This history of 1940 cuts away at the myth of survival against the odds and Churchillian bravado during the first year of World War II. It shows what the real situation was, how government reacted, the reality of Anglo-American relations, and the relations between London and the Commonwealth. For the last 50 years 1940 has been regarded as Britain's finest hour. In this book, however, Clive Ponting reveals that the truth was deliberatley hidden both at the time and subsequently. This study also shows how the events and myths of 1940 have come to influence Britain's post-war history.