Churchill and the French

Six personalities in the storm of 1939-40

[This text is produced by computer-aided translation with minimal post-editing]

Summary

Introduction

First part: the club of 7

Chapter 1 The strategy of Chamberlain
The seven great,, The irruption of Hitler,, soviet choices,, the years of Barthou-Laval,, ploys of London,, ambitions of Tokyo,, Washington between two oceans,, Vatican, the eighth power,, Italy in search of a place to the sun,, The year of Munich,, The English about-face of March 1939

Chapter 2 Winston Churchill between two wars
First arms,, A career in decline,, The affair Edward VIII,, Churchill and Hitler: a missed encounter,, Tory in spite of himself,, Churchill author,, The world crisis,, step by step,, The general history of the anglophone peoples ,, The soviet question,, The only belliciste? ,, Churchill and the atom,, Conclusion

Chapter 3 The France of Mr. Daladier
A revealing beginning,, A coherent career,, The back turned to the popular Front,, A masterful diplomacy,, reluctant appeaser,, The irresistible attraction of Chamberlain,, a year's balance,, The Moscow negotiation,, A blemished conversation ,, the strange Willaume report,, The final crisis,, Churchill leaps

Chapter 4 Reynaud and the "bellicistes"
A need to read everthing,, Forming an ambition,, In search of consensus with Germany,, Face-to-face with Hitler: a long silence,, The English alliance, necessary and suffisant (1935-37),, An eternal European,, Toward power,, the "occult forces" ,, from Munich to Rivoli,, The entourage,, Mandel, Blum and others,, The case Kérillis,, And the communists? ,, Churchill and the popular Front,, Conclusion

Chapter 5 Tired generals, fidgety officers
An army "prepared" . .. for what? ,, Antisovietism? ,, A musketeer and his limit,, Georges, a tired soldier,, The steady ascension of a strong head,, The association de Gaulle - Reynaud,, de Gaulle and the alliances,, The army in the crisis of the Summer 1939,, A pivotal man : Villelume,, Conclusion

Second part, The gymnastics of Daladier (September 1939 - March 1940)

Chapter 6 Poland immolated
attack Italy? ,, Polish Martyrdom,, Chamberlain and Churchill, two policies?

Chapter 7 No more Poland and still the war?
Carrots and sticks of the Germans,, The vaccilation of neutrals,, The paradoxical end of the government Beck,, undermining Daladier,, The role of Emmanuel Arago,, Reynaud courted,, The "decision" of Daladier,, Hitler plays for time,, A ministry in suspense

Chapter 8 The Finnish impasse
First operations,, The reaction of Germany and France,, Anglo-French nuances ,, A world operation,, The Italian game,, ways of the Vatican,, The manoeuvre of the USA,, The Balkan syndrome,, abortion of the great plans,, French simplicity and British ulterior motives,, Churchill and Finland,, Another iron in the fire,, The Finnish position,, The death sentence of 20,000 Poles,, Conclusion

Third part, The advent of Reynaud and Churchill

Chapter 9 Reynaud's hour
Role and testimony of Jacques Bardoux,, intrigues of the pretender,, Palewski sacrificed ,, The myth of the "belliciste plot" ,, The vote of Sumner Welles,, What did he say the 11th of March? ,, First steps,, Forming the cabinet,, And Margerie? ,, The drôle de guerre of colonel de Gaulle,, Reynaud and the English

Chapter 10, Norway:
general preparation Finally the war,, inaccessible Belgium,, plans of Hitler,, The French army at the foot of the wall,, Combats accepted and refused ,, The Norwegian shock wave: Paris,, The Norwegian shock wave: London,, France on the eve of the battle,, Germany ready to leap

Fourth part, The baptism of fire

Chapter 11 The catastrophe (10-15 May)

Chapter 12 The mad fortnight (15-30 May)
The double offensive of tanks and diplomats,, Small methodological preamble,, The battle-alarm of Reynaud,, The French press and the advent of Churchill,, Churchill to Paris,, The plan Gamelin-Weygand,, Gort-Halifax: converging parallels? ,, The mystery of Arras,, The turning of 25 May,, Halifax lights a fuse,, The blackest hour,, come-back for Reynaud,, Dunkirk, tomb of the Reich,, The French attitude on Dunkirk,, Halifax loses a match,, The situation of 30 May

Chapter 13, Eve of arms (31 May - 5 June)
Dunkirk, and after? ,, Awaiting the shock

Chapter 14, The hour of de Gaulle (5-10 June)
The silence of Cassandra,, An encounter with Weygand,, to continue the struggle, where and against whom? ,, The army yields but doesn't collapse,, The pivot of 6 June,, The Huntziger enigma,, The encounter of the century,, facing de Gaulle: a "party of the armistice" ? ,, The countess of the album

Chapter 15, The real history of the redoubt in Brittany
The return of Halifax,, A very melancholic supreme council,, In the melancholy, hope,, Bordeaux or Quimper? ,, The supreme council,, Mandel and the choice of Bordeaux,, What is general Brooke's game? ,, Shock by telephone,, de Gaulle or Roosevelt? ,, Proposal for union: the last chance of the redoubt,, nautical games,, the shuttles of 16 June,, The betrothed unveiled,, A very strange resignation,, England faces Pétain

Chapter 16 Epilogue
18 June: the controversial appeal,, 19 June: the real rupture,, 50 years of grief,, The path leads to Mount - Valérien,, a crucial 20 June,, Last spasms in Bordeaux,, Oran: cannonade against Halifax

Conclusion

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