Case Red: The Collapse of France

This book is a very well-researched book, and is filled with meticulous detail. However, I think sometimes the abundance of details can obscure the larger picture of what what happening in Case Yellow (the German invasion of the Low Countries) and Case Red (the German invasion of France). I also had a problem with the author's use of foreign-language names and acronyms to identify different military units - this often made things very confusing for me, and I found it quite annoying. These are the reasons why I'm giving this tome a rating of four stars.

Having said that, I found the author's conclusions in the last chapter worth wading through all the details. Also, despite the plethora of details, there are still moments where the specific accounts make for great reading, as they do illuminate individual moments and individual actions during these two campaigns.

This book is a very well-researched book, and is filled with meticulous detail. However, I think sometimes the abundance of details can obscure the larger picture of what what happening in Case Yellow (the German invasion of the Low Countries) and Case Red (the German invasion of France). I also had a problem with the author's use of foreign-language names and acronyms to identify different military units - this often made things very confusing for me, and I found it quite annoying. These are the reasons why I'm giving this tome a rating of four stars.

Having said that, I found the author's conclusions in the last chapter worth wading through all the details. Also, despite the plethora of details, there are still moments where the specific accounts make for great reading, as they do illuminate individual moments and individual actions during these two campaigns.

Great book that really fills in the gap that most books / magazines / documentaries miss... What happened after Dunkirk? This book goes far in answering that question from the military point of view. That being said, this is very much a military history. There is only a necessary discussion of politics, and the book concentrates on the weapons, formations and battles. The book goes far in countering the fallacy that the French lost because they lacked fighting spirit...and this is a good thing. The author shows how the French and British units fought hard to save France, but their efforts were ultimately done in by lack of organic firepower in their units, German air power, wavering allies and generals (French, British and German) who were openly insubordinate to their governments. Read this with a good map....

What happened after Dunkirk? For even most interested students, the next event was the Battle of Britain.

But the German campaign in France went on for several more weeks. Britain landed additional troops IN France to carry on the fight, or at least try to keep France committed. And the Germans, after reorganizing their panzer forces, had several more major battles to fight--ones largely lost to history.

Robert Forcyzk does an admirable job surveying German and French, as well as English, records to bring some of these battles to light. While much of the book covers the lead up to the Battle of France, and the battles around Sedan and the Ardennes, he devotes a bit of attention to the also overlooked Belgian and Dutch portions of the campaign, and notes that French forces did well. Then, as the British retreat towards Dunkirk, he provides a thorough history of the collapse of the French command structure.

But it is the battles by the French army after the British have withdrawn from the beaches that Forcyzk really provides insight into. Along the way, we learn, for example, that the Germans had few compunctions about eliminating prisoners--especially French colonials who often fought courageously even when the outcome was foreordained.

For those interested in a fuller history of the Battle of France that preceded the Battle of Britain, Robert Forcyzk's book provides a useful, readable, engaging set of details.

Much like the fantastic study this book's author, Robert Forczyk, did on the German invasion of Poland during World War II titled Case White; this well researched and very well written book takes a critical look at the German invasion of France during World War II. Just like in his Polish work's title, Red was the German code word for this invasion. Also like his previous work, Mr. Forczyk scrutinized and cross checked his sources since many western accounts of German actions in World War II rely upon German sources. This is especially true regarding either actions on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union or countries conquered early in the war like Poland and France.

Through careful reseach, Mr. Forczyk successfully analyzed both sides relative advantages and disadvantages in terms of doctrine, equipment, strategy, tactics, and moral. The last aspect, moral, is especially controversial since it is a very common misperception that French forces were easily defeated due to their weak fighting spirit and demoralized condition - neither of which was true. Although the Germans did field some very high quality and lethal armored vehicles by the end of World War II, the French armored vehicles they faced during this campaign were in many cases as good, if not superior, to German equipment of the time. This also applied to fighter aircraft, but not to the same extent.

It would be easy to give away the simple yet very well argued conclusion the author finds to be one of the primary reasons leading to France's surrender during this campaign, but I will refrain since this is an excellent book which is well worth the investment of time to read or listen to. Carried by the author's flowing yet detailed narrative, his analysis is clear and culminates neatly by the book's end. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in military history, military strategy, or who is particularly interested in World War II's European Theater of Operations (ETO).

I read it.

Good book. Very detailed and it moved very fast and swept you along with the attacks and counter attacks. Very informative about the men and the equipment the French possesed.

Author gives an excellent background of why the forces of France, Germany and Britain were
positioned for war in 1939-40. The author shows that despite France's defects and Britain not
doing it's fullest in the air war, the Germans had a tough fight on their hands after the evacuation
at Dunkirk. The author has a brief chapter on Italy's attack on France near the end of the conflict.