World War II : A Short History

by Lyons, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780130954770
• ISBN10: 0130954772
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-06-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

KEY BENEFIT: This book is designed for courses on World War II, Military History, and 20th Century Europe. Highly regarded for its clarification of the complexities of World War II, the book illuminates the origins, course, and long-range effects of the war and provides a balanced account that analyzes both the European and Pacific Theaters of operations and the connections between them. The Third Edition incorporates new material from the latest literature, offering modified conclusions on key topics and expanding coverage throughout.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
THE ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR II	1	(65)
1. World War I: The Great Turning Point	1	(12)
The Social, Political, and Economic Climate in Europe Prior to World War I	1	(1)
The Growth of Rivalry among European Nations	2	(1)
The Seeds of Conflict in Europe	3	(1)
The War Spreads	4	(1)
Miscalculations and Illusions	5	(1)
A Long and Bloody Deadlock	6	(2)
The Resort to Total War	8	(1)
The Territorial Imperative	9	(1)
Revolution in Russia	9	(1)
The U.S. Role	10	(1)
An End to the Nightmare	11	(2)
2. The Legacy of World War I	13	(16)
The Peace of Paris	13	(6)
Other Treaties and Territorial Changes	19	(2)
Reactions to the New Arrangements	21	(2)
Economic Repercussions	23	(1)
Political Realignments	24	(1)
The Rise of the Land of the Rising Sun	25	(2)
Seeking Balance between East and West	27	(1)
A Fragile Optimism	28	(1)
3. The Rise of the Dictators	29	(20)
The Emergence of Totalitarianism	29	(1)
Lenin and the Bolsheviks	30	(3)
The Stalinist Era in the Soviet Union	33	(1)
Fascism in Italy	34	(4)
Hitler and the Nazis in Germany	38	(3)
The Weimar Republic in Crisis	41	(2)
The Third Reich Takes Form	43	(2)
The Fuhrer at the Helm	45	(1)
The Transformation of Japan	46	(3)
4. The Road to War	49	(17)
Japanese Aggression on the Asian Mainland	49	(3)
Hitler's Plans for Europe	52	(2)
Reactions of Neighboring Nations	54	(1)
Ploys and Counterploys	55	(2)
Civil War in Spain	57	(1)
Germany on the Offensive	58	(2)
The Dilemma of Czechoslovakia	60	(2)
A Change of Policy in the West	62	(1)
Crisis over Poland	63	(3)
GERMANY'S MARCH OF CONQUEST	66	(48)
5. Blitzkrieg in the East, Sitzkrieg in the West	66	(11)
Differing Approaches to War	66	(4)
A Patchwork of Strengths and Weaknesses	70	(1)
The First Blitzkrieg: Germany's Invasion of Poland	71	(3)
A Phony War of Real Danger	74	(3)
6. Complications in the North: Finland, Denmark, Norway	77	(8)
The Russo-Finnish War	77	(2)
Focus on Scandinavia	79	(2)
The Conquest of Denmark and Norway	81	(4)
7. The Fall of France	85	(10)
Comparative Military Strength	85	(1)
The Politics of Military Leadership	86	(1)
Sweep through the Low Countries	87	(4)
The Conquest of France	91	(4)
8. Britain Is Still an Island	95	(9)
What to Do about Britain?	95	(1)
Planning the Attack	96	(1)
Defending against the Luftwaffe	97	(2)
The Battle of Britain	99	(5)
9. The Plot Thickens: The Mediterranean and the Balkans	104	(10)
Extending the War Southward	104	(2)
North Africa: The Desert War	106	(3)
The Balkan Campaigns	109	(3)
The Quick Conquest of Crete	112	(1)
The Germans in Control	112	(2)
THE WAR BECOMES GLOBAL	114	(47)
10. Operation Barbarossa: Dream of Lebensraum	114	(11)
The Decision to Invade the USSR	114	(1)
Military Strengths and Weaknesses	115	(1)
Objectives and Strategy	116	(1)
The Spectacular Invasion Begins	117	(5)
Weather and the Soviets Turn the Tide	122	(3)
11. Hitler's New Order in Europe	125	(13)
The Greater German Empire	125	(1)
The "Jewish Question"	126	(3)
German Treatment of Other Non-Aryans	129	(3)
Occupation Policies in the Soviet Union	132	(2)
Nazi Policy toward Other Europeans	134	(2)
Resistance Movements	136	(1)
Horror as State Policy	136	(2)
12. America Enters the War	138	(12)
Franklin Roosevelt	138	(1)
A Cautious Approach	139	(1)
Growing U.S. Support for Britain	140	(1)
Deterioration of U.S.-Japanese Relations	141	(1)
Japanese Intentions in Asia	142	(2)
American Diplomatic Reactions	144	(1)
Preparations for War in the Pacific	145	(2)
The Attack on Pearl Harbor	147	(2)
The United States at War	149	(1)
13. Japan Triumphant, December 1941-May 1942	150	(11)
Japanese Military Strength	150	(1)
War in Southeast Asia and the Pacific	151	(2)
The Philippine Debacle	153	(3)
The Conquest of Malaya	156	(3)
The East Indies: Dutch No More	159	(1)
The Allies Take a Beating in Burma	159	(2)
THE TIDE TURNS	161	(83)
14. The Tide Turns in the Pacific	161	(11)
Japanese Strategy	161	(1)
American Operations	162	(1)
Battle of the Coral Sea	163	(1)
Battle of Midway	164	(2)
Small Victories, Big Defeats	166	(1)
Battles for the Solomon Islands	166	(5)
American Attitudes toward the Japanese	171	(1)
15. The Tide Turns in Europe: Stalingrad and El Alamein	172	(12)
New German Goals in the USSR	172	(3)
The Long Struggle for Stalingrad	175	(2)
The "Sideshow" in North Africa	177	(2)
Rommel Drives into Egypt	179	(5)
16. Problems of a Marriage of Convenience: The Second Front Question	184	(11)
Two's Company, Three's a Coalition	184	(1)
Allied Differences on Strategy	185	(3)
The Allied Invasion of French North Africa	188	(2)
The Tunisian Campaign	190	(2)
The Final Push in Tunisia	192	(3)
17. Probing the Underbelly: Sicily and Italy	195	(9)
The Allied Invasion of Sicily	195	(3)
Consequences of Allied Success in Sicily	198	(1)
Onto the Mainland	198	(3)
Changes in Allied Command and Strategy	201	(3)
18. War in the Atlantic	204	(12)
The Balance of Power at Sea	204	(1)
The U-Boat: Key to Victory?	205	(2)
Combating German Undersea Power	207	(1)
The Struggle for the Mediterranean	208	(2)
The Battle of the Atlantic Continues	210	(1)
Bismarck's First and Last Voyage	211	(1)
Crisis and Resolution in the North Atlantic	212	(2)
War in the Arctic Ocean	214	(1)
No Guaranteed Victory	215	(1)
19. Target Germany: The Allied Bombing Offensive	216	(11)
Strategic Bombing	216	(2)
Britain Takes the Offensive	218	(1)
The Americans Join In	219	(1)
The Destruction of Hamburg	220	(1)
The Allies Regain the Upper Hand	221	(4)
Was It All Worthwhile?	225	(2)
20. Total War and the Home Fronts	227	(17)
Germany: From Limited Liability to Total War	227	(3)
Britain: Toward Total Mobilization	230	(3)
The American Giant Awakens	233	(5)
The Soviets Rebound from Disaster	238	(3)
Japan: Conflict of Interest	241	(3)
THE TRIUMPH OF THE ALLIES	244	(73)
21. Russia Moves West, 1943-44	244	(9)
The Germans on the Defensive	244	(1)
Operation Citadel	245	(2)
The Germans Begin to Crumble	247	(1)
The Soviets Roll On	248	(1)
The Warsaw Uprising	249	(1)
Soviet Successes in the Baltic States and the Balkans	250	(3)
22. Cross-Channel Invasion at Last: D Day to the German Border	253	(12)
Teheran and Allied Strategy	254	(1)
Preparing for the Invasion	254	(2)
The Invasion Begins	256	(3)
An Attempt on Hitler's Life	259	(1)
The Allies Break Out	259	(1)
The Southern Invasion: Anvil-Dragoon	260	(1)
The Allies' Swift Advance	261	(2)
The Push to Cross the Rhine	263	(2)
23. The End of the Thousand-Year Reich	265	(14)
The Battle of the Bulge	265	(3)
The Struggle for the Colmar Pocket	268	(1)
The Soviet Assault on Poland and Beyond	268	(3)
The Yalta Conference	271	(1)
The Allied Drive to the Rhine	271	(2)
Crushing the Axis in Italy	273	(1)
The Allies Overrun the Reich	274	(3)
The Bitter End	277	(2)
24. Island Hopping in the Pacific	279	(13)
Questions of Strategy and Leadership	279	(3)
American Moves in the North Pacific	282	(1)
Action in the Southwest Theater	282	(2)
Pushing along New Guinea's Coast	284	(1)
A Chain around Rabaul	285	(1)
The Central Pacific Offensive	286	(1)
The Taking of Tarawa and Makin	286	(1)
The Leap to Kwajalein	287	(1)
The Neutralization of Truk	288	(1)
Assault on the Marianas	289	(3)
25. War on the Periphery: China, Burma, India	292	(8)
The Chinese Situation	292	(2)
British Raids on Burma	294	(1)
India's Internal Instability	295	(2)
Allied Sequabbles over Strategy	297	(1)
The Campaign to Retake Burma	297	(2)
A Change of Plans for China	299	(1)
26. The Collapse of Japan	300	(17)
The Return to the Philippines	300	(1)
The Battle of Leyte Gulf	301	(3)
Progress on Land	304	(1)
The Agonizing Fight for Iwo Jima	305	(2)
The Costly Struggle for Okinawa	307	(3)
The Pacific Submarine War	310	(1)
Fire from the Sky	311	(1)
Both Sides Woo the Soviets	312	(1)
Advent of a New Age: The Atomic Bomb	312	(2)
Forcing Japan's Surrender	314	(1)
Postmortem: Was Atomic Force Necessary?	315	(2)
Aftermath	317	(15)
The Physical Costs of World War II	317	(1)
Prosecuting War Criminals	318	(1)
Political Repercussions	319	(1)
Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe	320	(2)
U.S. Aid to Western Europe	322	(1)
The Cold War	323	(2)
The Spread of Democracy	325	(1)
Civil War in China	326	(1)
Events in Korea Lead to War	327	(1)
Withdrawal from Empire	328	(1)
The End of the Cold War and the Soviet Union	328	(4)
Additional Reading	332	(19)
General	332	(1)
Chapter 1	333	(1)
Chapter 2	333	(1)
Chapter 3	334	(1)
Chapter 4	335	(1)
Chapter 5	336	(1)
Chapter 6	337	(1)
Chapter 7	337	(1)
Chapter 8	338	(1)
Chapter 9	338	(1)
Chapter 10	339	(1)
Chapter 11	339	(1)
Chapter 12	340	(1)
Chapter 13	341	(1)
Chapter 14	341	(1)
Chapter 15	342	(1)
Chapter 16	342	(1)
Chapter 17	343	(1)
Chapter 18	343	(1)
Chapter 19	344	(1)
Chapter 20	344	(1)
Chapter 21	345	(1)
Chapter 22	346	(1)
Chapter 23	346	(1)
Chapter 24	347	(1)
Chapter 25	347	(1)
Chapter 26	348	(1)
Aftermath	348	(3)
Index	351