{"product_id":"9780857509628-a-hateful-decision","title":"A Hateful Decision","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChurchill's Darkest Hour and the British Attack on the French Navy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'This is history as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller, rich in human drama yet deeply researched and authoritative. superbly told with compassion, edge-of-seat tension and the deftness of a master story-teller.'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJAMES HOLLAND\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One the toughest decisions Churchill was forced to make. Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama. Minute by minute chances slip away, and pride, fate and war collide. Utterly gripping.'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAL MURRAY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cbr\u003eSummer, 1940. Winston Churchill watches in horror as France falls to the Germans in just six weeks, completing the Nazi conquest of mainland Europe. He faces an urgent question: what will happen to the mighty French Navy? Under Hitler's control it presents a major threat, and could make the German advance unstoppable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the Nazis closing in, Churchill orders Operation Catapult. By the end of one of the most agonising but necessary military operations of the war, the British will have destroyed a large part of the French Navy and nearly 1,300 French sailors will be dead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned. But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINSTON CHURCHILL\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on extensive new research and rediscovered eyewitness accounts, \u003ci\u003eA Hateful Decision\u003c\/i\u003e tells for the first time the full story of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers el Kébir, on 3 July 1940.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs we pass between the men on the ground and the ratcheting tension in the European corridors of power, this riveting book brings to life Churchill’s darkest hour, and the act that demonstrated to the world how far Britain would go to win the war.\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003cb\u003eRead this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.\u003c\/b\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJOHN SWEENEY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eA Hateful Decision \u003c\/i\u003ereads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. An invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.’\u003cbr\u003eJONATHAN DIMBLEBY\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Meticulously researched and written with panache, \u003ci\u003eA Hateful Decision\u003c\/i\u003e sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e’\u003cbr\u003eGILES MILTON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56409877643638,"sku":"9780857509628","price":20.08,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_41515689.jpg?v=1780539287","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780857509628-a-hateful-decision","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}