#French Marc Bloch WW II historian

by Marc Bloch

Finish: 21.12.2023
Title: L’étrange défaite –  published 1946
Genre: Non-fiction (180 pg)
Language: French
Rating: A

Bad news: Everytime I turn on the TV these days all I see is war.
I don’t think I can stand a book about a l’étrange défaite
even though it is on the top of my French TBR. I hope it is worth reading to expose “…les rouages d’une défaite” (the inner working, gearwheels, cogs) of a “catastrophe incroyable” as it happens.

Good news: Even though the reading is going very slowly, I’m learning so much about the Battle of France 12 May – 25 June 1940. M. Bloch (1886 -1944) is not holding back..the French were defeated (..or let themselves be defeated) b/c of the incapibility of command (pg 55) resulting in being attacked in places and at times completely unexpected (pg 78). Where was the intelligence?

Good news: What was the burning question Marc Bloch felt so strongly about?  Why was the French militiary command in 1940 (Battle of France) incapable of the same success as one of the greatest WW I French General Henri Gourard? His strenght was his ability to change to meet the needs of modern war. He is famous for “elastic defense” (see Google). To be fair “time” was on his side. WW I lasted 4 years and Gourard had the opportunity to learn from mistakes. On the other hand WW II Battle of France lasted only six weeks. You make a mistake? …then you are “French” toast. Excusez the pun.

Sad ending: M. Bloch was arrested in Lyon on 8 March 1944, and handed over to Klaus Barbie of the Lyon Gestapo.  Marc Bloch was imprisoned, tortured and executed on 16 June 1944.

Personal: This book is available in English…. only 180 pages…and I would reccommend it to anyone who wants to learn (in a nutshell) why France “collapsed like a cold soufflé” during a 6 week attack (12 May – 25 June 1940) by Hitler’s war machine. The last part of the book is supplementary information (M. Bloch’s letters) about the war for anyone interested. I was not.