Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man

I really enjoyed this book,i found it most enlightening as to the events running up to the evacuation from Dunkirk.its brings to light events i hadnt been aware of like the massacre of prisoners from the royal Norfolks.all in all a very good read.

Fascinating and enthralling account (4/6 people found this helpful)

Popular history recalls the Dunkirk story with a chin-up, shiny spirit of resilience and crafty British guile - the first `Great Escape'. `Dunkirk spirit' has now become a tabloid byword for cheery, bulldog tenacity in the face of adversity.

But Sebag-Montefiore's incisive history pulls no punches and wipes the grin off the face of popular myth. He shows how one of Britain's landmark historical moments of the last century was actually tarnished by desperate, bloody fighting with no quarter spared.

Accepted history concentrates on what happened on the beaches. However the author says the battles that really counted occurred several miles inland on the Dunkirk town perimeter.

Here, British troops fought a dwindling rearguard last stand, giving their lives so other troops could live. For each soldier's life lost, precious minutes were gained to aid the evacuation and ensure the British Army could live to fight another day.

And the battle didn't end with the last bedraggled Tommy boarding the last departing ship from Dunkirk. For a further fortnight, stranded British troops retreated in the face of dive-bombers and SS massacres, culminating with a final evacuation from St. Nazaire and the hushed-up sinking of the Lancastria, with the loss of 3,500 men.

In-depth research gathered from archives as far away as Russia and Czechoslovakia, together with detailed maps, fascinating photographs and stark first-hand accounts from the remaining handful of veterans, do the Dunkirk story justice.

This weighty tome is masterly and scholarly, yet its fast, clear pace makes this definitive work highly readable.

Informative view on why Dunkirk happened (2/5 people found this helpful)

This book provided an invaluable insight as to why Dunkirk happened and the sacrifices that were made by the rearguard troops, something that is not often high lighted these days unlike the little ship aramada that previously had most of the focus and only makes a small mention in this book. It might be biased towards the British point of view at times and their actions but that was of most interest to me and its refreshing to see this.

Recommended for anyone who would like to know more about Dunkirk.

Excellent personal accounts but a bit unbalanced (14/17 people found this helpful)

I did find this account of the events that culminated in the defence and evacuation of Dunkirk very interesting and readable. It uses a lot of first hand accounts but upon reflection it is too skewed towards the British experience, without providing enough German, French, Belgian and Dutch voices or sources. Whilst it is not as bad as Stephen Ambrose with his US centric view, it does detract from the work as a whole. There is just a little too much opinion of French and Belgian cowardice and incompetence. I would have loved to have seen what the German view of certain key events was and also how self-critical were the French and Belgian Generals / politicians. Overall enjoyable but could have been improved

Reasons not to war (3/6 people found this helpful)

An extremely detailed account of acts of heroism, violence, sadness, errors of judgement, poor command, victories, defeats and much more. Although the book title suggests a retelling of Dunkirk much of the book actually describes events leading up to the BEF evacuation at Dunkirk. A reminder also to those who think it was only the French who legged it when needed most. All of the stories are beyond most of our comprehensions and the book stands as a powerful memory to all those who fought, won and lost.

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

Reader Reviews:

Very informative (0/0 people found this helpful)

Fascinating and enthralling account (4/6 people found this helpful)

Informative view on why Dunkirk happened (2/5 people found this helpful)

Excellent personal accounts but a bit unbalanced (14/17 people found this helpful)

Reasons not to war (3/6 people found this helpful)

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