Seeking *reliable* sources for French AF ops 1936-June 1940

[Graham Boak]

Are we talking about the entire military political scenario of the late 1930s, or the performance of the l'Armee de l'Air in May 1940? My last comments were specifically directed at the latter. I stand by the suggestion that a defender with good CCI will make better use of their resources. The Channel did indeed stop the Panzers when the French landmass failed, but this does not make all other comparisons invalid.

In the wider picture, that Britain's defences were entrusted (at a time of massive economic depression) into the navy rather than a large land army is only to be expected, given centuries of history that proved this worked. That the army had only a small modern element capable of fighting continental warfare was probably inevitable, but all of it was committed to France. Thankfully sufficient funds and forethought had been given to the RAF's structure.

I think it would be very difficult to support an argument that a larger British army on the Continent would somehow prevented or reversed the German successes; whereas a weaker Navy and RAF could well have been disastrous. Nations, like individuals, must fight to their strengths, whilst minimising their weaknesses.