Divide and Conquer

In the third installment of why we fight Hitler's army blitzkriegs through the Ardennes and routs allied forces. More criticism of the European response to rising Fascism is covered as fifth columnists (Quisling, Laval etc.) plot from within (even the US has local German Bunds) to soften the opposition and France capitulates when the Nazis circumnavigate the Marginot Line and enter Paris.

Try as it might in this propaganda effort to show a united front against Fascism, Why We Fight has to enlist the glory of France past invoking Marshall Foch's dictum J'attaque while it downplays its reticence in this conflict that could lead to the decimation of the vulnerable Allied force at Dunkirk. Taking the free French Army to North Africa Charles DeGaulle becomes the face of France while Marshall Petain oversees Vichy and allies with the Nazis.

There's more Fuhrer prevaricating ( what a perfect poster boy for propaganda ) as he invades Holland, Belgium and Norway in preparation for the invasion of Great Britain. The charts and maps displaying his well executed plan to overrun the lowlands of western Europe are both sobering and disturbing as the Germans well oiled war machine looks unstoppable.

For its time Divide and Conquer does an excellent job of explaining and presenting the war and the high stakes involved in clear and concise terms. There is no avoiding the bleakness of the situation but like all the series entries it ends on a note of hope and resolve, in this case provided by the incredible courage of non-combatants ferrying the retreating Allied Army across the English Channel to safety where they would live to fight another day.