The French Army, 1939-45

The French Army of 1939 was considered by contemporaries to be the strongest army in the world at that time. In fact, as the events of the next ten months soon revealed, the Army was riddled with fatal weaknesses. In this book, the first of two volumes examining the French Army of World War II (1939-1945), Ian Sumner and Francois Vauvillier examine the organisation, uniforms and equipment of the army of 1939-40 and Vichy France. It includes orders of battle and formation charts as well as many illustration and colour uniform artworks.

About the author

Ian Sumner was born in 1953 in Eccles, near Manchester, UK. He originally trained as a librarian in Newcastle-upon-Tyne but now devotes himself to full-time writing. He has written numerous titles for Osprey, and also several books on the history of the East Riding of Yorkshire, where he now lives with his wife. Francois Vauvillier is the greatly respected editorial director of the French Military publishers Histoire & Collections is the former editor of Gazette des Uniformes and of Militaria magazine. His special personal interests include French uniforms of both World War I and World War II.

Summary

This volume looks at the uniforms, equipment and organization of France's military forces during the first two years of World War II. On paper, the French army was the most powerful in the world in 1939, but it's officers were unprepared for Germany's "Blitskrieg" tactics of 1940.

Product details

• Authors: Mike Chappell, Ian Sumner, Francois Vauvillier
• Assisted by: Mike Chappell (Illustration)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.1998
• No. of pages: 48
• Dimensions: 182 mm x 249 mm x 7 mm
• Weight: 162 g
• Illustrations: 8 colour and 50 b&w illustrations
• Series: Men-at-Arms; Men-at-Arms
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political administration