To the Last Man

The Home Guard was formed in 1940 to fight an uncompromising and essentially suicidal campaign that was to buy a few hours grace for the regular forces to regroup after a German invasion. But the Dad's Army TV series has led to a serious distortion in the perception of the Home Guard and, as Malcolm Atkin reveals in this thought-provoking and meticulously researched book, its image was manipulated from its earliest days.

Using official documents, contemporary histories, stories, artwork and poetry, and comparing these with postwar films and histories, he takes a unique perspective. He explores how the myths of the Home Guard arose and were exploited by official propaganda and the wartime and postwar media. He also shows how the strong sense of gallows-humor amongst its volunteers - which fits in with a long tradition of self-deprecating humor in the British army - was taken out of context and became the basis of the TV series.

To the Last Man strips back the myths and forensically analyzes how the modern perception has evolved. The result is a new, gritty, sometimes shocking, appreciation of the role that the Home Guard was expected to play in the Second World War.

Home Guard a fost format in 1940 pentru a lupta impotriva unei campanii fara compromisuri si, in esenta, suicidare, care urma sa cumpere cateva ore de gratie pentru ca fortele obisnuite sa se regrupeze dupa o invazie germana. Dar serialul TV al armatei tatalui a dus la o distorsiune grava a perceptiei Garzii interne si, asa cum arata Malcolm Atkin in aceasta carte provocatoare si cercetata meticulos, imaginea sa a fost manipulata inca din primele sale zile. Folosind documente oficiale, istorii contemporane. , povesti, opere de arta si poezie, si comparandu-le cu filme si istorii de dupa razboi, el ia o perspectiva unica.