Blitzkrieg: Myth, Reality, and Hitler's Lightning War: France 1940
Lloyd Clark
Sep 2016 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Shaun Grindell
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13 hr 36 min
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About this audiobook
In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a military offensive in France and the Low Countries that married superb intelligence, the latest military thinking, and new technology. It was a stunning victory, altering the balance of power in Europe in one stroke, and convincing the entire world that the Nazi war machine was unstoppable.
But as Lloyd Clark, a leading British military historian and academic, argues much of our understanding of this victory, and blitzkrieg itself, is based on myth. Far from being a foregone conclusion, Hitler's plan could easily have failed had the Allies been even slightly less inept or the Germans less fortunate. The Germans recognized that success depended not only on surprise, but on avoiding being drawn into a protracted struggle for which they were not prepared. And while speed was essential, 90% of Germany's ground forces were still reliant on horses, bicycles, and their own feet for transportation. There was a real fear of defeat. Their surprise victory proved the apex of their achievement; far from being undefeatable, the France 1940 campaign revealed Germany and its armed forces to be highly vulnerable.
But as Lloyd Clark, a leading British military historian and academic, argues much of our understanding of this victory, and blitzkrieg itself, is based on myth. Far from being a foregone conclusion, Hitler's plan could easily have failed had the Allies been even slightly less inept or the Germans less fortunate. The Germans recognized that success depended not only on surprise, but on avoiding being drawn into a protracted struggle for which they were not prepared. And while speed was essential, 90% of Germany's ground forces were still reliant on horses, bicycles, and their own feet for transportation. There was a real fear of defeat. Their surprise victory proved the apex of their achievement; far from being undefeatable, the France 1940 campaign revealed Germany and its armed forces to be highly vulnerable.
In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a military offensive in France and the Low Countries that married superb intelligence, the latest military thinking, and new technology. It was a stunning victory, altering the balance of power in Europe in one stroke, and convincing the entire world th...
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About the author
Lloyd Clark is one of the UK's leading military historians. He is a professor of modern war studies and contemporary military history at University of Buckingham, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a member of the British Commission for Military History. Lloyd is the author of several books.
Born and raised in Southampton, England, Shaun Grindell is an accomplished actor who trained at the Calland School of Speech and Drama and the Lee Strasberg Actors Institute in London. An AudioFile Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator, Shaun has narrated many titles in different genres.
Lloyd Clark is one of the UK's leading military historians. He is a professor of modern war studies and contemporary military history at University of Buckingham, a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a member of the British Commission for Military History. Lloyd is the author of several ...
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