{"product_id":"taking-paris-isbn-9780593183090","title":"Taking Paris","description":"\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER \u003cb\u003e•\u003c\/b\u003e From Martin Dugard, the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling coauthor of the \u003ci\u003eKilling\u003c\/i\u003e series with Bill O’Reilly, comes the spellbinding story of the Allied liberation of Paris from the grip of the Nazis during World War II\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eTaking Paris\u003c\/i\u003e does for Paris during World War II what \u003ci\u003eThe Splendid and the Vile\u003c\/i\u003e did for London.”—James Patterson  •  “Heroes and villains abound. You’ll enjoy this fast-paced book immensely.”—Bill O’Reilly  \u003cb\u003e•\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cb\u003e“Succeeds triumphantly.\u003cb\u003e”—\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e May 1940: The world is stunned as Hitler's forces invade France with a devastating blitzkrieg aimed at Paris. Within weeks, the French government has collapsed, and the City of Lights, revered for its carefree lifestyle, intellectual freedom, and love of liberty, has fallen under Nazi control—perhaps forever. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As the Germans ruthlessly crush all opposition, a patriotic band of Parisians known as the Resistance secretly rise up to fight back. But these young men and women cannot do it alone. Over 120,000 Parisians die under German occupation. Countless more are tortured in the city's Gestapo prisons and sent to death camps. The longer the Nazis hold the city, the greater the danger its citizens face. As the armies of America and Great Britain prepare to launch the greatest invasion in history, the spies of the Resistance risk all to ensure the Germans are defeated and Paris is once again free. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The players holding the fate of Paris in their hands are some of the biggest historical figures of the era: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, General George S. Patton, and the exiled French general Charles de Gaulle, headquartered in London's Connaught Hotel. From the fall of Paris in 1940 to the race for Paris in 1944, this riveting, page-turning drama unfolds through their decisions—for better and worse. \u003ci\u003eTaking Paris\u003c\/i\u003e is history told at a breathtaking pace, a sprawling yet intimate saga of heroism, desire, and personal sacrifice for all that is right.“[Dugard’s] ambition is to tell a gripping story. In this he succeeds triumphantly. One reads his narrative, mostly in the present tense, as if watching a film…. Dugard has real narrative gifts.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Better than the \u003ci\u003eKilling\u003c\/i\u003e books.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eValdosta Daily Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eTaking Paris\u003c\/i\u003e reads like a film script; such is the immediacy of the writing and use of the present tense that you feel yourself in the action, striding up the Champs-Élysées liberating the French capital from the Nazis.”\u003cb\u003e—Andrew Roberts,\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eChurchill: Walking with Destiny\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Written in the style of the \u003ci\u003eKilling\u003c\/i\u003e books, \u003ci\u003eTaking Paris\u003c\/i\u003e is an exciting examination of the French involvement during World War II. Heroes and villains abound. You’ll enjoy this fast-paced book immensely.”\u003cb\u003e—Bill O’Reilly, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling coauthor of \u003ci\u003eKilling Patton\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKilling Lincoln\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eTaking Paris\u003c\/i\u003e does for Paris during World War II what \u003ci\u003eThe Splendid and the Vile\u003c\/i\u003e did for London. Martin Dugard knows how to make history read with as much pace as the best fiction.”\u003cb\u003e—James Patterson, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eDeadly Cross\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A gripping, well-written account… This is popular history at its best.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eWinnipeg Free Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Fast paced… [a] story of personal sacrifices and the will to win.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Virginia Gazette \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eTaking Paris\u003c\/i\u003e is a captivating retelling of Paris through WWII. Its gripping, easy-to-read, cinematic writing made it hard to put down.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Town Hall\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Dugard, coauthor of the \u003ci\u003eKilling\u003c\/i\u003e series with Bill O’Reilly, delivers a stirring history of the fight to retake Paris…. Cinematic details evoke the despair of the city’s capture and the euphoria of its liberation, when peals of church bells and crowds singing the French national anthem celebrated the arrival of French and American armored divisions. WWII buffs will be enthralled.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“[A] breathless historical narrative that will find a receptive audience among fans of Dugard and the [Bill] O’Reilly series.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMartin Dugard\u003c\/b\u003e is the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of numerous books of history, among them the \u003ci\u003eKilling \u003c\/i\u003eseries with Bill O'Reilly, including \u003ci\u003eKilling the Killers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eKilling the Mob\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e Killing Crazy Horse\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the author of \u003ci\u003eInto Africa\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Training Ground\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Explorers\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as \u003ci\u003eThe Murder of King Tut \u003c\/i\u003ewith James Patterson.\u003cp\u003e1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMay 13, 1940\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDinant, Belgium\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1600 Hours\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeneral Erwin Rommel has had a very busy weekend.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Meuse River rages fast and cold. The loyal admirer of Adolf Hitler paddles a small rubber assault raft toward the west shore. Locals blew the bridges one day ago. This exposed crossing is the only way. Rommel and the young Wehrmacht soldiers spilling over the sides of the cramped black inflatable are not alone. All around them, German troops dig their paddles into the green current, desperate to reach the far shore, where heavily fortified French troops lay down thick rounds of fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"On the steep west bank . . . the enemy had numerous carefully placed machine-gun and anti-tank nests as well as observation points, each one of which would have to be taken on in the fight,\" Rommel will report. \"They also had both light and heavy artillery, accurate and mobile.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome French defenders are hidden in concrete bunkers on the high rocky bluffs, while others aim their M29 machine guns out the windows of abandoned homes on the water's edge. Still other French fighters launch heavy artillery from the ruins of the Crvecoeur Castle, near a mighty bend in the river where spotters have a clear view of the German attackers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the first time in days, at a time when he needs it most, the wiry, forty-eight-year-old Rommel enjoys little air support. The only covering fire for the general and this band of young infantry soldiers from the 7th Rifle Regiment-almost all less than half his age-comes from the shore behind them, as tanks from his 7th Panzer Division unleash lethal rounds at French positions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet the Meuse must be crossed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWehrmacht troops have been practicing this moment for months on the Mosel River in the secrecy of Germany's Black Forest, with Rommel in particular driving his men hard to perfect their crossing tactics. This is his first tank command after a highly decorated infantry career and he is desperate to succeed. The time has now come to put that training to use.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne hundred yards wide at the Leffe crossing point, and fast enough that any man or vehicle attempting to ford its waters will be swept away, the meandering Meuse is a daunting geographical blockade between the rugged Ardennes Forest and open countryside leading straight into France's heart and soul: the capital city of Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe two-thousand-year-old city on the banks of the Seine River is the most sublime and resplendent city in Europe. The City of Lights, as Paris is known, is famous for its architecture and museums, thinkers and writers, ideals and poetry, cuisine and history. As King Francis I, former ruler of France, once stated: \"Paris is not a city; it is a world.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuch is the allure that Germany's despotic supreme leader, Adolf Hitler, once an aspiring painter of watercolors, has a long-standing fascination with Paris's beauty. Hitler has never set foot in the City of Lights, but despite his admiration he still seethes about the punitive terms of surrender France imposed on Germany at the end of World War I. The FŸhrer is determined to conquer Paris and humiliate its citizens with a display of total Nazi power.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"When at last,\" Hitler wrote in his manifesto, Mein Kampf, \"the will-to-live of the German nation, instead of continuing to be wasted away in purely passive defence, can be summoned together for a final, active showdown with France, and thrown into this last decisive battle with the very highest objective for Germany; then, and only then, will it be possible to bring to a close the perpetual and so fruitless struggle between ourselves and France.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHitler dreams of oversized German flags bearing the swastika, symbol of his National Socialist-\"Nazi\"-Party, flying from the Eiffel Tower. In this fantasy, museums like the great Louvre will be looted and priceless works of art shipped to his own capital city of Berlin, which will be redesigned and reconstructed, completing his goal of humbling the French even further by ensuring that Berlin's wonders far outstrip those of Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdolf Hitler is very close to realizing that goal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eá á á\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe battle for France began on May 10, just three days ago. More than a million German soldiers poured across their border, determined to crush the French army and its British ally, which has sent nearly a half million troops to aid in the defense. Utilizing a technique known as blitzkrieg-\"lightning war\"-combining fast-moving divisions of Germany's ten panzer tank divisions accompanied by fighter planes and dive-bombers in the skies above, Hitler's unstoppable forces are attacking with a speed never before seen in warfare. It is the panzers at the forefront, punching through enemy defenses and using speed to expand the fluid battle lines. They do not wait for the infantry, as is the tactic of French tanks. Wehrmacht foot soldiers simply do their best to keep up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe German forces are split into tactical armies, with German Army Group B spearheading the attack in the north. Their mission is to slice through Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands, not only capturing those nations but also luring British and French troops into battle. Unbeknownst to the Allies, this is a fatal trap.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, German Army Group A silently approaches from the east, using the dense Ardennes Forest to conceal what will become known as one of history's greatest surprise attacks. Their job is to dash all the way from the German border to the English Channel, then link up with Army Group B to completely surround and annihilate the Allied forces. Known as a \"double envelopment,\" this tactic is among the oldest in military history, used by Hannibal to defeat the Romans at Cannae in 216 BC. On paper, it looks like two sides of a vise pressing together, squeezing the conquered army in between. If successful, Hitler will accept the French surrender in due course, then have Paris and all of France to call his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the bold plan will fail if German Army Group A cannot cross the impregnable Meuse. Flowing 575 miles from northeast France all the way to the North Sea, this serpentine river twists through valleys lined with high cliffs. \"Mosa,\" its Latin name, roughly translates as \"maze,\" for the many abrupt bends and U-turns on the waterway's journey to the sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it is not just the Meuse that serves as a natural barrier between Germany and France but also the mountainous terrain on both banks, making for impregnable natural defensive positions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrance's top military leader, the intellectual General Maurice-Gustave Gamelin, has every confidence the Meuse will stop the German invasion. He is the architect of \"stand-and-take-it warfare,\" as some in the press label his strategic mindset. The white haired Parisian calls the river \"Europe's best tank obstacle\" and has planned his battle strategy accordingly. \"La Meuse est infranchissable\"-\"The Meuse cannot be crossed\"-the general is fond of stating. In 1939, Time magazine named Gamelin \"the world's foremost soldier,\" almost ensuring that those words are treated as gospel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut just ten days before Germany attacked, a French military attachŽ in Switzerland passed along intelligence to General Gamelin in Paris stating that the Germans would invade through the Ardennes Forest, then attempt to cross the Meuse. The attachŽ was ignored. Gamelin's belief in the invulnerability of the Ardennes is so profound that he also rejected a 1938 study by his own commanders stating that not only will an attack through the forest succeed but German troops will race to the Meuse River within sixty hours.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn fact, Rommel's panzers need just fifty-seven.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMay 13, 1940\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeffe, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1605 Hours\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeneral Erwin Rommel is determined to prove Monsieur Gamelin a fool.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRommel's woolen battle uniform is drenched in sweat and river water as he paddles with all his might. His knee-high black leather riding boots are soaked. The general is exhausted, having slept little since the invasion began. Yet he ignores the near misses of gunfire and geysers of artillery rounds landing in the water all around him. Instead, Rommel shouts encouragement to the brave boys paddling alongside him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I now took over personal command of 2nd Battalion of 7th Rifle Regiment and for some time directed operations by myself,\" the general will report of his temporary return to infantry command. \"I crossed the Meuse in one of the first boats and at once joined the company.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe assault raft reaches the shore near a ruined waterfront ch‰teau. Rommel orders the riflemen into position, shouting for them to keep their heads low. French artillery zeroes in, launching a withering series of rounds. Nevertheless, the general commands a handful of young soldiers to paddle the assault rafts back to load infantry still waiting to cross.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRommel desperately needs artillery of his own to pin down the French. But the big guns are stuck in traffic somewhere on the narrow roads of the Ardennes, as materials for constructing pontoon bridges having been deemed more important.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe general is hoarse from shouting orders. There are still five hours before sunset. The air sings with small-arms fire. Rommel's men take heavy casualties. Death comes as a surprise, whether from a machine-gun bullet hundreds of yards away or a shell fired from a mile distant; few of these teenagers catch a glimpse of the man who pulls the trigger and have even less chance to shoot back. After months of training, four exhausting days on the move, and the adrenaline surge of advancing on an enemy position in broad daylight, these young warriors perish. More than eighty German soldiers are killed, while still others are turned into mist by direct artillery hits, forever to be listed as \"missing\" in the official casualty report.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet Erwin Rommel defies death. He does not wear a helmet, preferring a high-peaked officer's cap, which not only alerts French sharpshooters to his commanding rank but also leaves him vulnerable to the slightest high-velocity metal shell fragment. Despite the heavy fire, he strides back and forth along the waterfront, finally spotting a location where his combat engineers can build a ferry. Work begins immediately. Rommel orders local houses set on fire to provide a smoke screen protecting his engineers from snipers. When construction bogs down, the general personally leaps into water up to his hips to assist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ferry is built within hours. As French artillery runs out of ammunition and ceases firing, Rommel's personal panzer command tank becomes the first armored vehicle to float across. By morning, thirty more panzers will be over the Meuse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut one laborious crossing at a time is too slow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe general hastens the German advance by ordering the construction of a pontoon bridge at a crossing between Leffe and Bouvignes. Thirty miles to the south, near the city of Sedan, fellow panzer generals Heinz Guderian and Georg-Hans Reinhardt have also successfully fought their way over the Meuse and are constructing their own temporary bridges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy May 14, just four days after the invasion of France, the myth of the uncrossable Meuse is no more. French officers desert their commands. Those caught in the act by their superiors are executed with a shot to the head. This reminder for others to stand fast does little good. Lacking leadership and facing certain death in the path of the unrelenting German advance, entire French units raise the white flag of surrender. One major is captured attempting to escape dressed like a woman, his uniform pants beneath the dress giving him away. So many French give up that the Germans do not have time to imprison the defeated men, simply ordering them to throw down their weapons and march east into Germany, their rifles then hurled under tank treads and crushed. Amazingly, most French do as they are told. When a lone lieutenant colonel indignantly refuses three direct orders to surrender, Rommel orders him shot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet there is no celebration for General Erwin Rommel. Not yet. The general and his fellow panzer commanders know the blitzkrieg must roll on. The men are exhausted and coated in dust, still fueled by adrenaline and now euphoria. One by one, the seven tank divisions fan out over a twenty-mile front and advance west across France. The air vibrates with the rumble of panzers. Rather than wait for supplies to catch up, these tanks refuel at abandoned roadside gas stations. The roads are clogged with refugees and still more French soldiers eager to throw down their arms. There is little resistance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrench throats choke from terror at the sight of the German onslaught, but Erwin Rommel is stirred: \"In a light morning mist, with the rising sun behind us, the tank column rolled on towards the west,\" he will confidently write.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParis is just 150 miles in the distance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd nothing now stands in the way of Adolf Hitler's army.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's all happening so fast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMay 16, 1940\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParis, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e5:30 p.m.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWinston Churchill has come to save France.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is six days since the German onslaught. Two days ago, as General Erwin Rommel was crossing the Meuse, the Netherlands harbor city of Rotterdam was leveled by the Luftwaffe. Nearly nine hundred civilians were killed and eighty thousand made homeless. The German officer accepting the Dutch surrender, a small, corpulent Prussian named Dietrich von Choltitz, was unrepentant about the devastation. Knowing the German mindset toward such all-out war, Churchill shudders to think that a similar fate awaits Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBritain's newly elected prime minister strides into the French foreign minister's office here at number 37 Quai d'Orsay, followed closely by three of his top military commanders. The bonfires of burning government documents remain lit, smoky sweet smell of burning paper wafting in through the open windows. An oversized battlefield map balances on an easel. The mood among the assembled French dignitaries is grim.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYesterday morning, Churchill awoke to a frantic phone call from his French counterpart, Paul Reynaud. \"He spoke in English, and evidently under stress: 'We have been defeated,'\" Churchill will later quote Reynaud. \"As I did not immediately respond he said again: 'We are beaten; we have lost the battle.' I said: 'Surely, it can't have happened so soon?' But he replied: 'The front is broken near Sedan: they are pouring through in great numbers with tanks and armored cars.'\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo it is that Winston Churchill has flown to Paris to meet with the Anglo-French Supreme War Council. He wears a bow tie and waistcoat. His breath is Romeo y Julieta cigar and luncheon champagne, wreathed in Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet aftershave.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChurchill's ambition is to find ways Britain can help stop the German advance. He is upbeat, certain there is a way to reverse France's stunning battlefield fiascos. The sixty-five-year-old prime minister remains standing as the French commander in chief, General Maurice-Gustave Gamelin, steps forward to brief the group on the war status.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dutton Caliber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304157335781,"sku":"NP9780593183090","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593183090.jpg?v=1767737746","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/taking-paris-isbn-9780593183090","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}