England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-1942
Smith describes unfamiliar battles with notable fluency and skill -- Max Hastings SUNDAY TIMES Riveting -- Robert Fisk INDEPENDENT his descriptions of these obscure battlefield encounters are thrilling and his narrative is spruce and peppery. -- Christopher Silvester DAILY TELEGRAPH a narrative of war that has much of Patrick O'Brian about it. -- Carmen Callil GUARDIAN excellent account of a woefully understudied 'war within a war'...Astonishingly, this is the first book -- Andrew Roberts LITERARY REVIEW Smith's considerable achievement is to unmask the reality and make us understand this painful period far better than ever before. CATHOLIC HERALD "a classic on the conflict with Hitlers Vichy allies... a superb book on an astonishing array of long-buried incidents." OXFORD TIMES "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 In this exemplary work, Smith displays a real knack for conveying time, place and pungent action. WARSHIP INTERNATIONAL FLEET REVIEW