The French Army 1939-45

The French Army 1939-45 1: The Army of 1939 and Vichy France (Men-at-Arms 315) by Ian Sumner and François Vauvillier, artwork by Mike Chappell (London, Osprey, 1998; ISBN 1855326663)

The French Army 1939-45 2: Free French, Fighting French and the Army of Liberation (Men-at-Arms 318) by Ian Sumner and François Vauvillier, artwork by Mike Chappell (London, Osprey, 1998; ISBN 1855327074)

The French Army of the Second World War, in the characteristic Osprey style.

'[Volume 1] follows the usual Osprey format of a general historical overview, followed by details of arms of service, equipment, insignia etc with a good selection of photos and, of course, their trademark colour plates for the uniforms, and is a valuable contribution to a neglected area of military history. Volume 2 covers the Free French, the Army of Africa's belated conversion and the reborn 'army of liberation' in Italy and France in 1944-5 and is warmly recommended too' Mulwharchar on amazon.co.uk

'Nice Osprey reference title. Should be required for wargaming 1940 invasion of France' Zachary Ward on amazon.com

'I found the book in question very informative, I was unaware of the french forces during the period of time question, A must for person interested in the WW2 period of history' D.I. Gaver on amazon.com

'La réputation des publications Osprey n'est plus à faire. LA qualité de la recherche et celle de l'illustration font de cette collection, une excellente base de travail pour le grand public. Et en plus, on est obligé de perfectionner son anglais!' Fougeray Andrée on amazon.fr

Around the First Battle of the Marne: 3 victory

The third (and last) part of visiting the 1914 battlefields of the Marne in connection with my Osprey on the First Battle of the Marne. Although the fighting had gone on for several days, the Germans had not succeeded in defeating the Allies, although they had been driven back in places with heavy casualties. But the front was too long for the number of men engaged, and gaps, small and large, began to appear. Both sides rushed to fill the gaps, but began to run out of men. The clash to the west of the town of Montmirail was the straw that broke the German camel's back. We stayed at the Hotel Le Vert Galant in Montmirail. More by chance than design, the French had found the open flank of the German 2nd Army. On 8th September, masking Montmirail itself, French infantry from 36th Division crossed the Petit Morin river and climbed the wooded slopes opposite, supported by artillery. The key combat was the struggle for the small village of Marchais-en-Brie. The German comman...

Kings of the Air: Clément Ader

This is the first of a series of biographical sketches based on the research I am doing for my new book Kings of the Air: French aces and airmen of the Great War , to be published by Pen & Sword. Clément Ader (1841-1925) was a French inventor, whose attempt at heavier-than-air flight some years before the Wright brothers was so nearly successful. Ader had a restless mind, and his inventions covered a wide range of fields. In 1868, he began as a velocipede manufacturer. Instead of conventional iron tyres, his machines used a rubber tubular tyre of his own invention, resulting in a much lighter frame, and a much more comfortable ride. The war against German in 1870 brought an end to his work. He then began working for a railway company in the south-west of the country, the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Midi. In 1875, he designed an engine that laid rails, that saw service for several years. He then turned to the new telephone, commercialising the inventions ...

The French Air Force in the First World War

Published by Pen and Sword in their Images of War series, January 2018, and available where all good books are sold. The French air force of the First World War developed as fast as the British and German air forces, yet its history, and the enormous contribution it made to the eventual French victory, is often forgotten. So Ian Sumner's photographic history, which features almost 200 images, most of which have not been published before, is a fascinating and timely introduction to the subject. The fighter pilots, who usually dominate perceptions of the war in the air, play a leading role in the story, in particular the French aces, the small group of outstanding airmen whose exploits captured the publics imagination. Their fame, though, tends to distract attention from the ordinary unremembered airmen who formed the body of the air force throughout the war years. Ian Sumner tells their story too, as well as describing in a sequence of memorable photographs the ...

Ian Sumner

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