A War to Be Won

by Murray, Williamson; Millett, Allan R.

• ISBN13: 9780674006805
• ISBN10: 0674006801
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-22
• Publisher: Belknap Pr

Summary

In the course of the twentieth century, no war looms as profoundly transformative or as destructive as World War II. Its global scope and human toll reveal the true face of modern, industrialized warfare. Now, for the first time, we have a comprehensive, single-volume account of how and why this global conflict evolved as it did. A War To Be Won is a unique and powerful operational history of the Second World War that tells the full story of battle on land, on sea, and in the air. Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett analyze the operations and tactics that defined the conduct of the war in both the European and Pacific Theaters. Moving between the war room and the battlefield, we see how strategies were crafted and revised, and how the multitudes of combat troops struggled to discharge their orders. The authors present incisive portraits of the military leaders, on both sides of the struggle, demonstrating the ambiguities they faced, the opportunities they took, and those they missed. Throughout, we see the relationship between the actual operations of the war and their political and moral implications. A War To Be Won is the culmination of decades of research by two of America's premier military historians. It avoids a celebratory view of the war but preserves a profound respect for the problems the Allies faced and overcame as well as a realistic assessment of the Axis accomplishments and failures. It is the essential military history of World War II--from the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 to the surrender of Japan in 1945--for students, scholars, and general readers alike.

Table of Contents

Origins of a Catastrophe

The Revolution in Military Operations, 1919?1939

German Designs, 1939?1940

Germany Triumphant, 1940

Diversions in the Mediterranean and Balkans, 1940?1941

Barbarossa, 1941

The Origins of the Asia-Pacific War, 1919?1941

The Japanese War of Conquest, 1941?1942

The Asia-Pacific War, 1942?1944

The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939?1943

Year of Decision for Germany, 1942

The Combined Bomber Offensive, 1941?1945

The Destruction of Japanese Naval Power, 1943?1944

The Killing Time, 1943?1944

The Invasion of France, 1944

The End in Europe, 1944?1945

The Destruction of the Japanese Empire, 1944?1945

The End of the Asia-Pacific War, 1945

Peoples at War, 1937?1945

The Aftermath of War

Epilogue: In Retrospect

Appendixes

Military Organization

The Conduct of War

Weapons

Exploring World War II Notes

Suggested Reading

Acknowledgments

Illustration

Credits Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.