Britain and France in Two World Wars

France and Britain, indispensable allies in two world wars, remember and forget their shared history in contrasting ways. The book examines key episodes in the relationship between the two countries, including the outbreak of war in 1914, the battles of the Somme and Verdun, the Fall of France in 1940, Dunkirk, and British involvement in the French Resistance and the 1944 Liberation. The contributors discuss how the two countries tend to forget what they owe to each other, and have a distorted view of history which still colours and prejudices their relationship today, despite government efforts to build a close political and military partnership.

Robert Tombs is Professor of French History at the University of Cambridge, UK. Emile Chabal is a Chancellor's Fellow in History at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

General Introduction: Robert Tombs Part I - The First World War Introduction: Gary Sheffield 1. Why Allies: Necessity or Folly? John Keiger 2. Sacrifice and Slaughter: Two Armies, Two Wars? William Philpott 3. The Push to Victory, 1918: The Allied Contributions, Elizabeth Greenhalgh Part II - The Second World War Introduction: Emile Chabal and Akhila Yechury 4. 1940: The French Army and the BEF, Martin Alexander 5. The British, the Free French, and Resistance, Sebastien Albertelli 6. Liberation: The British Contribution, Olivier Wieviorka Part III - Remembering and Forgetting Introduction: Philip Bell 7. The First World War, Jay Winter 8. The Second World War, Robert Frank 9. An Overview, David Reynolds Index