Rommel, Manfred, 327
Roosevelt, President F. D., 648, 657–9
Rothenburg, Colonel, 307, 374–5, 380, 407, 474, 478, 498, 513–14, 579, 598, 675–6
Roton, General G., 232, 313, 371, 536, 547, 553
Rouen, 642, 644
Royal Air Force: over-estimates Luftwaffe threat to London, 124; leaflet raids, 142; numbers of aircraft, 233, 432; no aerial reconnaissance over Belgium, 244; bombed by Luftwaffe, 259; losses, 259, 288–9, 297, 299, 301, 340, 391, 432, 434, 544, 667; reconnaissance reports, 292; bombs Belgium, 296–7; bombs Bouillon, 301–2; fails to act on Meuse, 340; bombs Sedan, 388–92; bombs Dinant, 432–3; bombs Ruhr, 433, 544; ‘strategic’ bombing, 433, 544; fighter squadrons, 434, 459–63, 506; A.A.S.F. retires to Coulommiers, 504, 543; and magnetic mines in Meuse, 509; bombs Panzer column, 545; escapes from Amiens airfield, 560; sorties from 22 May, 627; German reaction to, 627; air battle over Dunkirk, 631; A.A.S.F. reinforced, 640; hampered in bombing Italy, 648
Royal Navy, 145, 214–18
Rubarth, Feldwebel, 348–50, 358, 394
Ruby, General Édouard, 151, 236, 238, 241, 245, 276, 302, 316, 340, 343, 359–63, 384–5, 395, 398, 423, 447, 466, 530
Ruhr, 57, 60, 433, 544
Rundstedt, Field-Marshal Gerd von: character, career, 194–5; and ‘Directive Yellow’, 185; and Army Group ‘A’, 187; and ‘resistance’, 193; and Manstein Plan, 198, 204–5; and Sichelschnitt, 206–9; on bridge at Sedan, 388; supports Hitler’s caution, 485–7; ‘miracle’ on Meuse, 485; concern about southern flank, 485–6, 611–12; orders halt on Oise, 486; halt-order and Guderian, 487–9; and ‘Frankforce’ attack on Arras, 582, 611–12; orders second halt, explains to Hitler, 612; and ‘golden bridge’ theory, 615; responsible for Hitler’s halt-order, 615; in final battle, 639, 643; 1944 Ardennes offensive, 674; later career, 676–7
Russia, 50, 81, 88–9, 135–7, 143, 160, 179–83, 610, 670
Saar, French annexation of, 57; ‘offensive’ into, 140–2
St Amand, 546–7
St Dizier, 647
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, 511, 525, 529, 638
St Omer, 466, 598
St Quentin, 429, 454, 477, 512, 515–16, 562
St-Valéry-en-Caux, 642
St Vith, 267
Sambre, River, 474, 477–9, 501
Sancelme, General, 377, 408, 413–14, 430, 473–4
Sarraz-Bournet, Colonel Jacques, 240, 249
Sartre, Jean-Paul, 95, 99, 237
Sas, Colonel, 247, 251
Saumur, 649
Schaal, Lieutenant-General, 346, 420, 423, 564
Schacht, Hjalmar, 670
Schellenberg, Walter, 530
Schlieffen Plan, 74, 173, 184, 186–7, 194, 206
Schmundt, Colonel I. G., 184, 205, 317
Schraepler, Captain, 324–5, 580
Schulze, Sergeant, 346–8, 365, 386
Schwerin, Colonel Graf von, 257, 334, 351, 423–4
Sedan: German plans to attack, 188, 198–9, 201, 204–5, 207–12, 245–6; French troops defending, 233–6, 293, 313–17, 334, 336–7, 342–8, 351–4, 356–66; poor defences, 239–41; battle of, 303–4, 312–14, 333–66, 370–1; German consolidation at, 383; Allies bomb bridges, 388–91; French counter-attacks, 392–400; battlefield today, 680–1, 683
Seeckt, General Hans von, 88–90
Semois, River, 275, 285–6, 300–3, 304–6, 317, 356
Senuc, 276, 361, 397–8, 452
Serre, River, 418, 468, 494, 501, 539–40
Sheean, Vincent, 218, 221, 450, 618
Shirer, William, 82, 86, 137, 142, 145, 149, 192, 217, 250, 481, 532–3, 535, 544, 559, 609, 646, 661–2, 664, 668, 669
Sichelschnitt, 206–12, 214, 218, 229, 246–7, 267, 344, 607, 610, 635, 670–1
Siegfried Line, 85, 141, 144, 240
Sievert, Sergeant, 305
Sodenstern, General von, 210, 483–4
Soize, 468, 493
Soldan, Lieutenant-Colonel, 288
Sommauthe, 385, 397
Somme, River, 508, 538, 541, 560, 564, 585, 593–4, 602, 630, 639
Spaak, Paul-Henri, 584
Spaatz, General Carl, 119
Spanish Civil War, 111, 116, 123
Spears, General E. L.: on Popular Front, 129; on ‘confetti warfare’, 142; on ‘boredom’ in French Army, 150; on German propaganda, 155; on Vincennes, 161; on Gamelin, 162; on Georges, 167–8; on La Ferté, 168; on Daladier, 221; on Hélène de Portes, 224, 625, 655; and Reynaud-Daladier feud, 226; on German intentions, 291–2; on ‘false orders’, 529; on Pétain, 537–8, 654; on Weygand, 556, 632, 651; on Gort, 570; on Churchill and Weygand Plan, 596; on Gort’s withdrawal, 606; Churchill’s personal representative, 606, 623; on mood in Paris, 619; on rift with Britain over Dunkirk, 619–20, 633; on Reynaud, 624, 650, 655, 659; on French defeatism, 624–5; on Vuillemin, 626; on idle soldiers, 649; on de Gaulle, 650; flies home, 660–1; and Mandel, 673
Speidel, Lieutenant-Colonel Hans, 646
Sperrle, Field-Marshal Hugo, 338
Stavisky, Serge, 100, 103, 104
Stiotta, Major von, 210, 240
Stonne, 313, 387–8, 394, 397, 401, 418–24, 441, 464–6, 501, 516
Stackelberg, Karl von, 416–17, 641, 668
Stalingrad, 611
Stresemann, Gustav, 65
Strikes, 54, 109–11, 135
Student, General, 265, 291
Stuka: origin, 121–2; in Poland, 142; in Norway, 216; in Ardennes, 286–7; vulnerable, 301–2; at Sedan, 338, 341–6, 352, 361; at Onhaye, 379; at Nouzonville, 381–2; bomb own troops, 386; support Rommel, 407–8; effects of, 472–3; attack de Gaulle’s tanks, 494, 540; heavy casualties among, 611, 627
Stülpnagel, General Heinrich von, 193
Sturmpionieren, 284, 317, 324, 328, 334, 336, 347, 352, 354–7, 358, 381, 384, 394, 503
Switzerland, imaginary German threats to, 440, 464
Taittinger, Pierre, 239
Tanks, tactical use of, 79, 90–3, 113, 118, 178–9, 231, 417, 419; types, 78–9, 112, 230–1
Taylor, A. J. P., 83
Taylor, Brigadier-General Telford, 530
Teissier du Cros, Janet, 147, 252
Templar, Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald, 636
Têtu, General, 164–5, 431
Thélonne, 385–6
Thierry d’Argenlieu, General, 333
Thomas, Colonel (censor), 451–3, 562, 618
Thorez, Maurice, 107–8, 117–18, 134, 157–8, 653
Touchon, General, 424–5, 427–9, 448, 490, 495, 508, 517, 534
Tours, 645, 650, 654–6, 663
‘treachery’, 131–2, 290, 302, 304, 362, 526–34
Trondheim, 215–16, 218
Udet, Ernst, 120–2
‘Ultra’ decoding machine, 634–7
Valenciennes, 542, 546, 557
Vasselle, Pierre, 453
Vauthier, General, 417, 430
Vautrin, Major, 575
Veiel, Lieutenant-General Rudolf, 355, 488
Verdun, 46, 51, 67–71, 73, 86, 90, 102–3, 141, 161, 196, 203, 360–1, 647, 672
Versailles, Treaty of, 45–6, 54, 56–7, 63, 83, 86–7
Vervins, 418, 468, 474
Villelume Colonel, 371, 444–5, 510
Vincennes, Château de, 161, 163–4, 166, 271–2, 345, 437–8, 440–2, 444, 447–8, 463–5, 508–9, 553–4, 592, 680
Vuillemin, General, 123–4, 126–7, 133, 164, 175, 553, 626–7, 640
Wadelincourt, 348–50, 358, 363
Wahagnies, 548, 567, 573
Wailly, 577–9
Walther, Lieutenant, 266
Warlimont, Colonel W., 185
Waterfield, Gordon, 146, 452, 524, 621
Wedgwood, Colonel Josiah, 182
Wehrmacht: and reoccupation of Rhineland, 82; rearmed, 86–7; Reichswehr, 88–9; origins of Panzer divisions, 91–4; revolutionary spirit, 95; teamwork, 96–7; gains superiority over French Army, 119; in Poland, 142–3, 177–9; weakness at outbreak of war, 144
; plans to invade Low Countries, 185; conventional Establishment of, 193; abortive attack, 202–3; line-up for Sichelschnitt, 207–8, 229; ‘special operations’, 208–9, 262, 264–71; war games, 204–5, 210, 318, 346; deception plans, 246, 404, 440, 480; paratroopers, 259, 312; airborne landings, 262, 264–5, 268–9; ability to counter-attack, 333; rubber dinghies, 346–9, 351–2, 356–7, 368, 380; reliance on captured fuel, 401, 468; losses, 412, 424, 478–9, 515, 577–8, 666–7; second-line troops, 466; infantry manning flanks, 501–3, 598–9; their endurance, 502; speed and efficiency, 559, 599; speed of advance compared with Americans, 562; deployment for final battle, 639; armistice negotiations, 663–5; good behaviour, 668; in occupied France, 669; lack of plan to invade Britain, 670–1; a ‘fragile instrument’, 674
Weil, Simone, 110
Welles, Sumner, 145, 210–11
Wenck, Major, 387, 492
Werner, Colonel, 307–8, 380
Werth, Alexander, 312, 404, 453–4, 529, 557, 562, 590, 618
Westphal, General S., 144
Weygand, General Maxime: parentage, character, career, 554–6; and Foch, 50, 554, 556, 564, 566, 590, 594, 664; orders motorization, 78; ignores de Gaulle, 116; on ‘hot-bed of Communism’, 118; Daladier on, 164; Levantine schemes, 182; Gamelin’s reports to, 292; Reynaud recalls, 510; visits Gamelin, 553; takes over, 554; relations with Reynaud, 556; journey home, 557; moves to Montry, 557; and Reynaud, 558; orders civilians off roads, 566; visits northern front, 566, 583–6; Ironside and, 572, 622; meets Leopold, 584–5; and Billotte, 585–6; misses Gort, returns by sea, 586–7; ‘Weygand Plan’, 589–96, 620; it fails to materialize, 602, 604; is postponed, 606, 626; it collapses, 609; and ‘honour’, 591, 623, 626, 630, 652, 665, 672; Ismay and Churchill on, 592; rekindles Churchill’s faith, 595; and deserters in London, poor morale, 602; and ‘separate peace’ lobby, 622–4, 628; and British withdrawal, 622; one last battle, 630, 639–41; and evacuation of French, 632; Weygand Line, 640–1, 644; encouraged by French resistance, 641; Order of the Day, 643; declares Paris ‘open city’, 645; demands British fighter support, 650; defeatist, 651–3; and fear of revolution, 652–3; and military capitulation, 658; and armistice, 665; later career, 677–8
Wietersheim, General von, 207, 424, 502, 597
Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany, 86, 90, 203
Wilmot, Chester, 353
Wilson, President Woodrow, 54, 56, 63
Windsor, Duke of, 145, 248
Winterbotham, Group Captain, 634, 636
Wispelaere, Lieutenant de, 308
Witry, 264
Witzig, Lieutenant Rudolf, 269
Wood, Sir Kingsley, 142
Young, Desmond, 320, 375
Ypres, 584–9, 616, 620
Yser, River, 585, 588, 593, 616
Yugoslavia, 610
Yvoir, 307–8, 378, 413
Zog, King of Albania, 248
Index of Military Units
FRENCH
1st Armoured, 313, 376, 378, 408, 410, 413, 430, 439, 473, 477, 496, 516, 518
2nd Armoured, 293, 313, 425, 427–9, 439, 469–71, 496–7, 501, 512, 516, 534, 541
3rd Armoured, 293, 313, 364, 386–7, 395–400, 419–24, 439, 516, 644
4th Armoured, 490–6, 516, 539–40
1st D.L.C., 234, 311, 469
2nd D.L.C., 274–5, 285–6, 302–3, 396, 594
3rd D.L.C., 275, 285, 468–9
4th D.L.C., 234, 273, 281–2, 306–7, 308, 497–8
5th D.L.C., 276, 284–6, 300, 302–3, 373, 392, 397, 404, 594
1st D.L.M., 469, 497, 500, 513, 542, 547, 575
2nd D.L.M., 607
3rd D.L.M., 396, 576
3rd Motorized, 293, 313, 364, 386–7, 395, 397–8, 419, 439
5th Motorized, 234, 310–11, 330, 413, 479
9th Motorized, 497
25th Motorized, 601
3rd Light, 508, 517
23rd Light, 517
14th Infantry, 293, 313, 423, 425, 644
18th Infantry, 234, 274, 310–11, 331, 333, 378–9, 412–13, 430, 473
22nd Infantry, 234, 274, 378–9, 413, 430, 500
36th Infantry, 293, 439
53rd Infantry, 234, 236, 274, 360, 392–3, 425, 427, 439
55th Infantry, 235–6, 285, 302, 315, 337, 339, 358, 360–3, 384–5
61st Infantry, 234, 415, 417, 430
71st Infantry, 235–6, 239, 313, 315–16, 339, 346, 363–5, 383, 385, 455
87th Infantry, 293
102nd Fortress, 234, 367, 380, 382, 414, 417
1st North African, 440, 500, 513, 542
2nd North African, 546–7
3rd North African, 235, 315, 385–6
4th North African, 234, 375, 377–8, 408, 413–14, 430, 473–4
4th Colonial, 629
7th Colonial, 602, 629
GERMAN
1st Panzer, 207, 258, 263, 265, 284, 286–7, 300, 303, 304, 314, 317, 334–5, 350, 358, 365, 382–4, 386, 387, 390, 392, 394, 418, 427, 466–8, 492, 497, 501, 512, 517, 541, 558–9, 597, 644, 676
2nd Panzer, 207, 283, 286–7, 305, 317, 334, 355–7, 366, 387–8, 392, 394, 418, 427, 466, 468, 497, 512, 541, 560, 565, 597–8
3rd Panzer, 369, 507, 542, 599, 639
4th Panzer, 369, 507, 542, 599, 617, 639
5th Panzer, 208, 263, 283, 307, 380, 407–9, 513, 542, 598, 616–17, 639, 642, 667
6th Panzer, 208, 283, 285, 305, 335, 367, 380, 415–16, 418, 468, 501, 512, 518, 545, 561, 581–2, 598
7th Panzer, 208, 257, 259, 306–7, 322, 326, 328–9, 407, 414, 500, 515, 561–2, 577, 616, 639, 666
8th Panzer, 208, 283, 305, 335, 415, 468, 501, 581–2, 598
9th Panzer, 267, 291, 294–5, 369, 542, 599, 639
10th Panzer, 207, 279, 284–5, 300, 303–4, 317, 334, 346, 347–50, 355, 365, 385–6, 388, 394–5, 420–3, 502, 512, 539, 541, 559, 564, 596–8, 639
3rd Infantry, 381, 415, 468, 666
23rd Infantry, 381, 415
32nd Infantry, 601
29th Motorized, 424, 647
22nd Airborne, 259
Grossdeutschland Regiment, 207, 257, 261–2, 264, 274–5, 334, 350–1, 353, 357, 365–6, 387, 394–5, 418–24, 466, 597, 666, 669
S.S. Regiment Totenkopf, 577, 578
BRITISH
1st Armoured, 594, 598
3rd Infantry, 289, 402, 546, 636
5th Infantry, 546, 573–6, 605, 620
12th Territorial, 517, 560–1
23rd Territorial, 517, 561
50th Infantry, 546, 573–6, 578, 605, 620
51st (Highland), 629, 639, 642
Durham Light Infantry, 577
Royal West Kents, 517, 559
Royal Sussex, 560
4th Royal Tank, 578
‘Frankforce’, 573–82, 587, 596, 599, 601, 605, 608
1. Title of Clemenceau’s memoirs.
2. The idea of burying an Unknown Warrior, selected from the remains of eight fallen at Verdun, under the Arc de Triomphe was not conceived until later.
3. Despite exhortations, the vast majority of the Left appear to have been lured away by the greater attraction of the Victory Parade.
4. In fact, the last French soldier left the Rhineland in June 1930.
1. Throughout most of 1932, the middle-aged Rector of Stiffkey (pronounced ‘Stewky’ locally) had provided the British Press with an unending source of anticlerical entertainment through his escapades with battalions of teenage waitresses in London teashops. Defrocked, he ended his career in a lion’s cage in 1937, where he was billed to give a lecture. The lion objected.
2. The inverted attitudes of post-1945 make an interesting comparison.
3. André Beaufre, a junior staff officer at the Ministry of War after the First World War, later became a full general and one of France’s leading military intellects after the Second World War. He led the French contingent at Suez in 1956.
4. £24 million at the then rate of exchange.
5. Though ironically enough, when the supreme
test came, the drain imposed by maintaining the ‘interval troops’ was to be one of the leading factors in depriving the French Army of the mobility it so sadly lacked.
6. Both in 1927 and 1932, Pétain, the President of the Army Council, had stressed the importance of having ‘a mobile force near the frontier and to make sure of its swift advance into Belgium’.
7. Even in the underpaid British Army at this time, a captain (unmarried) received a basic pay of £38 a month, a major £53.
8. Arms credits for 1936 totalled 1,492 million francs, roughly a fifth of what had already been spent on the Maginot Line.
9. ‘Light mechanized division’ – which was something of a misnomer, in that the D.L.M.s were largely equipped with the excellent Somua medium tank, more heavily armoured than most of its German counterparts. They also had a strength of 220 tanks each, compared with only 150 for each of the subsequently created French ‘Armoured Divisions’.
10. In Britain, for instance, up to 1932 the Services worked on the simple assumption each year of not having to anticipate a major war for at least another ten.
11. For sheer arrogant folly, the Barthou declaration of 17 April 1934 is hard to beat; A. J. P. Taylor remarks: ‘The French had fired the starting pistol for the arms race. Characteristically they then failed to run it.’ Yet it has its parallel in more recent times, when in 1966 de Gaulle informed the North Atlantic Alliance that henceforth he felt strong enough to dispense with its benefits. There are moments when one feels that – like the Bourbons, only worse – France has learned nothing and forgotten everything.
12. In retrospect, Gamelin’s torpor becomes all the more criminal when it appears that, as long as two months in advance of the reoccupation of the Rhineland, he had predicted to a French general (Armengaud) the likelihood of Hitler’s move. Flandin, too, is purported to have raised the possibility in a Cabinet meeting of January 1935. Why then did the French Army allow itself to be taken by surprise?
To Lose a Battle Page 75