FOLIO SOCIETY STRANGE DEFEAT Marc Bloch First Printing 2015

Description: Folio Society – STRANGE DEFEAT: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940 by Marc Bloch In Strange Defeat, a former French army captain records his first-hand account of the fall of France in 1949. Vehement and impassioned, it is also lucid and learned, for its author was not only a veteran of two world wars but one of his country’s leading historians and a professor at the Sorbonne. Having fought in the First World War, Marc Bloch was in his fifties when the Second began: his age and six children exempted him from enlisting, yet he chose to fight. Strange Defeat is a clear-eyed and deeply moving analysis of the factors that led to France’s defeat. In seeking the reasons for his nation’s fall, Bloch lays the immediate blame at the feet of the generals, who had grown complacent and conservative after years behind desks. In contrast, the German command was trained to act decisively. French communications were shockingly inadequate and bureaucracy prevailed – Block gives the sad example of the carrier pigeons of Alsace-Lorraine, all slaughtered through a misread instruction from Paris. The army was well equipped to fight on land, but it had put too much faith in the Maginot Line and had nothing with which to counter the Germans’ air offensive. There was no lack of courage among the ordinary fighting forces whom Bloch praises, however the French generals were still fighting the war of 1914-18. After leaving the army Bloch joined the Resistance, but was executed by a Nazi firing squad in June 1944. Strange Defeat was published in France in 1946, and shortly afterwards in an English edition. This Folio Society edition features a specially commissioned preface by the historian Robert O. Paxton, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, and a 1948 introduction by scholar Maurice Powicke, who knew Bloch at Oxford. In a forward, Bloch’s Resistance comrade George Altman (‘Chabot’) describes his friendship with this most unlikely hero, and Bloch’s recorded last words of ‘Vive la France’. This is the first illustrated edition; images include soldiers working on the Maginot Line fortifications and the evacuation of Dunkirk. DESCRIPTION: Translated by Gerard Hopkins. Preface by t Robert O. Paxton. Introduced by Frederick Maurice Powicke. Forward by George Altman. Bound in Kraft paper. Set in Bulmer. 208 pages; frontispiece and 16 pages of colour and black & white plates. A map of France and Belgium by Alison Davies on page [xxxix]. Blocked slipcase with a Maginot Line design. This is the first illustrated edition, principally using photos taken in 1940. 9" × 53/4" CONDITION: Book appears UNREAD and in FINE condition. Internally pages are clean and bright throughout. No marks to the boards. Binding is tight and square. Slipcase is STURDY and also in FINE condition with minimal shelf wear (see photos). Postage will be by Royal Mail Tracked48 with Signature Service costing £4.95 All items are sent at cost price whether purchasing a single or multiple items. Due to size, weight and value considerations it is not possible to accurately calculate combined postage automatically. Always feel free to ask or if purchases require immediate payment I will refund any difference. All items must be sent to the address stipulated during the payment process. All items are sent via recorded delivery unless they are of little monetary value. Virtually all my items are available through the global shipping program (GSP) to designated countries outside the UK. Please note I have no control over international postage costs. I do not set these, eBay's GSP does, I send the items to an address in the UK and am not even aware of the country for which they are destined. Items purchased through the GSP must be sent via the GSP shipping centre. For multiple purchases, I cannot combine postage after items are purchased but if you contact me before buying I can try combining multiple items into a single listing which is usually less expensive. Please ask any questions before buying 70PC

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End Time: 2025-02-10T15:12:58.000Z

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