Commandos, urban warfare, political thought, Pompeii, landing: overview of the books of the week.
Commando
Henry Corta, presented by Benjamin Massieu, Red beretsEditions Pierre de Taillac, 2024.
June 6, 1944. While thousands of soldiers landed by sea on French soil, French paratroopers from the 3rd and 4th SAS were dropped behind enemy lines with the mission of destabilizing the enemy, harassing them and , ultimately, to delay its advance towards the very recent front.
These red berets, intrepid soldiers with imperturbable courage, entered Brittany and rallied the resistance groups, harassing the Nazi soldiers on all sides. Their action and determination notably enabled the successful landing of the Allies on the Normandy coast, which earned them the Cross of Liberation by General de Gaulle.
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Landings, dive into the heart of the stories of one of their own, Henry Corta, and discover the little-known story of the rare French soldiers who took part in Operation Overlord.
Urban battles
Gilles Haberey, Assaulting the walls. The cities at the heart of the battle, from the heights of Syracuse to the suburbs of MosulPierre de Taillac, 2024, €26.90.
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After works devoted to the art of battle and audacity in war, General Gilles Haberey analyzes another angle of war, that of urban battles. He always does this with great didactic mastery, which makes his works accessible to non-specialists, and with careful editorial work, a trademark of Pierre de Taillac editions. Each battle is presented according to an identical plan: general situation, forces present, progress, tactical lessons. All accompanied by numerous battle plans, sometimes hour by hour, maps and illustrations which allow operations to be better followed.
It is thus a series of emblematic urban battles which is analyzed, offering a large-scale military panorama with this common theme: that of urban warfare, so difficult to wage, and that of urban warfare, which is found in many many wars. If from the capture of Carthage to the battle of Mosul, from the siege of Vienna to the capture of Singapore, times and circumstances have changed, the foundations of urban warfare remain. This is one of the major interests of these works of military history: to show what is permanent in war and what is changing, depending on technical developments and political designs. Throughout the centuries, the same challenge remains: breaking through the walls and seizing the hearts of cities to win the war.
Political thought
Georges Pompidou, The Gordian knot, Tempus, €8, 2024.
The commemorations around Georges Pompidou contribute to the reissue of several of his works, including this Gordian knot whose story follows the life of the former president. Begun after May 68, the manuscript remained unfinished with his election to the Presidency. It was not until the death of Pompidou that the text was finally published. The work is therefore unfinished even if the manuscript is particularly worked and accomplished. These are not memoirs, but reflections on the events of his time put into perspective with the major political issues. The author evokes Marxism, then the dominant intellectual movement, economic and social reforms, modernity, political dialogue. Beyond just the archive, what could be the point of reading such a text today? It is due to the depth of the Pompidou man, at the same time a politician, a man of letters, a business man. His analysis, his perspective, his ability to understand the events of his time by placing them in a historical perspective contribute to giving his text scope and interest. This is quite rare among today’s politicians and it also demonstrates his specificity compared to his contemporaries.
Landing
Francis Dréer, D-Day and the Battle of Normandycolor edition, Glénat, 2024, €39.95.
Among the books published on the Normandy landings, this one stands out from the others by its large format and the numerous color photos, which help to restore the life and daily life of this event. Nothing is missing, on the German side, on the Allied side, the civilians, the preparations, the destruction and the fighting. We enter directly into this historical operation which was unique and which has established itself in memories, eclipsing, for example, the landing in Provence.
Pompeii
Théophile Gautier, PompeiiMagellan et Cie, 2020, €7.
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A small collection to accompany famous authors in places steeped in history. More than 100 issues already published to form a collection of trips with travelers. Here is Pompeii, in the company of Théophile Gautier (1811-1872). This is the Pompeii that has just been discovered, where the ruins are barely emerging, where Romanness is more idea than reality. The Pompeii whose catastrophe we imagine, the fury of the volcano and the nostalgia for the ruins. Gautier dreams in the middle of deserted streets, buried frescoes, abandoned houses. He describes and dreams in a tale that is both faithful and dreamlike. A Pompeii which exists above all in the imagination of the writer, capable of reinventing reality.
