[MAGNA]

Thanks Tom. An interesting review with very good points on accuracy. A very good point regarding Halder too. As you showed with the Rainbow plans, any general staff that doesn't cater for these contingencies isn't worth having. What if Western allied staff had totally ignored the possibility of fighting in France ? They obviously had not which must have had a bearing on the strategy for retaking France - as an example.

As for political correctness which in this case I take to mean not ruffling too many feathers, they know what they can do with it. To imply or insinuate without factual support is a cardinal sin as far as historical information is concerned. I remember reading a book about the hunting down of the Bismark. It was written by an American author. The biggest criticism's came from American reviewers, who noted that the author had something against England or simply believed that the US was responsible for the Bismark being hunted down and sunk. I wasn't sure what they meant until I read the book (curiosity). In it the Bismark didn't get away after the action with the Hood as Lutjens was too scared to travel further West as he didn't want to come up against the battleship patrolling there - only thing is it was the USS New York or similar, apparently an older ship with no chance of stopping Bismark. The fact that Germany and the US were not at war at the time seems to have slipped the authors mind. The rest of the book went on in the same vein.

I don't think I will read the book you have reviewed here due to your candid comments. Much appreciated - thank you.