On 1 September, 1939 the German military exploded into Poland, introducing the world to a frighteningly efficient way of waging 20^th century war.

Blitzkrieg. Mechanised, Lightning war.

Poland fell, quantitatively and qualitatively whelmed, after weeks of the Polish military’s grim, heroic, brutal fight against a much more powerful and modern opponent. Polish valour inflicted grievous losses on the German ground and air forces, but inertia, numbers, superior equipment and tactics prevailed.

Six months later, in spring of 1940, the Nazi war machine emerged even stronger, its losses more than made up over the winter.

Hitler and his generals were ready to take on the largest army in western Europe, that of France...strongly reinforced by the British Expeditionary Force.

The hell’s-lightning of Blitzkrieg struck again, this time in Western Europe. And Germany ignored, bypassed, flew over, went around the incredible, impregnable Maginot Line, a linear fortress constructed after World War I, to forever keep Germans out of France, its cost that of 100 battleships.

The Maginot Line, you see, did not extend along the Belgian-French border, to the sea.

So, the Germans went through Belgium and outflanked the Maginot.

Six weeks later, mighty France, cowed, surrendered to the Germans. Britain was saving their soldiers, 300,000 and more, but abandoning all of the British Expeditionary Force’s materiel’...on the beaches of Dunkirk.

The number of books on the fall of France in 1940 is legion. So, what does this one offer? As with most Osprey Campaigns which take on a large subject, it's a primer, basic scene-setting and timeline.

As such, Osprey's France, 1940 accomplishes its purpose in under a hundred fast-read, heavily illustrated pages. Kudos to author Alan Shepperd and all the contributing artists and photo-providers. ‘Rather neat summary of a massive subject.

Modelers could make a life's work of the 1940 campaign in France. Especially interesting is the vast range of vehicles and aircraft possible. Many early marques saw wide usage, on both sides in the campaign for France. One need not be limited to Panzer IVs and Bf 109Es, there are exotic Renault and Somua and Char B tanks, Morane and Dewoitine and Potetz fighters.  Figures of German subjects are all over, you can easily do a hundred. British and especially French are there to be had, but are ‘a bit more challenging’ to find. One can even do some Royal Navy units used in the evacuation.

In this reviewer’s opinion, Osprey’s France 1940 belongs on veritably every WW II student’s bookshelf. For its $16.95 price, this paperbound tome provides a concise overview of the first pivotal military campaign of WWII and a useful source of background knowledge.

Highly recommended as a compressed presentation of the military debacle of the 20^th century (and certainly, one of the largest in history)…65 years ago...which, according to the author, could have been prevented, had the French military (and their British allies) been handled at a strategic, overall level with skill and elan'…

…had a reincarnated Napoleon Bonaparte been in charge.

Review copy courtesy of the reviewer's chequebook, purchased from Prosek’s Greenhouse and Military Model Shop, Winfield, Illinois, USA.

Reviewed by James Hood

 see Scott Van Aken's m2 and other reviews of James Hood's novel Adventure--Into The Neverland, of exploring a parallel, Alternate world (concept based on the Superstring theory of physics) using WW II surplus ships, aircraft and vehicles at:)    <http://users3.ev1.net/~bjmonkeyandcj/James_Hood.htm>

Book can be ordered at <http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/SearchCatalog.aspx>  or from your local bookstore (ISBN 0-7596-9062-6 Hardbound or ISBN-0-7596-2646-4 Softcover

July 2005

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