Title: Three
German Invasions of France – The Summer Campaigns of 1870, 1914 and 1940
Author:
Douglas Fermer
ISBN:
978-1-781593-54-7
Publisher:
Pen and Sword
Year:
2013
Hardcover
Pages:
273
Photos/
Maps: 30/11
Germany
and France have maintained a difficult relationship stemming back to the
pre-German unification period of Prussia and Napoleonic France. Three wars were
fought between the two nations during the 70 years from 1970 until 1940; each
reflecting a period of political, doctrinal and societal change within each
nation state. Fermer’s book looks at the root causes and the execution of these
wars with a view towards highlighting the impact on these conflicts upon the
French army and society primarily and upon Germany secondarily.
Fermer’s
analysis is balanced and insightful. Despite the breadth of the topics that he
has undertaken to review, he does so in a very succinct manner; the renditions
of his observations easy to follow and well developed. His approach is to look
at each of the individual engagements as a part of a greater whole. This
facilitates a linear examination that clearly identifies the connections and causation's between the wars.
He has
divided his book into four distinct parts, each addressing the individual
conflicts as well as the precursor period in France leading up to 1870. Each
section establishes the environment of the period and the main changes that had
occurred as well as the main lessons to be learned from each encounter. Central
throughout is the political atmosphere which remains the main cause of the
military escalation between the nations. The use of the military as a tool of
political gain must be balanced and extremely carefully applied; Fermer shows
that, leading to 1870, the Germans were extremely adept at this but that
limitations in political acumen by both participants made themselves felt to a
greater degree as time went forward. Hubris on the part of both French and
German leadership was legion.
Fermer
also undertakes a detailed evaluation of the impact of success upon both the
victor and vanquished both doctrinally and psychologically. His investigation
reveals that the German use of lessons learned following their actions were far
more in depth (and taken far more seriously) than their French counterparts. The
French were further handicapped by their political instability and ongoing
intra-national divergence. This manifested itself in inconsistent recruitment
and armament policies as well as challenges in foreign policy.
Also, included
in the book is a comprehensive listing of the references that he has utilized;
of particular note is the number of primary source documents. Overall this is
an outstanding rendition of the turbulent period encompassing these three
conflicts. The author has drafted a narrative that recounts the characteristics
of the conflicts themselves, the underlying causes (primary, secondary and
beyond) and the results politically, militarily and socially thus providing
the reader with a complete understanding of this period. Fermer’s book is an
excellent account and source.
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