The Traces of War: The Battle for France

The traces of war are everywhere - if you know where to look.

Dr James Rogers, Assistant Professor of War Studies, is fascinated by these remains and exactly what they can tell us about not just the changing nature of war through time - but the stories of the people who lived through those events.

In the first part of a new series - James is heading out across Northern France on the trail of the last remains of the Battle of France - a battle that started with the German invasion in 1940 and wouldn’t reach its conclusion until the last months of the war, after the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy and pushed the Axis forces back across the border.

Driving across the country he will encounter astonishing traces from the Allied withdrawal from Dunkerque, enormous pieces of German military engineering and come face to face with the stark, human cost of the Battle for France.