Description
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Most Destructive War 1
About This Book 2
Conventions Used in This Book 3
How This Book Is Organized 4
Part 1: Origins and Causes of the War, 1919–1939 4
Part 2: Starting the War: The Axis Invades and Conquers, 1939–1942 4
Part 3: Behind Enemy Lines: Nations at War 5
Part 4: Planning and Launching the Allied Counterattack, 1942–1943 5
Part 5: The Long Haul, 1944 6
Part 6: Starting Over: The War’s Aftereffects, 1945 6
Part 7: The Part of Tens 7
Icons Used in This Book 7
Where to Go from Here 8
Beyond the Book 8
Part 1: Origins and Causes of The War, 1919–1939 9
Chapter 1: World War II: Why It Matters and What You Need to Know 11
The War’s Beginnings 12
The World War I peace agreement 12
The global economy 12
The rise of totalitarianism 13
The birth of Fascism and Nazism 13
The rise of Hitler 14
The British and French fear of another war 14
The isolationism of the United States 14
The empire building of Japan 14
Who’s Who of Combatants 15
The Allies 15
The Axis 15
The Course of the War 16
Where in the World Was the World War Fought? 17
The battles in Europe 17
The battles in the Soviet Union 18
The battles in North Africa 18
The battles in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia 18
The battle in the Atlantic 18
The Effect of World War II 19
Chapter 2: The Great War and the Uneasy Peace: How World War II Happened 21
The End of One War and the Roots of Another 22
The victors and the spoils: The Treaty of Versailles 23
Woodrow Wilson’s last card: The League of Nations 25
The world in the 1920s 26
Collapsing Economies: The Great Depression 32
The effect on countries’ economies 32
The threat to democracy 32
Fascism and Nazism: Whose Bright Idea Was This? 33
Fascism in a nutshell — if only 33
Fascism in Italy 35
Nazism: Fascism with a twist 36
The Rise of Hitler 38
The putsch that failed 38
Mein Kampf 39
Hitler consolidates power 39
Creating the regime: The alpha wolf takes over 40
Nazi top brass: The rest of the pack 42
Japan and the Militarists: The Army Calls the Shots 47
The military acts 48
The fall of Japanese democracy 48
Japan takes control of China 49
Chapter 3: Hoping for Peace: The Rise of the Dictators, 1933–1939 51
The Steps to War: Taking Advantage of Circumstances 52
Rebuilding the army 52
Buying time 53
Forging an agreement with Poland 53
Reclaiming the Saar 54
Breaking treaties 54
Advancing into the Rhineland 54
Getting Aggressive: Italy Makes a War 55
Forging a Pact: The Axis Is Born 56
The Spanish Civil War: Fascism and Communism Clash 57
Germany: Using Diplomacy and Smoke Screens for War 58
Britain: Seeking Mediation and Appeasement 59
Austria and Czechoslovakia Catch Hitler’s Eye 60
The Anschluss in Austria 60
Onward to Czechoslovakia 61
May I have more, please? 64
The diplomats — Did they do their job? 65
Part 2: Starting The War: The Axis Invades And Conquers, 1939–1942 67
Chapter 4: Invading Eastern Europe: Hitler’s Power Grows, 1939 69
Czechoslovakia Disappears: Divvying Land and German Occupation 70
Chamberlain and Daladier wise up 71
Why wasn’t I informed?! — Mussolini in the dark 71
Playing Both Sides of the Fence: Negotiations with the Soviets 72
Talks with Britain and France 72
Talks with Germany: The Nazi-Soviet pact 73
Talking Peace and Planning War: Hitler Finds an Excuse 76
Hitler’s plans for Poland 76
On the brink — and beyond 76
Chapter 5: Blitzkrieg in Europe: World War II Begins, 1939–1941 79
The Invasion of Poland 80
The German onslaught 80
The Soviets enter the fray 81
A new style of warfare: The blitzkrieg 82
After Poland’s defeat 82
Drawing the Line: Britain and France Declare War on Germany 83
British action — such that it was 84
French action: Patrolling the border 85
Fighting His Own War: Stalin Goes after Finland 85
Wave 1: Stalin faces the fighting Finns 86
Wave 2: Let’s try this again 86
Anyone paying attention? The message of the Soviet-Finnish War 87
He’s B-a-a-ck: Hitler Strikes Norway and Denmark 88
The plan 88
The attack and the resistance 88
Fighting with the hearts of lions: The Allies respond 89
Winners and losers 90
The Phony War: Using France to Get at Britain 91
The Germans: Making the most of unexpected delays 91
The Allies: You’d think that they would have been prepared 92
The first phase: Attacking the Low Countries 95
The second phase: The attack through the Ardennes Forest 95
The Allies: Stuck in Flanders 96
The Royal Navy to the rescue: Salvation at Dunkirk 96
France falls to Germany 97
Improving their position: The other dictators act 99
A British Epic: The Battle of Britain 100
Standing alone 100
Taking to the air: New considerations for aerial warfare 101
The not-so-friendly skies 102
Descending on London: The Luftwaffe Blitz 102
The Balkans: Mussolini’s Mess and Hitler’s New Target 103
Mussolini invades 103
Britain appears on the scene 103
Hitler jumps on the bandwagon 104
Greece falls to Germany 105
Capturing Crete from the air 106
The Italians Take Their Lumps All Over Africa 106
Running them out on a rail: The Italians surrender 107
Helping the Italians: Enter Rommel 108
Chapter 6: The Ultimate Battle: Hitler versus Stalin 109
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Find Another Target 110
Why the Soviet Union? 110
Working the dream: Inside the Führer’s mind 111
Laying the groundwork: Operation BARBAROSSA 112
Appeasing Germany: Stalin Is Clueless 112
Information Stalin ignored 113
Mistakes Stalin made 113
The Germans hit hard and fast 114
Forgetting What’s Important: Hitler’s Fatal Decision 116
Stalin rallies the Soviet people 118
The road to Moscow 118
New fire for the Soviets: Zhukov takes command 120
Corporal Hitler Takes Charge of the Eastern Front 120
Chapter 7: America on the Sidelines: 1933–1941 121
Looking Inward: A New President and a Neutral Stance 122
The Neutrality Act of 1935 and its extension 124
The Neutrality Act of 1937 124
The effect of the Neutrality Acts 124
Message from Japan 125
Bad Signs in Europe 126
Roosevelt Plays the Neutrality Game 126
France’s Fall: America’s Wake-up Call 127
Wheeling and dealing with Britain: Talkin’ belligerent 127
Help thy neighbor: The Lend-Lease Act 128
American ships go out 129
Enough is enough: A neutral starts shooting 130
Chapter 8: Collision in Asia: Japan and America, 1937–1941 131
A Brief History of Politics in Japan 131
Building the Perfect Machine: Japan Thinks War 132
Choking China into surrender 132
Diplomatic chess: Japan’s big plans 133
Oops! Miscalculations in diplomacy: Japan joins the Axis 134
A new guy takes over 134
Japan’s gamble: How the war would go 135
Dancing diplomats: Japan and America do the two-step 136
War Comes to America: Pearl Harbor 137
The attack 138
The aftermath 138
Japanese gains 139
The U.S declares war on Japan 139
The Japanese Wage War 140
Malaya: The worst defeat in British history 140
The Dutch East Indies 141
“A hell of a beating” in Burma 142
Wake, Guam, and the Philippines 142
Ignoring the Writing on the Wall: MacArthur Fights 144
Giving the Allies hope: “I shall return” 145
Defeat and the Death March 146
Hitler Declares War on the Mongrel Race 146
Now It’s a World War 147
Part 3: Behind Enemy Lines: Nations At War 149
Chapter 9: Maintaining Resources: The Axis 151
Nazi Germany 151
A well-fed German is a happy German 152
Spearheading the production process 152
Slave labor and other workers 153
Under the illusion: Morale 153
Resisting Hitler inside Germany 154
Unready and Unwilling: Fascist Italy 155
Wartime production 156
Struggling for labor 156
Wondering what to do: Morale 156
Believing in Victory: Imperial Japan 157
Taking control: Production 157
The Japanese labor force 158
The Emperor’s new clothes: Morale 158
Chapter 10: Working Together: The Allies 159
Staying United: The United Kingdom 160
The Yanks are comin’ again 160
Mobilizing manpower: Labor and the war effort 160
Keeping a stiff upper lip: British morale 161
Working Hard: The United States 161
Building the arsenal: The America triumph 162
Back home on the range: Morale 164
The dark side of American zeal: The internment camps 164
The Soviet Union 165
Staying alive: Production 166
Worked to death: Soviet labor 167
Becoming a world power: Morale 168
Chapter 11: The War against the Jews 169
The Rationale: Nazi Thinking 169
The Persecution Begins: Jews in Germany 170
Mobile Killing Units: The Einsatzgruppen 171
Deportation to Ghettos, Concentration Camps, and Death Camps 172
Life in the ghetto 173
Life in the concentration camps 173
The “death factories” 174
The Final Solution and Its Ultimate Failure 175
Hiding their crime 176
The arrival of the Americans, British, and Soviets 177
Part 4: Planning and Launching The Allied Counterattack, 1942–1943 179
Chapter 12: The Politics of Compromise, 1942 181
The Axis Powers: Deals among Desperados 182
American-British Cooperation: Not a Bed of Roses 183
The Atlantic Charter 183
An Allied picnic: The Arcadia Conference 184
Clashing Strategies: A Debate among Friends 185
Japan first? 185
Or Germany first? 186
What about North Africa? 186
Heating up the debate: Stalin’s call for help 187
Making the First Decision: Germany First 187
Chapter 13: Taking North Africa, Sicily, and the Boot 189
Rommel’s Desert Defeat: El Alamein 189
The Eighth Army takes on Rommel 190
Rommel returns and Montgomery enters 191
Between a rock and a hard place: Rommel’s position 191
Rommel’s defeat: Montgomery gives chase 192
Throwing the Torch: The Allies Strike in North Africa 194
Getting organized: The invasion force takes shape 195
The operation begins 197
The end of Vichy France 198
Winning ugly: The Americans’ steep learning curve 198
Turning toward Tunisia 199
Hitler sends reinforcements 199
Rommel returns again 199
Kasserine Pass: The first battle 200
The Americans regroup and attack 200
A Day and Night in Casablanca: The Allies Go-Forward Plan 201
Operation HUSKY: Invading Sicily 201
An Allied victory, an Italian surrender, and a few snafus 202
He’s OUTTA here! Mussolini gets the hook 204
Who needs a friend like you? Italy declares war on Germany 204
Up the Boot: Invading the Italian Mainland 205
Salerno to the Winter Line 205
In the wake of the victory 206
Chapter 14: Germany a Three-Time Loser: In Russia, At Home, and in the Atlantic 207
Hitler’s 1942 Offensive in Russia 208
Hitler’s plan: Bold but flawed 208
Soviet response 209
Hitler dooms his troops 210
The agony of Stalingrad 211
Setting the trap for the Germans 212
The bear trap snaps shut: The Soviets attack 212
Stalingrad: A decisive Soviet victory 213
Amassing Ammo and Men at Kursk 215
The plum of Stalin’s eye: Operation Zitadelle 216
Kursk: Another big win for the Soviets 216
Taking It to the Streets: Bombing Germany 216
Striking in daylight: The Americans join in 217
Changing Allied strategy 219
Raiding Ploesti and Schweinfurt 219
Rating the raids: Were they worth it? 220
High Tide of the U-Boat: The Battle of the Atlantic 221
The fearsome U-boats 221
Keeping the USSR strong: The Murmansk run 223
Sinking the U-boats: The turning point, 1943 223
Chapter 15: Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and Midway: Japan’s Three Strikes 225
The Rope-a-Dope: Japan Fights for Time 225
Raising American morale: The Allied counterpunch 227
Setting Tokyo on fire: Doolittle’s raid 228
A Military First: The Battle of the Coral Sea 229
Intercepting helpful info: A critical tip-off 229
Engaging in pea soup on the way to Port Moresby 230
Going after the carriers instead 231
A Japanese victory, an American triumph 231
Midway: Naval Aviation’s Finest Moment 232
Setting a trap: The Japanese three-pronged approach 232
Having two aces in the hole: The Nimitz shuffle 234
Opening moves: Bombs over Midway 234
Off the beaten path: McClusky’s miracle 235
Midway: A Strategic Analysis 236
New Guinea: Green Hell 236
Jungle fighting: The Aussies hold the Japanese 237
Bringing the Americans: MacArthur and his troops 238
Protecting Australia: Allied Pacific Strategy 239
The Americans take the offensive 239
“The Fork in the Road”: Battles on land and sea for Guadalcanal 241
Bloody Ridge: The Americans hold Guadalcanal 241
Other clashes between U.S and Japanese forces in the Solomons 242
Looking at Guadalcanal blow by blow 242
Nimitz Takes the Offensive 243
Japan’s suicide defenders at Tarawa 243
Running aground: A bitter surprise 244
The Marines take the island 244
Chapter 16: Planning for the Rest of the War, 1943 245
The Big Three: Conference at Teheran 246
Winds of Change in 1943: From the Axis Perspective 247
Playing both sides of the fence: The Japanese 247
Holding out for now: The Germans 248
The Panorama of 1943: From the Allied Perspective 248
Stepping up production: The Americans 249
Preserving and restoring the British Empire 249
Creating a new role for itself: The Soviet Union 250
Riding the storm out: China 250
Part 5: The Long Haul, 1944 251
Chapter 17: The Italian Campaign and Soviet Victories in the East 253
Changing Plans: End Run on the Winter Line 254
The strategy and potential problems 254
The fight at Cassino 255
Landing at Anzio: Surprises for everyone 255
The battle on the Anzio beach 256
The fight at the Gustav Line 256
Rome: The First Capital to Fall — So What? 257
When in Rome 258
Stalemate again 258
Steamrolling the German Army in Russia 258
Blitzkrieg, Soviet style 259
Driving into the Balkans: The Soviets take over 261
Courageous uprising in Warsaw 261
Chapter 18: Liberating Europe: From Normandy to Paris, and Beyond 263
Deciding on Strategy: OVERLORD 264
Need a plan, a real big Allied plan 265
Germans step up their defenses 267
The toughest job: Eisenhower makes the call 268
D-Day: Invasion and Breakout 268
Some success for the Canadians and British at Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches 269
Success for the Americans at Utah beach 270
A near disaster at Omaha 270
A day late and a dollar short: Another Hitler blunder 271
Expanding the Beachhead 272
The battle for Caen 272
The Allied breakout into the open 273
Forcing the German retreat: The disaster at Falaise 273
Liberating Paris 274
Too Far, Too Fast: More Decisions 275
Tough choices for Eisenhower 275
The British offensive: Monty miscalculates 276
Americans bloody Germany’s nose on the border 278
Combat fatigue all along the line 278
The Air War: Wearing Germany Down 279
Allied attacks on war production factories 279
The offensive intensifies 279
Feeling the effects 280
Hitler’s Gamble: The Battle of the Bulge 281
Through the Ardennes Forest again 281
Narrowing the gap: The Allies just keep fighting 282
Losses on both sides: The aftermath 284
The Soviets on Germany’s Doorstep 284
Advancing into Yugoslavia and Hungary 284
Chapter 19: Japan Begins to Crack 287
The Island Assault Plan: The Marshalls and Then the Marianas 288
Marshall Islands: Learned Lessons Well Applied 288
Overwhelming odds: The Allies take the islands 290
Some is enough: The Marshalls go to the Allies 290
Mauling the Marianas 291
Saipan 291
Guam 292
Tinian 292
The Japanese Navy Weighs In: The Battle of the Philippine Sea 292
The Marianas “Turkey Shoot” 293
Bad news for the Japanese fleet 293
MacArthur’s island hopping 294
Kicking Off the New Guinea Campaign 294
Rabaul is encircled 295
Dominating the air: Hollandia 295
Controlling the sea: Biak 296
Same old mistakes: Peleliu 297
Preparing to Take Leyte 298
MacArthur returns 299
The Battle of Leyte Gulf 299
MacArthur: Bogged down in Leyte 303
A hard won victory 303
Aftermath of Leyte: Marching on Mindoro 304
Operations in the Pacific: An Appreciation 304
The China-Burma-India Theater 305
Allied Hit and Runs in Burma 307
British General Wingate and the Chindits 307
Chinese troops and Merill’s Marauders 307
The Japanese Tip the Balance in China 308
Stirring Up Trouble: The Japanese Offensive against India 309
Battle at Imphal 309
Battle at Kohima 310
The End of the Line in Burma: Good-bye to Stilwell and the Japanese 310
A victim of politics: Exit Vinegar Joe 311
Breaking Japanese resistance: Clearing Burma 311
Part 6: Starting Over: The War’s Aftereffects, 1945 313
Chapter 20: Ending the War (Almost): The Final Offensive 315
The Allies Cross the Rhine, the Germans Turn a Corner 316
Can’t someone shut this guy up? — Hitler tries again 317
Another bridge awaits: Pushing the river 317
A tale of two crossings 318
The Germans: Down but not out 318
The Soviets Move Forward 319
Regaining Hungary 319
Clearing the way to Berlin 319
Fearing the worst: The German exodus 320
Fighting in the Air and at Sea: The Final Acts 320
Air attacks: The bottom line 321
An end to the U-boat threat 321
Capturing German Territory 322
Symbolic spoils: The fate of Berlin 322
Understanding Eisenhower’s decision 323
Roosevelt’s Last Act and Stalin’s Coup at Yalta 323
Winning over Uncle Joe (not) 324
On the United Nations 324
On the fate of Poland 325
On the future of Germany 325
On the USSR’s involvement in Japan 326
A bitter pill 326
The War in Italy Ends, and Germany Succumbs 327
The battle in northern Italy 328
Defying Der Führer: The Germans surrender 328
Stalin Moves on Berlin 328
The Soviet onslaught 329
The end of Berlin’s most notorious citizen: Hitler 330
The fall of Berlin 331
No Way Out: The Germans Surrender 332
The German surrender to the British and Americans 332
One more time! Stalin demands another surrender 333
Celebrating VE Day 333
The happy stuff: Allies celebrate 333
The not so happy stuff 334
Reconstructing a New Germany: The Potsdam Conference 334
Getting thrown into the pot: The newcomers 336
Conference Outline: What was decided 336
Tying up loose ends: Plans for another conference 337
Warning Japan: The secret threat 338
Loose Ends of a Bitter Victory 339
Chapter 21: The Japanese Defeat 341
Returning to the Philippines 342
Luzon: The First Phase 342
Nothing is spared: Terror in Manila 344
Death from above at Corregidor 345
Finishing the battle to clear Luzon 346
Mindanao: Still more fighting to do 346
A sometimes forgotten triumph: The Philippines 347
Attack from Air and Sea: Japan Is Next 347
Targeting Tokyo, Osaka, and other cities 348
Targeting merchant ships: Submarine operations 348
The Fight for Iwo Jima 349
Defenses like never before: Japanese preparations 349
Throwing a lot of stuff: Bombing before the attack 350
Hitting the beach and a flag raising at Mount Suribachi 350
The terrible finale 352
Okinawa: A Different Set of Problems 352
On familiar ground: Okinawa’s defenders 353
The easy landing 354
Kamikaze attacks 354
The end of the Japanese fleet 355
The battle for the ridges 356
The mud of May and the Shuri Line 356
Okinawa: Another costly victory 357
The Planned Invasion of Japan 357
Planning considerations 358
Taking down Japan: The plan 359
The Atomic Bomb and the Defeat of Japan 360
Hiroshima: The first target 361
Japanese government reaction 362
The Soviets declare war on Japan 362
Nagasaki next 363
The cost 363
The end of an era: The Emperor submits 363
The announcement to the Japanese people 364
The Japanese surrender 364
The Allied Occupation of Japan 365
Chapter 22: The Uneasy Peace 367
The Costs: A Global Assessment 367
Remaking the World: War and Technology 368
Giving Peace a Chance: The United Nations 369
A New World Emerges 369
The Beginnings of the Cold War 371
Some Final Thoughts 372
Part 7: The Part of Tens 373
Chapter 23: Ten Formidable Military Leaders of World War II 375
Winston S Churchill: Timeless Excellence 375
Dwight D Eisenhower: Don’t Worry, Be Happy 376
Douglas MacArthur: Damn the Torpedoes! 376
George C Marshall: Sterling Dedication 377
Chester W Nimitz: Master of the Sea 377
George S Patton: A Warrior for All Seasons 378
Irwin Rommel: The Desert Fox 379
Franklin D Roosevelt: Artful Dodger 379
Isoroku Yamamoto: Samurai Warrior 380
Georgi Zhukov: Leading the Masses 380
Chapter 24: Ten Weapons That Made a Difference 383
The German MG-42 Machine Gun 383
The German Tiger Tank 384
The M-1 Garand Rifle 384
The V-2 Rocket 385
The P-51 Mustang 386
The Me-262 Jet Aircraft 386
The B-17 Bomber: The Flying Fortress 387
The 88 mm Gun 387
The Yorktown and Essex Class Carriers 388
The Atomic Bomb 388
Chapter 25: Ten “What Ifs?” of World War II 389
What If Hitler Conquered Great Britain Instead of Attacking the Soviet Union? 389
What If U.S Carriers Had Been at Pearl Harbor? 390
What If Hitler Pursued Proper Strategic Programs? 391
What If There Had Been No Attack on Pearl Harbor Until 1942? 391
What If Hitler Liberated the Russians? 392
What If France Held Out in 1940? 392
What If the Bulge Had Worked? 393
What If Hitler Had Been Assassinated? 393
What If Hitler Let His Generals Plan Strategy? 394
What If the Japanese Navy Had Survived? 394
Index 397
