The Second World War A world in flames

by Hastings, Max; Jukes, Geoffrey; Hart, Russell; Hart, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781841768304
• ISBN10: 1841768308
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-25
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

The period from 1939 to 1945 saw some of the most devastating events in living memory. Existing in the shadows of fear, sacrifice, deprivation and uncertainty, soldiers and civilians of all nationalities were driven to extremes of selfless loyalty, dogged determination or bitter cruelty by the demands of a world at war. Bringing the experience of war to life through a wealth of contemporary documentation, private writings and historical research, this book tells the stories of the men and women who lived and died during the Second World War. Also assessing the political, military and historical significance of the war this truly comprehensive volume covers every fighting front of this horrific war.

Author Biography

Foreword by Sir Max Hastings, text written by nine emminent historians: Paul Collier, Dr Alastair Finlan, Mark J Grove, Philip D Grove, Dr Russell A. Hart, Dr Stephen A. Hart, Dr Robin Havers, David Horner and Geoffrey Jukes.

Table of Contents

Foreword	1	(10)
Sir Max Hastings
Introduction	10	(8)
Chronology	18	(11)
Part I: Europe 1939--1943
Background to war -- The gathering storm	29	(9)
Warring sides -- The road to war	38	(9)
Outbreak -- `I have determined on a solution by force'	47	(9)
The fighting -- Hitler strikes	56	(31)
Portrait of a soldier -- Donald Edgar	87	(5)
Portrait of a civilian -- Colin Perry	92	(3)
How the period ended -- The end of the beginning	95	(4)
Part II: The war at sea
Background to war -- Naval power	99	(3)
Warring sides -- Reluctant adversaries	102	(5)
Outbreak -- Opening moves	107	(7)
The fighting -- Across the world's seas	114	(37)
Portrait of a sailor -- Peter Herbert Owen, Royal Navy midshipman	151	(7)
Portrait of a civilian -- John Delaney-Nash, merchant mariner	158	(3)
How the period ended -- The German fleet is scuttled	161	(3)
Part III: The Mediterranean 1940--1945
Background to war -- Italian imperialism	164	(5)
Warring sides -- Italian propaganda, German professionalism and Allied industrialization	169	(7)
Outbreak -- A parallel war	176	(5)
The fighting -- In all directions at once	181	(32)
Portrait of a soldier -- A modest hero	213	(6)
Portrait of a civilian -- A child in the siege of annihilation: Malta 1940--43	219	(4)
How the period -- Not necessarily in peace	223	(5)
Part IV: The Pacific
Background to war -- The expansion of Imperial Japan	228	(8)
Warring sides -- Powerful Japan faced certain defeat	236	(5)
Outbreak -- The slide toward inevitable war	241	(5)
The fighting -- The course of the Pacific War	246	(36)
Portrait of a soldier -- Thomas Currie Derrick, an Australian soldier	282	(4)
Portrait of a civilian -- Gwen Harold Terasaki, an American in Japan	286	(3)
How the period ended -- Not necessarily to Japan's advantage	289	(6)
Part V: The Eastern Front 1941--1945
Background to war -- A dictators' deal and a double-cross	295	(6)
Warring sides -- Germany gambles on a quick win	301	(3)
Outbreak -- Germany achieves surprise	304	(1)
The fighting -- Red Army battered but not beaten	305	(55)
Portrait of a soldier -- The German and the Russian view	360	(4)
Portrait of a civilian -- `We were as mobilised as the soldiers'	364	(2)
How the period ended -- Germany surrenders, Stalin joins the war on Japan	366	(3)
Part VI: Northwest Europe 1944--1945
Background to war -- The road to D-Day	369	(4)
Warring sides -- A military audit	373	(6)
Outbreak -- The Allies invade France	379	(6)
The fighting -- From D-Day to victory	385	(32)
Portrait of a soldier -- Donald Burgett	417	(5)
Portrait of a civilian -- Brenda McBryde	422	(3)
How the period ended -- The road to VE Day	425	(4)
The world around war	429	(11)
Conclusion and consequences	440	(24)
Further reading	464	(5)
Index	469