Britain and the defeated French
Subtitle: from occupation to liberation, 1940-1944
By: Peter Mangold
Publisher: I.B. Tauris; distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan; Distributed in the U.S. and Canada exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2012
Place of publication: London; New York; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 315
ISBN-13: 9781848854314
Subjects: Diplomatic history; World War, 1939-1945; Foreign relations; History
Description: "The four years between the military defeat of France by Nazi Germany and D-Day were vital, dramatic and eventful years in Anglo-French relations. These years saw the first armed clashes between France and Britain since the Napoleonic Wars, including the infamous Royal Navy attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. They also saw a curious relationship developing between Britain and Vichy France. Vichy was at once a hostile power, under German domination, and at the same time a porous regime through which British influence on its politics, attitudes towards the Resistance and the transit of British soldiers and airmen through its territory en route to Spain, could flow quite freely. Britain had an ambivalent attitude towards Vichy - obviously adversarial, but also pragmatic. The history of Vichy France is often viewed as a sideshow in the overall context of World War II. However, Peter Mangold here shows that the Vichy attitude towards the allies, especially the British, was ambivalent and complex.  His absorbing and up-to-date account, based on original historical research, highlights the conflicts within the Vichy regime and the ways in which contacts and connections with de Gaulle in London and the British Government were maintained. This exciting and fast-paced book brings to life the major characters in the story - not only Churchill and de Gaulle, but also Macmillan, Petain and Leclerc. In this book, Mangold deftly reassesses the complex international wartime chessboard and, in the process, reveals a little known aspect of the World War II story."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-307) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introductory: rival, enemy, ally, friend. 'L'entente est morte. Vive l'entente!'; title: Historical baggage; title: Hitler's Diktat. A ruthlessly aggressive act; title: Rebel and empire; title: Modus Vivendi or collaboration?; title: Unfriendly states; title: Enemy-controlled territory; title: 'Ici Londres'; title: 'Somewhat difficult people'. The awkward general; title: Mutual frustration; title: A shabby but inevitable compromise; title: Death of an admiral; title: Kings of Brentford; title: 'C'est de Gaulle'; title: Going back; title: Down the Champs-Elysées together; title: Rights and wrongs.