FRANCE 1940

1940 – The Battle of the Marne That Never Was
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1940 – The Battle of the Marne That Never Was

L20260065
€18.96
Maxime Mainguet analyses the missed opportunities of the Battle of France e. An unstoppable Blitzkrieg? Overwhelming German superiority? Not quite. In Cette bataille de la Marne qui n'a pas eu lieu, Maxime Mainguet offers an original and strategic reappraisal of the Battle of France. Mirroring the "Miracle of the Marne" of 1914, he examines the moment...
THE 159th RIA - The Snow Regiment Vol. 1 1887–1939
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THE 159th RIA - The Snow Regiment Vol. 1 1887–1939

L2026057
€41.71
Period photographs36 uniform silhouettesA wealth of documents, pennants and insignia The 159th RIA is the emblematic regiment of the Hautes-Alpes. Its presence in Briançon from 1890 to 1994 left a very strong impression on local memory and landscape. Many families had one or more members who served in its ranks, sometimes giving their lives. Since the end...
MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 3 - Blocks... MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 3 - Blocks... 2
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MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 3 - Blocks and Turrets of Fortifications

L20260055
€37.91
Third title in a series of books that Frédéric Lisch dedicates to the components of the Maginot Line. This third volume on the Maginot Line details all the types of turrets of the Maginot Line and includes a chapter on the strategic maps of the Maginot Line. This third volume details all the blocks of the Maginot Line works and includes a chapter on the...
The MORANE SAULNIER 406 in the Armée de l'Air, the...
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The MORANE SAULNIER 406 in the Armée de l'Air, the Aéronautique Navale and with the...

L20260051
€60.66
Histoire de l'Aviation No. 51 Since 1998 and the first work on the Morane 406 published by Lela Presse, numerous discoveries have made a new publication essential. Proof of this lies in the sheer volume of this study, which required splitting it into two tomes even though it is devoted solely to the aircraft in French markings. The list of contributors...
THE MORANE SAULNIER 406 in the Armée de l'Air, the... THE MORANE SAULNIER 406 in the Armée de l'Air, the... 2
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THE MORANE SAULNIER 406 in the Armée de l'Air, the Aéronautique Navale and with the...

L20260004
€60.66
Since 1998 and the first work on the Morane 406 published by Lela Presse, numerous discoveries have made a new publication indispensable. The sheer volume of this study — which has necessitated its division into two parts while covering only the aircraft in French markings — is proof of this. The list of contributors also reflects the enthusiasm the...
Fortifications in the Southern Alps - France, Italy.... Fortifications in the Southern Alps - France, Italy.... 2
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Fortifications in the Southern Alps - France, Italy. Volume 4

L20250190
€71.09
In this final volume of the extraordinary history of Fortifications dans les Alpes, with nearly 1,250 illustrations, Dominique Vialard and Frédéric Lisch present the strongholds of the Durance, Embrun, Sisteron, the fortifications of the Ubaye, the strongholds of Saint-Vincent-les-Fort, Seyne-les-Alpes, Colmars-les-Alpes, Guillaume and Entrevaux, and the...
TANK COMMANDER IN '40 - An Officer of the 15th BCC Aboard...
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TANK COMMANDER IN '40 - An Officer of the 15th BCC Aboard a B1 Bis Tells His Story

L20250187
€21.80
1940: Discover the firsthand account of a B1 bis tank commander, Second Lieutenant Robert Lauvin, officer of the 15th BCC, presented by Stéphane Bonnaud. Follow the trials and hardships faced by the crew of a B1 Bis during the Battle of France: from the Marne, through Montcornet and Picardy, to the retreat of the débâcle… Between castor oil, the chalk of...
Aboard the Renault FT
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Aboard the Renault FT

L20250123
€19.43
Aboard the Renault FT takes the reader on a journey through the epic story of this mythical and pioneering tank, from its design to its place in museums and collective memory today. This book is abundantly illustrated with photographs and technical plates to learn almost everything about this iconic tank. A complete study of the Renault FT, both...
French Prisoners of War 1940–1945 French Prisoners of War 1940–1945 2
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French Prisoners of War 1940–1945

L20250114
€36.97
Memories of La vache et le prisonnier with Fernandel are often the only images that come to mind when speaking of the French soldiers taken prisoner in 1940. Yet far from the cinema screen, 1.85 million of them were deprived of their liberty, imprisoned far from home and used as cheap labour. Victims of a distorted image and a French history that unfolded...
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André Beaufre - Combat Writings. 1939–1942
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André Beaufre - Combat Writings. 1939–1942

L20250108
€26.54
Through the Bitter Days (1938–1942), the testimony of a young officer caught up in the débâcle. Before becoming one of the most widely recognised military theorists in the world, General André Beaufre lived through the disaster of 1940 as a young officer. The four texts gathered here — "La paix-guerre (1939)", "Guerre éclair (1940–1941)", "Sic Transit...
TO EARN THE GREEN BERET 1941 - 1944 TO EARN THE GREEN BERET 1941 - 1944 2
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TO EARN THE GREEN BERET 1941 - 1944

L20250099
€23.70
This book recounts how, sometimes at the cost of their lives, young Frenchmen refused to accept defeat and above all the shameful armistice of 22 June 1940. Some of these future commandos, who had endured German oppression and then the harassment and lies of Vichy propaganda, decided to leave France — sometimes by deserting from the Marine Nationale, for...
JUNE 1940, ON THE ROADS OF CÔTE-D'OR, FROM THE DÉBÂCLE TO... JUNE 1940, ON THE ROADS OF CÔTE-D'OR, FROM THE DÉBÂCLE TO... 2
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JUNE 1940, ON THE ROADS OF CÔTE-D'OR, FROM THE DÉBÂCLE TO THE EXODUS (Volume 2)

L20250098
€45.50
Second volume of the exceptional study on the events and fighting that took place in the Côte-d'Or during June 1940. These two books will take you day by day through the incredible and terrible history of the Côte-d'Or in 1940: the history of war, fire and blood. In this context of total chaos, fleeing the fighting, on the roads of the exodus, tens of...
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JUNE 1940, ON THE ROADS OF CÔTE-D'OR, FROM THE DÉBÂCLE TO... JUNE 1940, ON THE ROADS OF CÔTE-D'OR, FROM THE DÉBÂCLE TO... 2
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JUNE 1940, ON THE ROADS OF CÔTE-D'OR, FROM THE DÉBÂCLE TO THE EXODUS (Volume 1)

L20250097
€42.65
An exceptional study to be published in two volumes on the events that took place in the Côte-d'Or in May 1940. This book will take you day by day through the incredible and terrible history of the Côte-d'Or in 1940: the history of war, fire and chaos. Fleeing the fighting, on the roads of the exodus, tens of thousands of civilians crossed the region. For...
The 1st Motorised Dragoon Regiment 1929–1940 The 1st Motorised Dragoon Regiment 1929–1940 2
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The 1st Motorised Dragoon Regiment 1929–1940

L20250082
€35.07
Available 16 June 2025 The 1st battalion, later regiment, of dragoons embodies the modernisation and mechanisation of the French cavalry during the 1930s. In 1939 it was one of the best trained, most competent and most modern regiments in the army. This first book devoted to this type of regiment covers the unit's history, its operational doctrine, its...
ENIGMA, The Time of the Precursors – The Biuro Szyfrow...
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ENIGMA, The Time of the Precursors – The Biuro Szyfrow and Section D Against the...

L20250076
€18.96
Put into service at the dawn of the 1930s, the Enigma machine ensured the encryption of Wehrmacht communications throughout the Second World War. The ability to defeat the billions of combinations generated by its mechanisms stands as one of the principal contributions to victory over the Third Reich. While the cryptological work carried out at Bletchley...
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ONE AGAINST TWELVE - The 87th BCA in the Defence of the...
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ONE AGAINST TWELVE - The 87th BCA in the Defence of the Alps, June 1940

L20250063
€20.38
How the French stood their ground against Italian soldiers in the Queyras in June 1940. The Battle of the Alps is one of the rare engagements to have ended in a French victory during the 1940 campaign in France. While the armies of the north and east were subjected to the blitzkrieg tempo imposed by the enemy, the soldiers of the Alps managed to halt the...
THE CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN THE BATTLE OF FRANCE 1939-1940 THE CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN THE BATTLE OF FRANCE 1939-1940 2
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THE CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN THE BATTLE OF FRANCE 1939-1940

L20250051
€42.65
1939, the year France was plunged into a new world conflict, marked a third black chapter for the customs officers. After 1870 and 1914, the Military Corps of Customs was once again mobilised. Like their predecessors before them, this third generation of customs fighters did their duty, upholding the motto « Honneur et Patrie » on their standard. These...
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FRENCH YOUTH UNDER THE OCCUPATION 1940–1945 FRENCH YOUTH UNDER THE OCCUPATION 1940–1945 2
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FRENCH YOUTH UNDER THE OCCUPATION 1940–1945

L20250023
€52.13
In the wake of the First World War, and after the Armistice of June 1940, French society placed its hopes in a renewed youth capable of henceforth promoting a goal of peace. The French State therefore seized upon this prospect by encouraging the creation of numerous youth movements, establishing a Secrétariat Général à la Jeunesse, and developing the cult...
PANZERWAFFE Vol. 2 – The Time of Victories PANZERWAFFE Vol. 2 – The Time of Victories 2
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PANZERWAFFE Vol. 2 – The Time of Victories

L20250022
€39.34
From autumn 1939 (Poland) to summer 1940 (France), the Panzers swept from victory to victory, crushing all resistance in their path. German propaganda and its most celebrated generals narrated these moments of martial glory as a military promenade, even denying the defeated the recognition of their valiant sacrifices. Unit archives and Berlin bureau...
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Fortifications in the Southern Alps – France, Italy. Vol. 3 Fortifications in the Southern Alps – France, Italy. Vol. 3 2
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Fortifications in the Southern Alps – France, Italy. Vol. 3

L20250021
€61.61
In this third instalment of "Fortifications dans les Alpes", the reader discovers at the outset the geostrategic aspects of the Southern Alps region, as well as the difficult movement through the high valleys and the advantages of the narrow passes that are easy to barricade. The illustrated narrative then explains the complex tactical operations in the...
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1940, The Allies' War Begins in Scandinavia 1940, The Allies' War Begins in Scandinavia 2
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1940, The Allies' War Begins in Scandinavia

L20250010
€18.96
The Franco-British intervention at Narvik, in Norway, in May 1940, passed relatively unnoticed because, at that very moment, Germany was launching its victorious offensive against France. History, for this reason, retains little memory of these battles, which took place beyond the Arctic Circle. By examining these battles in detail, François Gatineau...
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General Olry - Victor of the Alps - June 1940 General Olry - Victor of the Alps - June 1940 2
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General Olry - Victor of the Alps - June 1940

L20250002
€23.60
A graduate of the École Polytechnique and an artilleryman, René Olry (1880–1944) belongs to that category of soldiers who, with equal distinction, earn the admiration of their superiors, their peers and their subordinates. A man of character, he combined exceptional intellectual abilities with unwavering determination. A specialist in mountain operations,...
Castelnau - The Vanished Marshal 1851-1944
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Castelnau - The Vanished Marshal 1851-1944

L202402013
€22.27
General de Castelnau spans a century of French military and political history. Regarded by his contemporaries as one of the fathers of victory in the First World War, he fell victim to political machinations tied to his reputation as a Catholic conservative. Nicknamed the "booted friar" by Clemenceau, he was three times denied the marshal's baton that...
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A Lieutenant with the Tanks - An Eyewitness at the Heart...
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A Lieutenant with the Tanks - An Eyewitness at the Heart of the 1940 Turmoil

L20240208
€18.48
A Lieutenant with the Tanks is a previously unpublished account of the 1940 campaign, written by Claude Peignot, officer of the 5th BCP. Particularly vivid, it casts an unsparing eye on the operations, the competence of the commanders and the equipment. The notebooks are annotated and explained by Camille Vargas, an author specialising in world conflicts...
France 1940 - The First Battle of Normandy France 1940 - The First Battle of Normandy 2
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France 1940 - The First Battle of Normandy

L20240206
€23.70
It is never easy to recount a defeat. Burdened by caricatural clichés perpetuated for too many years, this Battle of France tends to focus on a few facts regularly singled out. Historians have primarily focused on the French side. Here, we will look at the German side. Apart from our adversaries, who can say that the Franco-British troops fought with...
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ALL LATIL MILITARY VEHICLES 1914-1940 - VOL. 1. TRUCKS... ALL LATIL MILITARY VEHICLES 1914-1940 - VOL. 1. TRUCKS... 2
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ALL LATIL MILITARY VEHICLES 1914-1940 - VOL. 1. TRUCKS AND ROAD TRACTORS - Vauvillier...

L20240203
€18.96
Does anyone remember that Georges Latil, thanks to his patent registered in 1897, was the forerunner of the famous front-wheel drive? At that dawn of the automobile age, the concept had a modest objective: to transform a horse-drawn vehicle by replacing its team of horses with a motorised front axle driving the front wheels which, remaining steerable,...
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READY? JUMP! With the First French Military Paratroopers READY? JUMP! With the First French Military Paratroopers 2
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READY? JUMP! With the First French Military Paratroopers

L20240202
€20.85
This fascinating saga traces both the training of the first parachute instructors of the French Air Force and the creation of the first Air Infantry Groups. It is this period of wild enthusiasm, often tempered by dashed hopes, that this work recounts with humour and finesse, written in a lively style that reads like a vivid adventure story. The author...
2nd Class Submarines and Minelayers of the French Navy... 2nd Class Submarines and Minelayers of the French Navy... 2
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2nd Class Submarines and Minelayers of the French Navy 1922–1945

L20240190
€58.77
This work is primarily devoted to the 34 2nd class submarines and the six minelayers (Saphir type) produced under the naval construction programmes of 1922 to 1936. The post-1945 period of the 2nd class Aurore-type submarines — the first of which was only just completed in June 1940 — is briefly mentioned. The contemporary 1st class submarines (Requin and...
RECONSTITUTIONS - Immersion in Living History
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RECONSTITUTIONS - Immersion in Living History

L20240177
€36.97
From the hunter-gatherers of the Palaeolithic to the soldiers of the Second World War, by way of the great age of chivalry and the battles of the First Empire, reenactors seek to represent the lives of our ancestors as closely as possible to reality. Analysed by historian Martin Bostal, a specialist in recreations of the past, Barry's photographs offer an...
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TRANSMISSIONS 1900–1940. History of Equipment, vol. 01
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TRANSMISSIONS 1900–1940. History of Equipment, vol. 01

L20240147
€39.81
This book grew out of a technical inventory compiled by the author, covering French military radio equipment from its origins to 1940. It focuses on the most representative sets, complementing their descriptions with a wealth of period photographs — often previously unpublished — or photographs of surviving examples that are the pride of collectors and...
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Women in the Service of France - 1939-1940 Women in the Service of France - 1939-1940 2
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Women in the Service of France - 1939-1940

L20240146
€28.34
Drawing on the experience of the Great War, women supported by militant feminists undertook a reflection on the role of women in wartime. Studies and initiatives were numerous and covered every field: the Air Force, the Army, support for soldiers, air first aid, parachuting... Before long, the "drôle de guerre" put an end to these promising deliberations...
DICTIONARY OF FRENCH MILITARY HISTORY – From the Origins...
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DICTIONARY OF FRENCH MILITARY HISTORY – From the Origins to the Present Day

L20240093
€21.80
As General de Gaulle expressed it in a celebrated and striking phrase: "France was forged by the sword." To study the history of France — and in many respects the history of Europe and the world — one must above all take into account the military history of our country. To avoid misreadings, anachronisms and other hazardous interpretations, here is — from...
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MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 2 -... MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 2 -... 2
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MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 2 - Infantry Casemates and Casemate Blocks

L20240073
€54.98
Second title in a series of books that Frédéric Lisch devotes to the components of the Maginot Line. The volume covers the 1929 and 1930 model casemates, armoured casemates, blockhouses in demolition zones, the 1936 model casemates with offset embrasures, and the casemates and infantry blocks of the Alpine sectors. At the end of the volume, a chapter...
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MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 1 -... MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 1 -... 2
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MEASURES AND EXCESSES OF THE MAGINOT LINE VOL. 1 - Artillery casemate blocks of...

L20240072
€45.50
First title in a series of books that Frédéric Lisch will dedicate to the components of the Maginot Line. This first volume covers the 75 mm model 1929 and model 1932 casemates, the Alpine artillery casemates, the 81 mm casemates, and the counterscarp coffres. In short, everything that is concrete-built, houses artillery, and is connected to a fortified...
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Fortifications in the Northern Alps - France, Switzerland, Italy. Volume 1 Fortifications in the Northern Alps - France, Switzerland, Italy. Volume 1 2
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Fortifications in the Northern Alps – France, Switzerland, Italy. Volume 1

L20180201
€68.25
The history of fortifications in the Northern Alps traces the origins of military works in the mountains and their foothills that marked the boundaries of the highly fluctuating territories at the heart of Europe — principally those of the House of Savoy. It will be noted that the architecture of these forts evolved with advances in artillery, and that...
Fortifications in the Northern Alps - France, Switzerland, Italy. Volume 2 Fortifications in the Northern Alps - France, Switzerland, Italy. Volume 2 2
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Fortifications in the Northern Alps – France, Switzerland, Italy. Vol. 2

L20180200
€68.25
The history of fortifications in the Northern Alps retraces the genesis of military works in the mountains or in the foothills that marked the boundaries of the highly fluctuating territories at the heart of Europe — principally those of the House of Savoy. It will be observed that the architecture of these forts evolved with advances in artillery and...
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The Phoney War, the Blitzkrieg and the Battle of France

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