Operation Menace the Dakar Expedition And The Dudley North Affair/Операция "Угроза", Дакарская экспедиция и дело Дадли Норта

Книга на английском языке
Continuing on from Arthur Marder's previous book. From the Dardanelles to Oran: Studies of the Royal Navy in Peace 1915-1940 this next volume investigates the Allied expedition of September that year, with De Gaulle present, which unsuccessfully attempted to break the French at Dakar away from the Vichy Government. A pet operation of Prime Minister Churchill, the operation was undertaken against all advice, and it turned out to be a fiasco. In the author's words, “Menace exemplified, in its genesis, planning, and execution, all that can go wrong in warfare; an operation fouled up by unforeseen contingencies, the accidents of war, and human error, and against a background of undue political interference, inadequate planning, and half-baked co-operation between Allies.” Using Admiralty and Cabinet papers, as well as private sources of information, Marder weaves a skilled course through all the complex material to produce a masterly case-study of how an operation is mounted and how it can go disastrously wrong. It is a classic, tragicomic illustration of the fog of war.

Contents
Preface
Calendar of events
Part One
The Story of Menace: A study in the fog of war
Chapter one. ‘Menace’ is Born
Chapter two. Commanders, Planners, and Planning
Chapter three. Problems: Intelligence, Security, Delays, and Doubts
Chapter four. The Odyssey of Force M: I
Chapter five. Odyssey: II
Chapter six. The First Day of the Operation: Situation 'Sticky'
Chapter seven. The Second Day of the Operation: Situation 'Nasty'
Chapter eight. The Third Day of the Operation: Failure and Withdrawal
Chapter nine. Post-mortem and Repercussions
Part Two
The Story of Dudley North: Was justice done?
Chapter ten. Genesis of the Affair
Chapter eleven. North's Campaign for Vindication (1945-57)
Chapter twelve. Reflections
Index