Strange Victory

Emest R May, the distinguished diplomatic historian, is Professor of History at Harvard University and the author of eighteen books.

• ContentsIntroductionPART ONE: HITLER’S GERMANYOrdersHoneymoonRiftsConflictClashesWar!HitlerPART TWO: THE WESTERN ALLIESDaladierGamelinCross-CurrentsTo MunichChamberlainEnough!Accepting WarPART THREE: PLAN YELLOWNow France?Not Defeat?IntelligenceGamblePART FOUR: THE DEMOCRACIES’ PREPARATIONS FOR VICTORYWar but Not War“The Bore War”The Dyle-Breda PlanDistractionsStumblesIntelligence FailureThe Reasons WhyThe Dam BreaksPART FIVE: THE WAR - A PARABLE?Battle!“Hitch” at Sedan Plan Yellow Plays OutFrance FallsConclusion: Why? And What Can be Learned?Appendix: Tables and FiguresNotesBibliographyAcknowledgementsIndex

'A splendid revisionist work...A truly international study in European diplomatic and military history...May's description of the military campaigning of 1940 is superb.' - Paul Kennedy, Los Angeles Times Book Review; 'A beautifully written narrative, rendered in deft prose and in riveting and fascinating detail, Strange Victory will become a classic.' - Wm. Roger Louis, Kerr Professor at the University of Texas at Austin; 'A broad-shouldered, cogent, powerfully argued revisionist study of the battle of France of 1940.' - Richard Bernstein, The New York Times Review