When France Fell

Michael Neiberg is one of the very best historians on wartime France, and his approach to the fall of France and its consequences is truly original and perceptive as well as superbly written. -Antony Beevor, author of The Second World War The fall of France shattered the illusion that the United States could stay on the sidelines while Nazi Germany carved up Europe. Writing with clarity and verve, deep knowledge of French sources, and a keen eye for human foibles, Neiberg explains how the defeat of June 1940 transformed America's relationship with France and compelled a rethinking of America's world role. A smart and fresh analysis of Franco-American relations in the darkest hour of our long friendship. -William I. Hitchcock, author of The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s Neiberg has rescued an important episode in the history of the Second World War from relative obscurity and done so in great style. His book, with its terrific cast of characters and fast-paced story, reads like a novel and is at the same time an outstanding piece of historical research and analysis. -Margaret MacMillan, author of War: How Conflict Shaped Us An utterly gripping account, the best to date, of relations within the turbulent triumvirate of France, Britain, and America in the Second World War. Neiberg vividly brings to life the extraordinary military, domestic, personal, and political pressures on giants such as Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Charles de Gaulle, while also showing the immediate practical effect their interactions had on ordinary people in the struggle against the Nazis. -Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny An excellent book, the product of deep research, clear thought, and gripping writing. Neiberg restores France and the French Empire to its rightful place in the history of the strategy of the Atlantic powers in the Second World War. In so doing, he allows us to understand anew how shocking the French defeat in 1940 was for American policymakers, and the profound consequences that reverberated from that shock for the subsequent course of the war. -Daniel Todman, author of Britain's War: A New World, 1942-1947 Expertly researched and a pleasure to read, When France Fell fills an important gap in the history of World War II by analyzing American relations with Vichy and Free French forces, how the geopolitical position of France's colonial holdings steered US policy, and how those decisions deeply strained Anglo-American relations. The story Neiberg tells is one of misguided calculations and ultimately tremendous luck that Americans' 'Vichy gamble' did not cause more political and military turmoil. -Brooke L. Blower, author of Becoming Americans in Paris: Transatlantic Politics and Culture between the World Wars Neiberg's fascinating and compelling study places France back at the heart of the story of the Second World War. He crafts a vivid narrative of the extraordinary and radical transformations that accompanied the catastrophe in France. The consequences of defeat were profound for a divided Gallic nation, but they were also defining for Britain and America; the defeat of Europe's premier land power put a nail in the coffin of one superpower and sparked the rise of another. Highly recommended! -Jonathan Fennell, author of Fighting the People's War: The British and Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War