
What a book this was. I picked this up because World War 2 history is one of my favorite historical periods. I’ve watched countless documentaries and read lots of novels about events that occurred during this war. I knew it would be different from my normal book choice (fiction), but I thought I’d give it a try.
I started reading it in late December, and it took me so long to finish it. The main reason for this is that it’s within the Military History genre, so it’s written in a very factual, non-narrative manner. I have to admit that there were quite a few times that I was tempted to just put the book down and leave it alone for the rest of time. However, I am also a very determined person by nature, and because of that, I just had to persevere and finish it, and I’m glad I did.
As a History major, and someone who is determined to push my comfort zone in all areas, even with regards to what types of books I normally read, I had to have the satisfaction of knowing that I read this book and was able to absorb most of it. I’m sure that I’ll have to read books like this as I continue my education, and even if I didn’t, because this book was so difficult for me to read, I am determined to become better at reading and absorbing information from books within this genre or written in this style. I’m crazy enough that I want to reach a point where I have a desire to read books like this. We’ll see about that :’) Anyways, on with the review.

About the Author
Dunkirk: Retreat to Victory was written by Julian Thompson, a former British military Major General for the Royal Marines. Thompson gained access to many previously unpublished materials and documents, and he used many of these in the creation and writing of this book. Among these materials are the unofficial war diary of a Squadron (4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards) and the unofficial history of this Regiment. Thompson is now a visiting professor in the Dept. of War Studies, and he contributes to newspaper & television documentaries.
Summary
This book is a thorough account of the days and weeks leading up to the eventual heroic and dangerous evacuation of approximately 340,000 British soldiers from the Dunkirk beaches. Thompson begins the book by expressing the idea that a lot of the chaos and difficulty that the British troops faced was due to governmental policies. This idea is referenced a few more times throughout the book.
In the twenty years between the two World Wars, the formerly top-notch British Army was “rapidly disarmed” and was therefore left “dangerously weak.” The process of rearmament and the lack of use of certain technological advancements would contribute to much of the mess that ensued in the battles prior to Dunkirk. Not least among the contributing factors to the military disasters during May 1940 was the French incompetence on various governmental & military levels.
Thompson details Belgium’s fall to Germany (explaining British involvement as their allies); some major troubles experienced by the British Expeditionary Force; a gusty but temerarious counter-stroke by British & French forces; various instances where generals, commanders, and ordinary soldiers fought to their very last in courageous efforts fighting for their countries, and finally, the eventual withdrawal from Dunkirk.

Things I disliked
There is a lot of reference and listing of different types of guns, tanks, military ranks/divisions, and things of that nature. It definitely overwhelmed the narrative at times for me, and I found myself zoning out while reading paragraphs at a time before I realised I hadn’t absorbed much of the information :’) Once I mastered the art of skimming over paragraphs like this, I was able to quickly barrel through the “storyline” and keep my mind on track.
Things I liked
I loved all the new things I learned. For example, I had no idea, prior to reading this, that the Germans had a practice of not continuing offensive during the night–this was incredibly helpful to the British & French forces quite a few times. I enjoyed the few instances where the reader could get a little taste of Thompson’s personality which is mostly masked by the informative nature of this book.
Favorite Quote
With the cohesion that follows good training, these well-led battalions did not need pronouncements from on to high to persuade them to do their duty. The only people who mattered, other than their families, were those around them. This sustained them in the darkest moments.
Ahhhh, so my first proper book review is complete. *I need to give Christine of The Uncorked Librarian a huge s/o and thank you for her very helpful post on how one can start a book blog, you can (& should!) read it here* I didn’t mention this in my 2019 Aspirations, because I was a little scared that I wouldn’t have the guts to make it happen, but I want to slowly but surely make my little space here a book blog, with the occasional lifestyle or beauty bit.
If you’d like, check out the two, small, informal book reviews I did back when I first started this little old blog:
What did y’all think?! I’d love to hear your feedback on this post (especially if you’re a book blogger) in the comments, a Twitter/Instagram DM, or even an email. Constructive criticism is always welcome! Do you think you’d be able to pick up this book and plow through it??? As always, thank you for reading <3