Nicholas Atkin - The French at War, 1934-1944

First published 2001 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2014 by Routledge
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Copyright 2001, Taylor & Francis.

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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-36899-6 (pbk)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
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Typeset by 7 in 10/12 Sabon Roman

Such is the pace of historical enquiry in the modern world that there is an ever-widening gap between the specialist article or monograph, incorporating the results of current research, and general surveys, which inevitably become out of date. Seminar Studies in History is designed to bridge this gap. The series was founded by Patrick Richardson in 1966 and his aim was to cover major themes in British, European and World history. Between 1980 and 1996 Roger Lockyer continued his work, before handing the editorship over to Clive Emsley and Gordon Martel. Clive Emsley is Professor of History at the Open University, while Gordon Martel is Professor of International History at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada, and Senior Research Fellow at De Montfort University.

All the books are written by experts in their field who are not only familiar with the latest research but have often contributed to it. They are frequently revised, in order to take account of new information and interpretations. They provide a selection of documents to illustrate major themes and provoke discussion, and also a guide to further reading. The aim of Seminar Studies in History is to clarify complex issues without over-simplifying them, and to stimulate readers into deepening their knowledge and understanding of major themes and topics.

I have incurred several debts in writing this book, not all of which can be acknowledged here. I must, however, thank Professor Gordon Martel, the general editor of Seminar Studies in History, who first invited me to undertake the project and who was supportive throughout. Heather McCallum, and her team at Pearson Education, have carefully seen the book through to production. My students Giacomo Lichtner and Matthew Peaple offered valuable comments on a first draft. Dr David Laven of the University of Reading, Dr Simon Kitson of the University of Birmingham, Dr Martin de Lisle, and Charles Williams (Lord Williams of Elvel), corrected mistakes and sharpened my ideas. As well as reading the text, Dr Kay Chadwick of the University of Liverpool and Dr Frank Tallett of the University of Reading advised on some of the translations. Professor Julian Jackson of the University of Swansea kindly let me see his authoritative work on the Occupation before its publication. As a work of synthesis, the present volume is grateful to the scholarship of those numerous authors who have written about Vichy; its shortcomings are my own. My greatest thanks are to my family: my wife Claire, daughter Charlotte, and son Benjamin, who arrived just as this volume was being completed.