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Old 17th February 2005, 18:21
lritger lritger is offline
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Seeking *reliable* sources for French AF ops 1936-June 1940

After reading the fantastic book "Strange Victory" by Ernest R. May, I've been trying to get a more detailed picture of air operations of all the combatants involved in the assault on the Low Countries and France, particularly the French AF. I've found a book called "The Forgotten Air Force: French Air Force Doctrine in the 1930s" by Anthony Cain which seems to hold promise, but would be interested to hear others opinions on this book.

The reason I ask for "reliable" sources is that I've seen some rather unflattering depictions of the French Army and AF's actions in May/June 1940 over the years, and May's book indicates that the fall of France centered more on process and leadership failures rather than a lack of initiative or willpower on the part of the troops and airmen. Several passages in "Twelve Days In May", however, give the impression that the French did not "press home their attacks with vigour"... one such allegation was attributed only to "a historian", not a particular eyewitness or combat report. This seems rather out of place in an otherwise well documented book, and this seems to be a theme in other histories of the period as well.

Unfortunately, Belgian and Dutch AF operations are somewhat glossed over in "Twelve Days" as well... so further information on these air forces would also be welcome.

I welcome any suggestions, and would like to avoid stirring any rancor... this topic occasionally stirs emotive responses, and it would be nice to see this discussion kept "above board".

Thanks much in advance for any assistance-

Lynn
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