Hugh Sebag-MontefioreKirja-arvosteluja

A bit slow at first but good in the way it brings all the stories together as 1 summary.

I've read at least one book on this topic before. This one is quite detailed on the mechanics of the machine and how the codes work.

Interesting book about how the British were able to figure out the German codes during the War. I skipped the detailed mathematical explanations of how they did it, though, which was mostly at the end, in the Appendixes.
I found out Alan Turing did a lot, but he worked with much decoding already done by a Polish team earlier, and had help from others too. The vanquished U-Boats and the rescuing of their codebooks, and other stories, such as the espionage in France were interesting too. This book gives a more complete story than the movie, The Imitation Game, which was very oversimplified.

In depth, comprehensive and excellent. Can be a bit dry because of the factual nature, but well worth reading to understand the intricacies and difficulties of keeping and breaking the Enigma codes. Lots of explanations of the various codes and how they were broken - this author definitely understands the subject matter.

Vel skrifuð og rannsökuð saga af árásum Breta við Somme í fyrri heimsstyrjöld. Þetta eru blóðugustu hernaðaraðgerðir Breta og herforingjar þeirra hafa fengið mikla gagnrýni fyrir þátt sinn í skipulagningu og stjórnun á árásum sínum.
Sebag-Montefiore fer hörðum orðum um hershöfðingjana og ver miklum tíma í að lýsa hræðilegum aðstæðum fótgönguliða Breta sem vert er fyrir hvern áhugamann um fyrra stríð til að kynna sér. Hins vegar ber hann aðstæðurnar stöðugt við nútímaframferði s.s. aftökur fanga og þótt hann reyni að draga í land á mörgum lýsinga sinna í lokakafla bókarinnar þá réttir það ekki af hlutdrægnina. Sömuleiðis vantar sárlega þátt Frakka í átökunum við Somme og betri frásagnir af sjónarhorni Þjóðverja sem tókust á við Bandamenn.

Battle of Dunkirk

A good history is immersive. It’s easy to sputter and choke as an immense wave of details washes over you, but if you are interested enough, engaged enough, you learn how to take it in—assimilate it—almost as if you have learned to breath underwater. DUNKIRK—FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN is impressively researched and annotated and certainly can swamp you with facts: names, dates, locations and landscapes, troop missions and movements, weaponry and the relative wisdom of those involved all swirl into a dense and vivid presentation. The history however is leavened with enough humanity, tales of bravery and stupidity, that you remember these facts work in service of a greater ambition. To show how history is propelled by a few people, carries many more with its passion but most people are just trying to get out of the way before it crushes them.

A good history also deflates myths. Prior to reading DUNKIRK-FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN, I could draw only the barest sketch of the events surrounding the massive WWII rescue operation. I was aware that a flotilla mixing personal and naval crafts ran stranded soldiers from a disintegrating wartime France back to England in just the nick of time. In my mind it was mostly civilian boats with the almost cartoonish image of the last English soldier escaping unscathed as the Germans run toward the docks shaking their heads and their fists. Rarely is history so clean. The first best way the author deals with this is by saving the actual evacuation for the end of the book. Instead, the evacuation looms in the back of your mind while you live through the early days of the war where the seeds were sewn for catastrophe. The frustration builds as the early political failings and arrogant military fumblings are exposed by the Nazi Blitzkrieg. Once the Germans finally attack, the narrative that spoke in days and hours drops down to an almost minute by minute recreation of events. What fascinated me most during this portion of the book was how it was not so much that the Blitzkrieg was unstoppable (and it may have been) but at how many junctures early in the war entire campaigns turned on the greatness or failings of a few people. And sometimes simple bad timing. This reminded me of the much more familiar territory of the D-Day landings. While history now lends the landings a gravitas of inevitability, success was far from assured. The luck that many German leaders, tanks and troops happened to be in the wrong place at the right time was just as important as the months of planning that went into the landings. Imagine this is true of most wars but likely underappreciated.

The human toll is horrific before the city of Dunkirk is even mentioned—already destroying any remaining romantic myths about this rescue. While the story remains both intriguing and devastating through to the last of the book, it is as we approach Dunkirk that the two major flaws pop up in the book. Early on it is teased that the Germans made a mistake by not addressing the city of Dunkirk earlier with sufficient force. Almost nothing is said after that about the German decision process leading to their not fully appreciating the military importance of Dunkirk. Many other parts of the book benefit from the German perspective and the minute by minute tale continued and I kept waiting, but this discussion never materialized—and it was largely why I read the book! The second flaw may be more personal to my curiosity but also early in the book, the involvement of the individual civilian boat owners was teased but during the actual recovery effort they were given short shrift.

All historians have agendas—at least authors certainly do—and I understand choices have to be made but I would have been happy with two paragraphs for flaw one and two or three more anecdotes for flaw two. I know that newly discovered information regarding the troops sacrificed and left behind so that as many other soldiers as possible could escape was a selling point for this particular take on Dunkirk, but I still felt a little cheated at the end. That being said, I highly recommend this un-sanitized take on Dunkirk for anyone who wants an in depth look at this story in particular or a greater understanding of the mechanics of warfare in general.

The story of the breaking of the Enigma code in World War 2 is a fascinating one. It is filled with brilliance, daring, danger and betrayal. Hugh Sebag-Montefiore has written an exemplary history, combining extensive archival research with gripping prose. Churchill was as aware as anyone of the importance of the success, or failure, of codebreaking efforts at Bletchley Park. He described those who worked there as “The goose that laid the golden egg and never cackled”. Secrecy was of the essence. Sebag-Montefiore describes the challenges of utilising the intelligence gained from breaking German military coded messages, whilst ensuring that the German’s never found out, thus ending this advantage.
Several times doubt was cast on the security of Germany’s ciphers. The book focusses particularly on the doubts of Admiral Donitz, head of the German Navy who seems to have been the most security conscious high commander. Several times he requested investigations, and the updated edition of the book uses new evidence to cast particular attention on a 1943 investigation which once again reassured the Germans of the safety of the code, as usual on spurious grounds.
The core of the book however focuses on how Britain ended up being able to break the code. Sebag-Montefiore justly praises the work of the Bletchley Park codebreakers, acknowledging the well known Alan Turing but also examining the contributions of other codebreakers such as Dilly Knox, Gordon Welchman and Harry Hinsley. The book contains some excellent descriptions of the codebreaking process, including a number of appendices describing in more detail such idiosyncratic practices as bombes, cillis, rodding and banburismus.
One of his main themes though is how the all important (and most difficult) naval codes would probably never have been broken just through the brilliance of the mathematicians at Bletchley Park. Frank Birch, head of the German section recounted how in late 1940 Turing and Twinn approached him in dispair of breaking the naval code. “The burden of their song was the importance of a pinch. Did the authorities realise that since the Germans did the dirt on their machine on 1 June there was very little hope if any of their deciphering current, or even approximating current, enigma for months and months and months – if ever?”
Sebag-Montefiore describes the missions to carry out ‘a pinch’ of German coding equipment and materials dramatically, with vivid scenes of desperate attempts to recover books from trawlers and U-Boats. He also provides a gripping passage on the drama of convoy PQ17, a tragic victim of slow codebreaking and difficult decisions.
Another fascinating story is that of the pre-war efforts of the French and Poles, including a dangerous espionage game with Hans Thilo Schmidt, who worked in the German cryptography office. His is an exciting and tragic story of a character who can either be looked at as a hero for the allies, or a money-motivated traitor. Either way his contributions were important for the pre-war codebreaking efforts of all parties in various ways. His information was initially useful for the Poles, who went on to complete some extraordinary work breaking Enigma in the pre-war years.
The story of “Ultra” and the breaking of Enigma is exciting, multifaceted and an important aspect of the victory over the Germans. As Sebag-Montefiore points out it was not a central or perfect factor. Success at codebreaking came and went, was not always timely and was always contingent on there being sufficient military force to exploit the knowledge. It is an important story though, and this book certainly gives it justice.

A must read if you're interested in the period when the phoney war became real, but it has to be said it'd be uncomfortable reading for anyone related to the Belgian and French Generals of the time who are crucified by the author. Whilst there are criticisms of the British it has to be said that the author takes a somewhat jingoistic approach with the Brits generally being heroic to the last and the other allies being inept at best if not actually cowardly. How true a picture this is is difficult to judge, but some eminent historical writers are quoted fawning over the book on its cover, so maybe it isn't seen through quite the tinted spectacles as it sometimes seems to be.
The key conclusion to be drawn from this book, however, is that the German war machine was no all conquering unstoppable sledgehammer. Time and again the forces they were facing failed and failed miserably. Actually it might be that the Germans were actually all-powerful, but this book shows that evidence for that assertion cannot be drawn from the victories in The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France.

Somme – Into the Breach

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore’s latest history book is a searing account of the Somme with some fresh insight and research. While the Somme resonates here in the western Europe, and has captured the imagination during the centenary of the Battle in 1916.

There is a lot to be admired about this general history of the battle, that does not just look at the first day of the Somme but the months that followed the first attacks on the 1st July. What is good is that he does highlight that there were successes on the first day where Allied troops did break through German lines.

Into the Breach does look at the background and the build-up and planning of the offensive, while Verdun is mentioned, and linked he forgets the Somme Offensive was to relieve the under pressure French at Verdun. The Somme was supposed to punch a hole in the German lines and the battles at Verdun were therefore linked because of that. It is often forgotten here, that the British were the junior partners on the western front to the French.

There is the argument that General Rawlinson was indebted to Haig, and this caused unnecessary deaths which is used in this book, which is quite frankly irrelevant, when balancing the pressure, they were under. The Somme as well as coming about because of the French being under attack at Verdun, and the British War Cabinet needing a successful front to bring the war to an end.

Yes, the 1st July was costly for British lives, but not as bad as it had been for the French who lost over 27,000 dead in August 1914. It must not be forgotten that the French, who had been invaded during World War One, and suffered far worse deaths, double those of the British, showed heroism which is often forgotten, or simply not mentioned.

Like many historians I have read many books on this subject, even though it is easy to pick holes in the minutia Hugh Sebag-Montefiore has written one of the best accounts that is easy to read as a general history. He does acknowledge that the tactics that were employed by the British, there were no real alternatives at the time, and that it is easy from distance and hindsight to point out the errors. What he does do is pay homage to the men that served, to those killed and wounded, and recognises the suffering this battle caused.

This is an excellent general history for those who are interested to learn more about the Battle of the Somme, while it is long for some, it is an excellent introduction. While there may be more balanced books out there, they can be as dry as hell and not too readable unless you are a student and need to read the book. Into the Breach is a book that you can dip in and out of, enjoy and learn, while at the same time question various actions. While to me there could be more about the politics that surrounded the battle and its planning and the various communication and administrative problems.

This is a well-researched book, using new sources as well as frequently quoted ones and this is an excellent addition to the canon on the Somme, which I can recommend.

Before WWII started the German military build several cipher computing devices. These devices had wheels within them with letters and number and you could type in your plain text and the machine would code your text for you and then that could be sent to other members of the military with the machines and as long as they matched the settings of the sending machine they could read out the real message.

Unbeknownst to the Germans, Polish agents had gotten ahold of one of these machines (code named Enigma) and some of their code books a couple years before the war and had started working on decoding the cipher and replicating the machine. They shared their information with France and England.

This book is the story of the Enigma machine and how England figured out how to break the code and continue to break it as it was repeatedly changed and updated during WWII. The focus of this book is on the background of how the allies got their information, how they broke the code, and the way that was used by the navy in the Battle of the Atlantic. I'm sure there is a lot more info out there about how this sort of thing influenced other military ops but this book's focus is on the Navy.

You can’t beat these books for quantity of information presented in an attractive way. The text is broken down into small chunks so kids can learn something new each time they browse through.

There is so much written now about World War II that an author needs to work hard at coming up with a new take on what they want to write about. In this book, Sebag-Montefiore decides to look at the whole story surrounding the German Enigma code. He starts with Polish attempts to decrypt it, follows it through France into the hands of English cryptographers, deals with the problems surrounding breaking the code (especially the naval version used on German submarines) and then moves off into naval expeditions that either helped decipher the code or were positively or negatively affected by differing ability to read the code at various times. The author concentrated on exciting incidents about which there was a lot of documentation.

I was more interested in the code and the machines than in the naval exploits. Most of the information on the machines is shunted to appendices, which are pretty hard going (and I'm someone who aced their computer architecture class).

I think this book would appeal more to readers who are interested in the overall effects of cryptography on the war effort or are looking at the strategies needed to run an effective cryptography effort.

A strong history of one of the most remarkable chapters in warfare. How a collection of academics, eccentrics, and ordinary people could defeat a seemingly invincible cipher system and save countless lives! I particularly enjoyed this book because of its clear explanation of many of the methods by which Britain was able to assemble hundreds of little tools by which, when combined, the Allies were able to understand and predict the actions and whereabouts of the U Boat wolf packs.

Very interesting. I made no attempt to undertand how the code breaking actually worked.

I believe I picked up this book after browsing someone's library on LibraryThing. This is why I am not supposed to browse. I majored in History in graduate school and the Holocaust and WWII are the topics I am obsessed with. It became quite clear early in the book that I didn't know much about the evacuation at Dunkirk. I knew of it as who doesn't but not about it.

It turns out unsurprisingly to have been horrific. Hugh Sebag-Montefiore takes a day by day, battalion (or brigade or company - I have a hell of a time with these military units) by battalion look at what occurred. Of the 665 pages of text 160 are notes and maps. The book covers the time period of May 14 to June 17, 1940. Obviously it is very detailed. Beginning with the British realization that they were going to need an evacuation plan as the Germans pushed into France and Belgium the tale picks up tension with every chapter. The French do not come off at all well in this book although Sebag-Montefiore gives credit where due to the the instances of French courage. Part of the problem with the French military was that they refused to believe the threat in the East and did not prepare. Far too many of their troops were untrained or poorly trained. If you have read much about war you might be able to understand their fear. Unfortunately the British government, despite Churchill's lone warnings, was not preparing for war either. They, however, had a much better discipline both in the military and at home once the war started.

The entire tale takes place in the north and northeast of France close to the Belgian border, which is where Dunkirk is. In ever smaller circles the British Expeditionary Force and the French attempted to forestall the Germans and guard the corridor to Dunkirk while funneling troops to that location. It sounds very simple but it was far from it. There were constant struggles between the British and French commanders in the field, between the BEF and the British government and between the governments of both countries. There were certain promises given when Britain and France allied themselves against Germany and the French were not happy to see the BEF depart. In many cases they either deliberately or cravenly kept British troops from getting to Dunkirk in time. For anyone who doesn't know this period in history, once France capitulated (which was a foregone conclusion early on) the British would be faced with a German attack on their shores. They needed to pull out as many men as they could to fight the Battle of Britain and to be able to continue the war alone. They also evacuated their troops from Norway.

The tales of heroism and horror are very explicit as are the tales of German treachery. One thing I was mistaken in was thinking the German military were not as bestial as the Nazi SS or concentration camp personnel. It appears they were almost all alike in this way. There are numerous accounts of reprisals taken out on innocent civilians after allied troops pulled back. British prisoners in several cases were summarily executed, burned alive, and horribly mistreated. This is not beach reading. Despite the heartbreaking stories this is a very interesting book. While there are many dates, place names, and personnel to keep track of it is surprisingly easy to do so. And in the end tens of thousands of British and French soldiers lived to fight another day.

I happen to be a wholehearted fan of Churchill. I believe there has never been a world leader as admirable as he. He plays a small role in the background of this book but his reputation remains intact. If you are one of the many who finds history dull, as it usually is in school, this book would change your mind.

I slutningen af maj 1940 afskar Hitlers blitzkrig en halv million allierede soldater mod kysten ved Dunkirk. Tusinder af store og små fartøjer blev mobiliseret, og den vellykkede evakuering til England blev en del af krigens store epos. Bogen omfatter foruden den dramatiske evakuering også baggrunden for slaget om Frankrig i 1940 fra briternes ankomst november 1939, de hårde kampe efter tyskernes offensiv gennem Belgien og Holland til gennembruddet af fronten mod syd, som afskar briterne fra den franske hovedstyrke. Bogen er skrevet i vekselvirkning mellem en lang række øjenvidneskildringer og udbyggende baggrundsstof om strategi og politik suppleret med en række detaljerede kort til orientering i begivenheder, episoder og slag. Balancen mellem de mange kildeuddrag og øjenvidneskildring i frøperspektiv kontra det lidt knappe forklarende rammestof er dog i store dele af bogen ikke optimal, hvilket ofte bringer forvirring mht. hvor og hvornår og i lange passager får bogen til at virke ustruktureret mht. til det samlede strategiske overblik. Drama er der dog ingen mangel på fx Lancastrias forlis, der kostede 3500 livet. I bearbejdelsen skinner forlæggets sprog og ordvalg ofte igennem.

Very interesting read on the important role played by the capture of information about Enigma and regular capturing of bigram tables & other related material. Lots of discussion on how various flavors were cracked. Extensive notes and annotated sources.

A fascinating and gripping account of the fall of France (and Holland and Belgium) and the subsequent evacuation at Dunkirk. The author firmly lays the blame for the defeat on the French generals and the lack of preparedness of the BEF. Incompetance is not too strong a word for some of these men...

Acts of extreme bravery on all sides provide an intimate and personal aspect to the campaign and the author makes it clear that it did not all go the Germans way.

Highly recommended.

I have not yet read this book.

This one is a folio society edition