Annihilation A Global Military History of World War II

by Zeiler, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780199734733
• ISBN10: 0199734739
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

From 1937 to 1945 the world witnessed a succession of savage military strategies and actions on land, in the seas, and in the skies that resulted in the slaughter of more than 50 million people. Incorporating the most recent scholarship on the military history of the Second World War, this study offers a chronological and geographical examination of the most destructive event in recorded human history. Annihilation argues that World War II evolved into a war of annihilation--a total war--that engulfed militants and civilians alike. The book challenges the "good war" thesis by showing that the "strategy of annihilation" was employed by all sides in the conflict. Moving from the onset of hostilities to the final days of battle, the narrative provides a global perspective that links all theaters of the war. Ideal for undergraduate courses on World War II, this uniquely organized text is the first to allow instructors to assign chapters according to time periods or by region.

Author Biography

Tom Zeiler is a Professor of History and International Affairs, and former chair, at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he also directs the Global Studies Residential Academic Program. He serves as the executive editor of Diplomatic History and as the editor-in-chief of American Foreign Relations Since 1600: A Guide to the Literature, as well as on SHAFR's Teaching Committee and governing Council. A member of the State Department Historical Advisory Committee, Tom has lived in Buenos Aires and Tokyo as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. He is the author of six books, including one on the last half of the Pacific War, and several articles.

Table of Contents

Maps	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Origins and Outbreak, 1919-1939	p. 9
Europe Unsettled	p. 11
Democracies in Crisis	p. 27
Militarism in Asia	p. 37
Phony and European War	p. 53
Axis Advance, 1939-1942	p. 67
German Expansion, North and West	p. 69
Blitzkrieg and Blitz	p. 83
America and the Atlantic	p. 100
Battles for the Mediterranean	p. 117
Attack on the Soviet Union	p. 135
Expansion of Imperial Japan	p. 151
Turning Points, 1942-1943	p. 169
Japan in Triumph and Stalemate	p. 171
Cataclysm on the Eastern Front	p. 191
Shifting Fortunes in the Mediterranean	p. 204
War of Words, the Sea, and the Air	p. 224
Allied Offensives in Asia and the Pacific	p. 242
Grinding Rollback, 1943-1944	p. 255
Penetrating Japan's Defenses	p. 257
Costly Italy	p. 274
Soviet Rout	p. 282
Western European Front	p. 294
Island-Hopping in the Pacific	p. 315
Annihilation, 1944-1945	p. 327
German Resistance in the West	p. 329
Red Army Sweep	p. 346
Shrinking the Japanese Empire	p. 361
Fall of the Third Reich	p. 378
The Inner Ring	p. 386
Conclusion	p. 407
References	p. 419
Bibliography	p. 435
Index	p. 463
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.