The Oxford History of World War II

Description

Histories you can trust. World War Two was the most devastating conflict in recorded human history. It was both global in extent and total in character. It has understandably left a long and dark shadow across the decades. Yet it is three generations since hostilities formally ended in 1945 and the conflict is now a lived memory for only a few. And this growing distance in time has allowed historians to think differently about how to describe it, how to explain its course, and what subjects to focus on when considering the wartime experience. For instance, as World War Two recedes ever further into the past, even a question as apparently basic as when it began and ended becomes less certain. Was it 1939, when the war in Europe began? Or the summer of 1941, with the beginning of Hitler's war against the Soviet Union? Or did it become truly global only when the Japanese brought the USA into the war at the end of 1941? And what of the long conflict in East Asia, beginning with the Japanese aggression in China in the early 1930s and only ending with the triumph of the Chinese Communists in 1949? In The Oxford History of World War Two a team of leading historians re-assesses the conflict for a new generation, exploring the course of the war not just in terms of the Allied response but also from the viewpoint of the Axis aggressor states. Under Richard Overy's expert editorial guidance, the contributions take us from the genesis of war, through the action in the major theatres of conflict by land, sea, and air, to assessments of fighting power and military and technical innovation, the economics of total war, the culture and propaganda of war, and the experience of war (and genocide) for both combatants and civilians, concluding with an account of the transition from World War to Cold War in the late 1940s. Together, they provide a stimulating and thought-provoking new interpretation of one of the most terrible and fascinating episodes in world history. Cover The Oxford History of World War II Copyrights Editor’s Preface Contents List of Maps World War II Praise for The Oxford History of World War II Introduction: Total War—Global War: Richard Overy 1: The Genesis of World War: Patricia Clavin Legacies of the First World War The Search for Security The Fighting Spreads 2: The Japanese Empire at War, 1931–1945: Steven Hugh Lee Japan’s Empire and the Roots of the Second World War in Asia, 1877–1931 Japan’s Invasion of Manchuria: Starting the Fifteen-Year War The War of Resistance Military Authoritarianism in Japan Japan, the United States, and the Start of the Pacific War, 1940–1941 War and Occupation: South-East Asia The Politics of Food in Wartime China and Vietnam Conscription, Forced Labour, and Slavery in the Japanese Empire The Oceanic War, 1942–1945 Final Offensives: China and South-East Asia, 1944–1945 The End of the War with Japan 3: The Italian Wars: Nicola Labanca Italy at War, and National Stereotypes Images or Complex Reality The Years of ‘Peace’: From One World War to Another Radicalization Preparation for War? The Fascist War: A Gamble Attack and Occupation Albania, Greece, and the Balkans The Collapse of the Empire A Central Front From Parallel War to Subaltern War: Russia Disengagements Downfall Forty-Five Difficult Days The War of Liberation: From the South Resistance In the North Anomalous Prisoners: The Italian Military Internees A Divided Country and Nazi Massacres Insurgency and Liberation Post-War Memories: The War Continues From Memoir to History 4: The German Wars: Richard Overy Hitler and German Foreign Policy Germany Alone The ‘Barbarossa’ Gamble The Path to Defeat 5: The West and the War at Sea: Eric Grove The Attack on Shipping Defeating Axis Naval Power in Europe The Two-Ocean War Defeating the U-Boat Sea Power and Allied Victory 6: The Allies from Defeat to Victory: Evan Mawdsley Introduction Failed Alliance: 1939–1940 The British–Soviet Alliance The Grand Alliance 1943: The Axis in Retreat 1944: Decisive Allied Offensives 1945: The Defeat of Nazi Germany Conclusion 7: Fighting Power: War-Making and Military Innovation: David French Introduction Equipment Logistics Morale Innovation in Wartime Intelligence Innovation on the Eastern Front: The Red Army Innovation on the Western Front: The US Army Carrier Warfare and Amphibious Operations The War in the Far East: Slim and the 14th Army The War at Sea: The North Atlantic Strategic Bombing Conclusion 8: Economies in Total War: Richard Overy The Pattern of Economic Mobilization Economic Collaboration The Production of Weapons and Equipment The Home Front Economy The International Economy 9: Front Line I: Armed Forces at War: Michael Snape Recruitment Social Structures Foreign Legions Women in the Military Preparedness and Training Culture Religion Propaganda Criminality Conclusion 10: Front Line II: Civilians at War: Richard Overy Civil Defenders War Comes to the Home Front Civilian Wars Conclusion 11: Unnatural Deaths: Richard Bessel The Toll of Military Campaigns Mass Murder Workers, Prisoners, and Civilians Hunger, Disease, and Suicide Conclusion 12: Brains at War: Invention and Experts: David Edgerton Experts in Government Experts Trials, Investigations, and Surveys Invention Aero-Engines and Fuels Sharing Themes Drugs and Insecticides Assessment 13: The Culture of War: Ideas, Arts, and Propaganda: David Welch Introduction Britain Can Take It National Socialist Germany: A People’s Community The Soviet Union and the Great Patriotic War The USA: ‘Artists for Victory’ Conclusion 14: From World War to Cold War: Geoffrey Roberts Peacemaking The German Question The Iron Curtain The Arc of Crisis The Marshall Plan The Cominform NATO The Korean War Historians and the Cold War The Cold War in Perspective Maps Further Reading 1. The Genesis of World War 2. The Japanese Empire at War, 1931–1945 3. The Italian Wars 4. The German Wars 5. The West and the War at Sea 6. The Allies from Defeat to Victory 7. Fighting Power: War-Making and Military Innovation 8. Economies in Total War 9. Front Line I: Armed Forces at War 10. Front Line II: Civilians at War 11. Unnatural Deaths 12. Brains at War: Invention and Experts 13. The Culture of War: Ideas, Arts, and Propaganda 14. From World War to Cold War Index