Part of the Images of War series of books, Blitzkrieg in the West uses a very broad range of large, clear and rare photographs, each accompanied by detailed notes to describe the German offensive of May 1940.

Pegasus Archive

This book looks at the German blitzkrieg in the west, the military campaign that in under two months changed the nature of the Second World War, ending any chance that it would be a rerun of the Great War by breaking the deadlock on the Western Front.

The around 200 pictures cover the entire period from the days immediately before the german invasion of the west to the final victory parade in Paris. Many pieces of kit are carefully identified, from exact models of half-tracks to items of personal equipment.

The pictures are supported by a brief narrative account of the campaign, the text of which is kept well clear of the captions. It must be said that the text feels a little odd - Baxter has chosen to echo the triumphalist tone of contemporary German accounts of the fighting, reporting German triumphs and successes rather than Allied defeats and disasters. This an unusual approach, but it actually works rather well here, giving a more accurate impression of what must have been the mood amongst the men shown in the pictures.

The pictures cover a wide range of subjects, with something of an emphasis on the German soldiers, although military hardware is also well covered (excluding aircraft, which rarely feature). Destroyed bridges and German pontoon bridges feature in some numbers, as do French prisoners of war.

This book contains a well chosen selection of high quality pictures that show the German side of a conflict more often seen from the British and French point of view.

History of War Website, August 2010