The Second World War

Synopsis

A magisterial, single-volume history of the greatest conflict the world has ever known by our foremost military historian.

The Second World War began in August 1939 on the edge of Manchuria and ended there exactly six years later with the Soviet invasion of northern China. The war in Europe appeared completely divorced from the war in the Pacific and China, and yet events on opposite sides of the world had profound effects. Using the most up-to-date scholarship and research, Beevor assembles the whole picture in a gripping narrative that extends from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific and from the snowbound steppe to the North African Desert.

Although filling the broadest canvas on a heroic scale, Beevor's The Second World War never loses sight of the fate of the ordinary soldiers and civilians whose lives were crushed by the titanic forces unleashed in this, the most terrible war in history.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Gathering Storm

* Explores the rise of Nazi Germany, the appeasement policies of Britain and France, and the tensions leading to the outbreak of war.
* Example: The Munich Agreement in 1938, which allowed Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia without British or French opposition.

Chapter 2: The Outbreak of War

* Details the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, and the subsequent declarations of war by Britain and France.
* Example: The British Expeditionary Force landing in France in September 1939.

Chapter 3: The Phony War

* Describes the period of inaction on the Western Front from September 1939 to May 1940.
* Example: The British and French soldiers waiting in their trenches, with little fighting taking place.

Chapter 4: The Fall of France

* Chronicles the German invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940, and the collapse of French resistance.
* Example: The German Blitzkrieg tactics, using tanks, planes, and paratroopers to overwhelm French defenses.

Chapter 5: The Battle of Britain

* Focuses on the aerial battle between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force from July to October 1940.
* Example: The "Spitfire," a British fighter plane that played a crucial role in defending Britain from German bombing raids.

Chapter 6: The Mediterranean and North Africa

* Explores the campaigns in the Mediterranean and North Africa, including the Italian invasion of Egypt and the British counter-offensive.
* Example: The Battle of El Alamein in 1942, a decisive British victory that turned the tide of the war in North Africa.

Chapter 7: The Invasion of the Soviet Union

* Describes the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, and the brutal fighting that took place on the Eastern Front.
* Example: The Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, where the Soviet Red Army stopped the German advance and inflicted heavy losses.

Chapter 8: The Turning Tide

* Examines the Allied victories in 1942-1943, including the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Allied landings in North Africa, and the Soviet counter-offensive at Kursk.
* Example: The D-Day landings in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

Chapter 9: The Liberation of Europe

* Details the Allied liberation of Europe from German occupation, including the invasion of Italy, the fall of Berlin, and the surrender of Germany.
* Example: The liberation of Paris by the French Resistance and Allied troops in August 1944.

Chapter 10: The Pacific War

* Explores the war in the Pacific theater, including the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
* Example: The Battle of Okinawa in 1945, the final major battle of the Pacific War.

Chapter 11: The Aftermath

* Discusses the impact of the war, including the loss of life, the devastation of cities, and the rise of the Cold War.
* Example: The Nuremberg Trials, where Nazi leaders were prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.