Dünkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk
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- Create Date：2022-08-15 00:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Robert Kershaw
- ISBN：1472854373
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Summary
Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning and ground-breaking history of a battle we thought we all already knew。
The British evacuation from the beaches of the small French port town of Dunkirk is one of the iconic moments of military history， The battle has captured the popular imagination through LIFE magazine photo spreads， the fiction of Ian McEwan and of course， Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Hollywood blockbuster。 But what is the German view of this stunning Allied escape？ Drawing on German interviews， diaries and unit post-action reports， Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning history of a battle that we thought we knew。
Dünkirchen 1940 is the first major history on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk。 As supreme military commander Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium， but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk – the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape – they came to a shuddering stop。 Hitler had lost control of his stunning advance。 Only a detailed interpretation of the German perspective – historically lacking to date – can provide answers as to why。
Drawing on his own military experience， his German language skills and his historian's eye for detail， Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning and ground-breaking history of a battle we thought we all already knew。 With a fresh angle on this famous conflict， Dünkirchen 1940 delves into the under-evaluated， major German miscalculation both strategically and tactically that arguably cost Hitler the war。
The British evacuation from the beaches of the small French port town of Dunkirk is one of the iconic moments of military history， The battle has captured the popular imagination through LIFE magazine photo spreads， the fiction of Ian McEwan and of course， Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Hollywood blockbuster。 But what is the German view of this stunning Allied escape？ Drawing on German interviews， diaries and unit post-action reports， Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning history of a battle that we thought we knew。
Dünkirchen 1940 is the first major history on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk。 As supreme military commander Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium， but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk – the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape – they came to a shuddering stop。 Hitler had lost control of his stunning advance。 Only a detailed interpretation of the German perspective – historically lacking to date – can provide answers as to why。
Drawing on his own military experience， his German language skills and his historian's eye for detail， Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning and ground-breaking history of a battle we thought we all already knew。 With a fresh angle on this famous conflict， Dünkirchen 1940 delves into the under-evaluated， major German miscalculation both strategically and tactically that arguably cost Hitler the war。
Reviews
PETER MICHAEL
，
A really fascinating book covering the Dunkirk battle， from the German perspective。 The book answers many of the questions about why the German high command delayed attacking the beleaguered Allied forces at Dunkirk by land。 The author gives the book some balance by including some shocking accounts of British soldiers who took part in the various battles along the French coastline， prior to Dunkirk。 I was unaware that the Panzers lost over 50% of their armoured vehicles in the battles for Boulog A really fascinating book covering the Dunkirk battle， from the German perspective。 The book answers many of the questions about why the German high command delayed attacking the beleaguered Allied forces at Dunkirk by land。 The author gives the book some balance by including some shocking accounts of British soldiers who took part in the various battles along the French coastline， prior to Dunkirk。 I was unaware that the Panzers lost over 50% of their armoured vehicles in the battles for Boulogne and Calais， before encircling Dunkirk。。 The incredibly strong resistance by the French and British troops in these towns was quite heroic， especially as they had very little means of escaping the ever-tightening noose of the Wehrmacht forces。 The author has undertaken a tremendous amount of research， an especially difficult task given that most of the German participants at Dunkirk died in the latter parts of WW2 - for example on the Eastern Front。My Father-in-law fought a rearguard action at Dunkirk， in charge of a 25 pounder field gun。 He would have loved to have read this book。 Sadly he is no longer with us。In summary，a well written book that would appeal to any military buff。 。。。more
Darya Silman
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Publication date: September 6， 2022。 A well-researched， memoir-driven exploration of Case Yellow。 Dünkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk recreates the atmosphere of justice restored among the German soldiers and reveals the shortsightedness of the German high command。While there is a lot of memoir material on the campaign in Russia， it's much harder to find personal information about the participants in Case Yellow。 The same regiments and armies that took part in the invasion of the Netherl Publication date: September 6， 2022。 A well-researched， memoir-driven exploration of Case Yellow。 Dünkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk recreates the atmosphere of justice restored among the German soldiers and reveals the shortsightedness of the German high command。While there is a lot of memoir material on the campaign in Russia， it's much harder to find personal information about the participants in Case Yellow。 The same regiments and armies that took part in the invasion of the Netherlands， Belgium， Luxemburg， and France later perished on the Eastern front。 Robert Kershaw combined letters， after-action logs， and single memoirs into the day-to-day depiction of the operation that resulted in the evacuation of the British army at Dunkirk。The human face of the dehumanized army hits hard。 Soldiers wrote to their wives about mundane things like homesickness or love。 They felt no guilt: the war was a way to restore national pride after the failures of World War I。 In the meantime， the high command， dazzled after the campaign's success， failed to recognize the significance of the Dunkirk evacuation。 The lack of the main idea that would have cemented the narrative is the book's only flaw。 In the epilogue， the author summarizes why Dunkirk couldn't be overcome until the evacuation's end。 To me， however， the explanations felt incomplete and labored。 For those who have previously read extensively about the Dunkirk operation， the book， therefore， fails to provide a refreshing view。 Dünkirchen 1940 is suitable as the first reading on the Blitzkrieg。 The book will be your highly informative companion if you are not afraid to take in the names/numbers of numerous regiments and armies。 I obtained an advance review copy through Netgalley， and I am leaving the review voluntarily。 。。。more
Louise Gray
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This book fills an important gap for many history buffs。 It brings a perspective not often brought to bear in relation to this iconic event of WWII。 The author does an incredible job sourcing new material and presenting it in a balanced and respectful way。
J Earl
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Dünkirchen 1940 by Robert Kershaw is a fascinating look at the battle and iconic （to the Allies） evacuation at Dunkirk through the eyes of the German。Most history， especially popular history written for general readership， is presented from the perspective of the eventual winners。 Even battles they lost are presented through a victorious lens。 It is always interesting to get the other side of the story。 Not just a couple of quotes to highlight the winner's version， but an actual account of the e Dünkirchen 1940 by Robert Kershaw is a fascinating look at the battle and iconic （to the Allies） evacuation at Dunkirk through the eyes of the German。Most history， especially popular history written for general readership， is presented from the perspective of the eventual winners。 Even battles they lost are presented through a victorious lens。 It is always interesting to get the other side of the story。 Not just a couple of quotes to highlight the winner's version， but an actual account of the events from another perspective。 That is what Kershaw offers the reader here。What makes this of even greater interest is that the iconic evacuation was accompanied by， to Allied eyes， a curious strategical （perceived） error。 By having a fuller picture from the German side， we learn the answers to our questions as well as a better understanding of what the larger plan was supposed to be。The writing helps to make this not only an informative read but an enjoyable one as well。 I always appreciate a writer who pays as much attention to engaging the reader as to presenting the facts。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Ron Baumer
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A interesting look at Dunkirk from the German viewpoint。 The story provides the intrigue and political in-fighting that led to Britain being able to rescue a great number of their troops due to poor decisions by Germany。 A great story from the opponents view。 Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。
William Harris
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