Blood, Tears, and Folly: An Objective Look at World War ll

This is a great big fat sprawling unruly kind of history - one wonders whether the sub-title "an objective look at WWII" was intended tongue-in-cheek - idiosyncratic, occasionally undisciplined, often contentious, but never boring. In fact only the early stages of the war are covered, as well as the various elements leading up to it; one would have hoped for a sequel treating the rest of the conflict, alas, no.

One could certainly understand a reader's initial frustration if he expected a straightforward, conventional narrative of events, presented matter-of-factly in suitable scholarly prose, but if one indulges the author his quirks and permits him to give vent to his considerable spleen, one will find much that is useful here, and a memorable journey through some familiar and not-so-familiar (usually U-boat infested) waters. In some respects the book resembles a tapestry: intricate, colourful, and definitely hand-woven.

A few corrections and cautions:

p44: "On July 24, 1939, with war only a week away..." At first glance one would suppose this should have read August 24, a week before the German invasion of Poland, but the meeting of Polish, British, and French cryptographers being related here did in fact occur on July 24.

p137: A map of the Maginot Line fortifications labels the Alsace region as "Alsace-Loraine." It is perhaps insufficiently understood outside France, that Lorraine is a distinct geographic region and political district to the west-northwest of Alsace, despite the conflation of the two in the Anglo-American mind, merely because they have often shared the same historical fate of conquest and reconquest.

German paratroop commander Kurt Student is frequently, though not invariably, referred to as Karl Student. Thankfully, we are not introduced to Ernst Rommel or Herbert von Goring.

p506: "Japanese warships inflicted a naval victory upon the Chinese." Ah, the agony of victory...

On p529, the author attempts to isolate Dean Acheson as the singular cause of the futility of US-Japanese negotiations in the months leading up to Pearl Harbor, as if the Japanese military faction, long since bent on attack, could have been dissuaded with economic concessions.

Worse, the author takes the unconscionably simplistic view that "despite all the Nazi talk of living space in the east, the German armies invaded the Soviet Union because Hitler and his SS men wanted to murder the Jews and the Bolsheviks." This sweeping disregard for economic, geo-political, and military-strategic factors can scarcely be excused, and it likewise ignores the incremental and often inconsistent manner in which Nazi policy evolved from expulsion to ghettoisation to genocide.

There are other points of controversy, to be sure, some of which do rather more successfully challenge the received canon of historical wisdom. And there is a great deal of information besides. Withal, to be recommended.

I wouldn't recommend this as a first book on WWII. There are chronological narrative histories more suitable for someone just beginning to tackle this broad subject. However, if you've read Shirer, Keegan, Weinberg, etc. this might be a good supplement as Deighton has some strong, contrary opinions about some of the strategies and personalities of the war. To name just a few, he thinks Rommel was a poor army commander and should never have been promoted above divisional command. He describes how the "man who won the Battle of Britain," Hugh Dowding, was out-maneuvered politically by subordinates Leigh-Mallory and Sholto Douglas, who used their connections to have Dowding sacked from Fighter Command. And he rightly finds fault with USN Chief Admiral King for his negligence in preparing the US fleet for submarine warfare in the Atlantic after the US entered the war. If you read S.E. Morrison, Ernest King practically walks on water.
But to Deighton's credit he backs up everything he writes with copious footnotes and references to other writers. I found his candor refreshing. The book really jumps around and really only attempts to address the first 3 years of the war. The last chapters deal with the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Southwest Pacific. The section on the War in Russia end with the December, 1941 battle in front of Moscow, where we are lead to believe the turning point occurred....with nary a mention of Stalingrad or Kursk. But all-in-all it was an enjoyable read.

This is one of the most interesting books on WW2 that I have evere read. The main point of the book is that Germanys initial successes wer due to the impressive ste of German institutions prior to WW2. Hitler inherited an impressive war machine and a highly educated poulation. Because Hitler was able to reduce unemployment and reinstate self respect, Gitler was able to mobilize the poulation for a war taht they would not have wanted. By contrast, pre ww2 England had a low level of education, was almost bancrupt and had a military institution that was thinking in 19th centuary terms. however when the chips were down British ingenuiuty often overcame German thourougness Deighton overwhelms us with facinating details i.e. onyl 30% of Germasn U boats ever sunk a ship, the 1940 French Airforce was qualitively and quantitively saupirior to the Luftwaffe, England hads never designed a successful tank. My main critiscism is that the contents are somewhat disorganised. THis book is obviously a work of love rather than scolarship. By andlarge Deighton has got it right. In some ways he reminds me of Davide Irvine where an amature rights a far more perceptive work than most professional historians. finaslly I found Deightons knowledge of military equipment and ordanace fascinating.

A really well reasoned analysis, with interest, to caution anyone, anywhere to really examine whether a nation really knows how to conduct a war. This applies to normally belligerent nations and those who look only to survive.

The book is neither a comprehensive history nor an operational account of World War2. Author is a popular British novelist. Deighton is also an amateur historian. This book undoubtedly one among his best creations.

'Blood,Tears and Folly' covers a period of war from 1939-41. Those were times when things looked bleak,precarious; Allies struggling to contain the onslaught Axis bloc. Hostilities commenced with the German invasion of Poland . Subsequently fighting erupted in other fronts. Multi-front wars coalesced into a global conflagration.

Book is broadly classified into five sections: Battle of Atlantic,German conquest of France and Low countries, Operation Barbarossa,campaigns in North African desert/Mediterranean/ Balkans, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor etc. To enable readers to bet a proper perspective author sets each section against deep background. Author combines narration on chain of events with some gripping description nature of fighting,tactics and military hardware employed.

There are several things I liked in this book which added to my stock of knowledge. Different ASW measures evolved by Royal Navy to check the depredations of U boats . How fallacious was the idea of forming 'Hunting Groups' involving destroyers to hunt down U boats. According to American admiral Alfred T. Mahan it was like searching a needle in a haystack. Sea offered U boats sufficient room to hide. Way to kill U boats is to guard merchant ships . Then it had to come and find them.

Single, sharp knife was used to cut a long gash . This is how author has compared German thrust toward Channel coast . Prelude to hostilities forces of warring powers were evenly matched. French fielded superior quality tanks: Char- B, Somua 35. Difference lay in how tanks were used. Allies distributed tanks among several infantry units thus dissipating its strength. Germans massed tanks which struck like an iron fist. Another Allied tactical failure tanks were used against tanks. Germans used tanks against weakness. Panzers struck at the weakest point of the allied front and broke through.
The campaign emphasis es the importance of air power in modern war. Luftwaffe served as flying artillery. Its mission was to disrupt enemy communications and interdict the enemy reserves toward battlefield. Volumes and volumes of documentation are available on the evacuation of embattled Allied troops from Dunkirk. Here author has explained it in simply. When Germans halted tanks for rest and refit never in the wildest dreams did they think possible British were capable of plucking troops under their nose. Then what looked impossible happened. British pulled the rabbit under the hat.

With France fast collapsing, Italy struck from behind. War spread to the Mediterranean sea Royal Navy remarkable fighting spirit needs to be appreciated . On 11 November 1940 British sank 3 Italian battleships at Taranto which effected a revolution in war at sea. Because for the first time air power was used to cripple battle fleet. Japanese profited from this experience. Coming to desert campaign , there is a good terrain analysis and personality sketches of generals Wavell, O' Connor. An indictment of Churchill for diverting forces to Greece , a decision which robbed O'Connor from consummating the victory at Bedda Fomm.

In the section dealing on eastern front there is an account of Soviet-Japanese border clashes in the steppes of outer Mongolia, a subject generally ignored by academics though it has far-reaching impact on the outcome of Barbarossa. Author has shown merciless way Russians wage war. Bolsheviks had abject disregard, contempt for human life.

Concluding portion of the book covers war in the Far East, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Anglo-Americans had warped, stereotyped view on Japanese and paid dearly for their overconfidence. Moribund, defunct European empires in the Far East crumbled. The image of the white man took a severe beating, an event which stimulated independence struggle in the region. After many countries Burma, India, Ceylon, Indonesia had ceased to become European colonies. However defeat of Japan left power vacuum and communists under Mao filled the void.

Book is meticulously researched with some painstaking attention to details. Each chapter contains extensive research notes. Bibliography useful for doing more information research. I would have wanted the author to write a sequel to this book. Highly recommended. Ideal read for an academic,layman alike.

A remarkable book full of surprises. All of his books on WWII are first rate. Even if you think you have significant knowledge of WWII, Deighton will surprise you. He tells a good story tersely.