Dunkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk

by Robert Kershaw

Overview

'Kershaw's book is a welcome rebalancing; a thoughtful, well-researched and well-written contribution to a narrative that has long been too one-sided and too mired in national mythology.' - The Times

The British evacuation from the beaches of the small French port town of Dunkirk is one of the iconic moments of military history. The battle has captured the popular imagination through LIFE magazine photo spreads, the fiction of Ian McEwan and, of course, Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Hollywood blockbuster. But what is the German view of this stunning Allied escape? Drawing on German interviews, diaries and unit post-action reports, Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning history of a battle that we thought we knew.

Dünkirchen 1940 is the first major history on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk. As supreme military commander, Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium, but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk – the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape – they came to a shuddering stop. Only a detailed interpretation of the German perspective – historically lacking to date – can provide answers as to why.

Dünkirchen 1940 delves into the under-evaluated major German miscalculation both strategically and tactically that arguably cost Hitler the war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472854377
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	398,524
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

A graduate of Reading University, Robert Kershaw joined the Parachute Regiment in 1973. He served numerous regimental appointments until selected to command the 10th Battalion the Parachute Regiment (10 PARA).

He attended the German Staff College spending a further two years with the Bundeswehr as an infantry, airborne and arctic warfare instructor. He speaks fluent German and has extensive experience with NATO, multinational operations and all aspects of operations and training.

His active service includes several tours in Northern Ireland, the First Gulf War and Bosnia. He has exercised in many parts of the world and served in the Middle East and Africa. His final army appointment was with the Intelligence Division at HQ NATO in Brussels Belgium.

On leaving the British Army in 2006 he became a full-time author of military history as well as a consultant military analyst. He has recorded for BBC radio and interviewed on numerous TV documentaries including Dutch TV and National Geographic, and published frequent magazine and newspaper articles including The Times, The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Daily Telegraph. Two of his books have been serialized in the Daily Mail and Daily Express. He lives in Salisbury, England.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Dunkerque, France

List of Illustrations

List of Maps

Chapter 1: Führer Weather

Chapter 2: Landser

Chapter 3: The Sea

Chapter 4: 24 May, The Day of the Halt Order

Chapter 5: Panzers Against Ports

Chapter 6: Running the Gauntlet

Chapter 7: Sea, Air and Land

Chapter 8: The Great Escape, 1 June

Chapter 9: Elusive Victory

Postscript: Dünkirchen

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

Kershaw's book is a welcome rebalancing; a thoughtful, well-researched and well-written contribution to a narrative that has long been too one-sided and too mired in national mythology.” —Roger Moorhouse, The Times

“A myth-busting history of Dunkirk” —Richard Overy, The Telegraph

“This is military history of the highest order. Superbly written and drawn from richly original sources, Dünkirchen 1940 throws new light on what the British tend to regard as an heroic humiliation but for the Germans was a victorious sideshow. An abundance of vivid personal memories, woven deftly in a clear narrative, make for a truly gripping read.” —Jonathan Dimbleby, author and broadcaster

“Robert Kershaw's accurate and gritty account provides a fresh coherency to the German action in Belgium and France in the spring of 1940. His methodical approach dispels many of the myths surrounding Dunkirk.” —David Price, bestselling author of 'The Crew'

“Impeccably researched, a unique and enthralling approach – Dunkirk solely from the victors' perspective.” —Anthony Tucker-Jones, author of 'Churchill, Master and Commander'

“Robert Kershaw has produced another superb book that demands a reassessment of the fighting at Dunkirk. In this highly readable and insightful account, Kershaw provides a much needed corrective to some of the assumptions made about the German forces using a new and underutilised sources. The result is blend of absorbing narrative history and clinical analysis, that deserves take its place among the great works about this totemic battle.” —Lloyd Clark, author of 'Blitzkrieg: Myth, Reality and Hitler's Lightning War'

“An impressive account – Kershaw uses a mass of eye-witness testimony to fashion a compelling narrative. In doing so, he offers an important reassessment of this pivotal moment in World War Two.” —Michael Jones, author of 'After Hitler: The Last Days of the Second World War'

“Robert Kershaw makes all the complexities of 1940 easy to comprehend. This is a first-class book by a master of his trade. He comfortably combines British, French and German voices in an epic story which traverses the tactical to the grand strategic. In each area, a new and refreshing telling of one of the most decisive years in British history, he demonstrates that he is master of all.” —Robert Lyman, author of 'A War of Empires'

“Kershaw tells an excellent story from a hitherto neglected viewpoint.” —History of War

From the Publisher