PART FOUR

EARTH

Armies on the ground, in the air, and at sea

The military history of the half-century following the fall of France in 1940 can, without too much oversimplification, be boiled down to the story of Western armies allowing their infantry to deteriorate until, in the moment of truth, they discover the folly of such neglect.

—John A. English and Bruce I. Gudmundsson¹