BOOK REVIEWS
We review some of the latest military history titles.
Publisher: Battle of Britain International Ltd
Web: www.afterthebattle.com ISBN: 978-1-87006-702-7 Hardback: 176 pages
RRP: £29.95
The subject of Hitler’s planned invasion of Britain has endlessly fascinated historians, authors and military analysts and strategists ever since the end of the war; the big question always being: was it ever a realistic or feasible plan? This work, however, does not particularly focus on that question. Instead, as the title suggests, the book is a detailed examination of the planning and ultimate path of preparations for invasion – both from the perspective of the invader and the defender.
The style and format of After the Battle publications will be familiar to many readers of Iron Cross magazine, their unique ‘then and now’ style being very much the established ‘trademark’ of the publisher. Across nearly fifty years, it is a style which has neither dated nor grown tired. It is also one which has served to record history and the places where history was made, and especially before the locations of historic events are lost to the passage of time.
Looking back across that half century, the prodigious work of Winston Ramsey and his specialist contributing authors is something that future generations of historians, and those who study the Second World War, will continue to value highly. And this latest publication is yet another valuable contribution to a body of work that will be the enduring legacy of the After the Battle brand.
Setting the scene for Seelöwe (Sealion), Winston Ramsey examines the build-up to the point where invasion is the next logical step in Hitler’s conquest of Europe. Taking us along that road, Winston looks at the outbreak of war, the first shots on the Western Front, the invasion of Denmark and Norway and then the Blitzkrieg, the fall of France and then Operation Dynamo and the Dunkirk evacuations. From that point onwards, the road is directed towards the preparations and the planning for both an invasion and the defence against it..
In the telling of that part of the story, we are taken through the details of the invasion plans from the point of view of the enemy’s land, sea and air forces and the hasty measures put in place to defend against them.
As ever, Winston Ramsey presents a remarkable array of contemporary images and maps, together with photographs of many of the scenes today. Throughout, the illustrations are interspersed with many in colour. Without exception, the quality of imagery is superb, the overwhelming majority will not have been seen by most readers.
This is probably the most detailed study of the invasion plans ever published, its scope unsurpassed. For the reviewer, it was a book which was extremely hard to put down. It truly is a masterpiece.
The editorial team at Iron Cross had no hesitation in deciding to give this wonderful publication the accolade of ‘Editor’s Choice’ for this issue.
Reviewed by Andy Saunders
Illustrations: ✔. References/notes: ✘. Appendices: ✘. Index: ✔.