The Duel: Hitler Vs.Churchill, 10 May-31 July 1940 Book

Sixty years after the famous evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk, it is easy to forget just how close Adolf Hitler's German forces came to invading and vanquishing Britain in the early summer of 1940. As the German "sickle-cut" (Sichelschnitt) manoeuvre swept south east through Holland, Belgium and northern France, and Norway fell to the German navy, Britain remained unprepared, isolated and increasingly anxious. John Lukacs vividly and dramatically retells this key episode of the Second World War by focusing on the two principal antagonists. Hitler, personally directing operations from the Belgian border, came almost face-to-face with Churchill, the new and controversial British prime minister. Lukacs convincingly shows that the fight was not just fought at sea and on land, but also in the mind. Twice the twitchy Hitler held British destiny in his hand--at Dunkirk in May, and on the eve of launching the invasion operation "sea-lion" in mid-July. Twice he drew back, his nerve and strategy failing him. By contrast, from a much weaker position, Churchill, for all his moodiness, stood calm--coaxing the Americans, bolstering the French and insisting above all that Britain would not make a dishonourable peace. In the battle of wit and words, as The Duel brilliantly shows, Churchill outmastered his rival. Miles TaylorRead More