The Phoney Victory

{{Short description|2018 book by Peter Hitchens}}

{{Infobox book

| italic title = force

| name = The Phoney Victory: The World War II Illusion

| image = File:The Phoney Victory.jpg

| author = Peter Hitchens

| country = United Kingdom

| subject = British politics, World War II

| genre = Non-fiction

| publisher = I.B. Tauris

| release_date = 29 August 2018

| pages = 240

| isbn = 9781788313292

| preceded_by = Short Breaks in Mordor

| followed_by = Unconventional Wisdom

}}

The Phoney Victory: The World War II Illusion is a book by Peter Hitchens. It was published in August 2018 by I.B. Tauris. The book addresses what Hitchens regards as the national myth of the Second World War, which he believes dealt long-term damage to Britain and its position in the world.

He argues that while the Allies were, indeed, fighting a radical evil, they sometimes used immoral methods, such as the Allies' carpet bombing of German civilians. He believes that Britain's entry into World War II led to its rapid decline after the war. This was because, among other things, it could not finance the war and was not prepared. As a result, it had to surrender much of its wealth and power to avoid bankruptcy.{{Cite web|last=Giovanni|first=Charles|date=14 January 2019|title="The Phoney Victory - Reviewed by Charles Giovanni, Vanzan Coutinho, New York".|url=http://www.cercles.com/review/r84/Hitchens.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}} However, Hitchens does not make a universal anti-war case because he believes that this position often leaves countries unprotected and defenceless in times of war. Instead, he argues that military power and the threat of war can be necessary deterrents against war.{{Cite web|last=Maiolo|first=Joseph|date=2 November 2018|title="Myth understanding - Trying to make sense of the Second World War".|url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/myth-second-world-war/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}