of the Gestapo. Buy Strange Defeat by Bloch, Marc (ISBN: 9781773236100) from Amazon's Book Store. He was a world-renowned medieval scholar, so his mind was nuanced and perceptive, his approach unsentimental and objective; he brings the full intellectual rigor of his training and experience to extract all possible social, historical, and moral truth from the seemingly mundane. Those would be more on the just 3-star level. He was in his late forties when the war started but nonetheless, served with honor, very much with his eyes-opened, did his duty in the army and kept his brain functioning throughout rather than putting it on hold in blind patriotism (such a treacherous, over-rated popular paliative). There's a problem loading this menu right now. Indeed the many treasures come in seemingly casual descriptions of mundane events like millions of naked, flickering, low-wattage light-bulbs adumbrating the tragedy of national collapse. Marc Bloch wrote Strange Defeat during the three months following the fall of France, after he returned home from military service. After evacuation he was returned to France in the Normandy area, and when the Germans reached his area, rather than surrender, he slipped away and returned home to write this history in 1940. A brief account of hell, written from hell, by a man who (as we know with hindsight) was bound for hell on earth at the hands of the Gestapo. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King... To see what your friends thought of this book. His patriotism being without question, his perspective on the faults in the French General Staff and its' prosecution of the war and the general public's attitude toward defeat are enlightening. A renowned historian and Resistance fighter - later executed by the Nazis - analyzes at first hand why France fell in 1940. New African American Histories and Biographies to Read Now. The author went on to be a major figure in the French Resistance and was shot for his efforts. Conventional thinking has focused on three reasons. The short version is that the Germans had the best fighter aircraft force in the world in 1940, and decent tanks (thoug. Bloch does touch on briefly the spiritual malaise and these points, but they merit greater explanation than the leadershi. There were plenty of tanks and planes produced. Verified Purchase. Americans make fun of France's defeat in 1940, but if the American Army of 1940 had been there it would absolutely have been defeated as badly as the French and British were. On prose quality and emotional resonance alone, it's the best book on world war two that I've read (and I've read... quite a number of books on the subject.) Bloch was an imminent social historian well known throughout Europe for his teaching and analyses of rural societies and feudalism. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Bloch seems a little too invested at throwing blame at the generals or the unions or many other targets. Strange Defeat: a statement of evidence written in 1940 Marc Bloch A renowned historian and Resistance fighter — later executed by the Nazis — analyzes at first hand why France fell in 1940.Marc Bloch wrote Strange Defeat during the three months following the fall of France, after he returned home from military service. He counterposes the French decisions and methods to that of the Germans in the interwar period and during the Phoney War. Strange Defeat by Marc Bloch L'Etrange defaite (English, "Strange Defeat") is a book written in the summer of 1940 by French historian Marc Bloch and published after his death in the summer of 1944. A poignant ...memoir, if that word can be used to describe this diagnosis that is oddly resonant in some ways, while failing to connect in others. Buy Strange Defeat: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940 New Ed by Bloch, Marc (ISBN: 9780393319118) from Amazon's Book Store. Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020. What I failed to grasp then was that he was also a Mahatma, "great-souled one". In effect, he is telling what Jean Van Jean said in Les Miserables"--Who Am I? A truly fascinating account of the fall of France in 1940 by an extraordinary man - historian, WW1 vet, father of six, army officer in WW2 and fighter in the Resistance. I know the book was written under difficult circumstances and the author was killed before he could do a review and possible reorganization. He lived for years under the occupation and was active in the underground (his life ended by Nazi firing squad). This is not to minimize others' works, nor to regard M. Bloch as a "minimalist": au contraire. What seems to have been missing was clear, innovative thinking. Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2015. I think it's an important book, a must read for history buffs. There is a dry-eyed innocence in the reporting that makes the shattering news it conveys more momentous than anything I have read in more scholarly, more documented, chronicles of the period which overwhelm citizen experience with broader perspectives. I know the book was written under difficult circumstances and the author was killed before he could do a review and possible reorganization. A dispirited French Army, lacking confidence in itself and its leaders, was rapidly overwhelmed by the German Army, honed to a fine edge after its easy victory in Poland. So often, Godwin's law or the persistent apologists for Communism hinder us from learning badly needed lessons from the tulmutuous twentieth century. Even in the most abject moments of defeat, I don't think Bloch ever wavered in the belief that the Germans would eventually have to go. For that matter, a lot of his values really resonate today.... A shattering assessment of why the French were so easily defeated in 1940, written in the bleak moment immediately after the capitulation: We usually see alternative histories where the Nazis do better then they did in real life. So often, Godwin's law or the persistent apologists for Communism hinder us from learning badly needed lessons from the tulmutuous twentieth century. This short, very well written book is the judgement of a prominent French historian on how France came to be so swiftly defeated in World War Two, not as a matter of tactics and movements on maps, but also in how the seeds of defeat lay in the state of the nation. I found this to be an excellent book about the surprising and earth-shattering defeat of France and Britain in May of 1940. He kept at his craft but rather than delving in ancient manuscripts he reported on what he observed around him of an army, indeed a state, in rapid collapse. Was defeat really so strange? Marc Bloch wrote Strange Defeat during the three months following the fall of France, after he returned home from military service. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY FATEFUL PREDICAMENTS, Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2018. As I read this book, I imagined I was sitting by a fireplace sharing a glass of wine with Marc Bloch who is sharing with me his history and assessments of his participation in WWI and WWII. To Defeat the Few Book Review: Over the past 80 years, histories of the Battle of Britain have consistently portrayed the feats of 'The Few' (as they were immortalized in Churchill's famous speech) as being responsible for the RAF's victory in the epic battle. In the midst of his anguish, he nevertheless "brought to his study of the crisis all the critical faculty and all the penetrating analysis of a first-rate historian" (Christian Science Monitor). Bloch transferred to Montpellier University in the winter 1941 (for the warmer climate since his wife was in frail health). But the fact is that there is a great deal of repetition and it is hard to draw our the relevant lessons. He was captu. 54 reviews. Here he continued to teach for another 18 months before dismissal. We’d love your help. Although I graduated from West Point and studied military history both as part of my profession and also as an avocation, I could never really comprehend how the Germans pulled off the defeat of France, from a purely military and logistical standpoint. The sad story and De Profundis of how and why every segment of society gave in when the Germans came. He's a fascinating person as he later fought in the French Resistance and I wish he had survived (he was shot by the Gestapo in 1944) so that we could see if his opinion had changed with time. Marc Bloch's "present history" account of the Fall of France in the Spring of 1940 is rightly considered an essential account of the events: above all, it is a devastating critique of the conservatism of the military establishment and the failures of the military bureaucracy to create a machine made for war rather than pettifogging paper pushing and internal bureaucratic competition. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in WWII or that period in general. He was assigned to the "Northern Front", and was among those encircled by the Germans in their May 1940 offensive, and was evacuated at Dunkirk. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. An engaging, thoroughly researched account of Nazi Germany’s surprising, rapid defeat of French and Allied forces in the spring of 1940. How ironic this observation in the midst of the overwhelming propaganda for Petain's phony reactionary, bullying National Revolution and its relatively widespread support (at least in its early stages) in Occupied and Vichy France. Book reviews. In "Strange Victory", French Army Captain Marc Bloch, gives a first-hand account of the French defeat in May-June 1940, and discusses why and how the French were defeated. Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2015. Strange Defeat presents the Fall of France, 1940 from the French perspective. 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