Osprey Essential Histories Compellation 3 : The Second World War : A World in Flames

The period from 1939 to 1945 saw some of the most devastating events in living memory. Existing in the shadows of fear, sacrifice, deprivation and uncertainty, soldiers and civilians of all nationalities were driven to extremes of selfless loyalty, dogged determination or bitter cruelty by the demands of a world at war. Bringing the experience of war to life through a wealth of contemporary documentation, private writings and historical research, this book tells the stories of the men and women who lived and died during the Second World War. Also assessing the political, military and historical significance of the war this truly comprehensive book covers every fighting front of this horrific war. Text by Max Hastings, Geoffrey Jukes and Russell Hart. This book is a compellation of Osprey Essential Histories 18, 24, 30, 32, 35, and 48.

Contents

• Europe 1939-1943
• Background to War : The Gathering Storm
• Warring Sides : The Road to War
• Outbreak : 'I have determined on a solution by force'
• The Fighting : Hitler Strikes
• Portrait of a Soldier : Donald Edgar
• The World around War : The Home Front
• Portrait of a Civilian : Colin Perry
• How the War Ended : The End of the Beginning

• The War at Sea
• Background to War : The Second World War
• Warring Sides : Reluctant Adversaries
• Outbreak : Opening Moves
• The Fighting : Across the World's Seas
• Portrait of a Soldier : Peter Herbert Owen, Royal Navy Midshipman
• The World around War : The Impact of War
• Portrait of a Civilian : John Delaney-Nash, Merchant Mariner
• How the War Ended : The German Fleet is Scuttled
• Conclusion and Consequences : The Price of Admiralty

• The Mediterranean 1940-1945
• Background to War
• Warring Sides
• Outbreak
• The Fighting
• Portrait of a Soldier
• The World around War
• Portrait of a Civilian
• How the War Ended
• Conclusion and Consequences

• The Pacific
• Background to War : The Expansion of Imperial Japan 1891-1941
• Warring Sides : Powerful Japan Faced Certain Defeat
• Outbreak : The Slide Towards Inevitable War
• The Fighting : The Course of the Pacific War
• Portrait of a Soldier : Thomas Currie Derrick, An Australian soldier
• The World around War : A Clash of Cultures and Races
• Portrait of a Civilian : Gwen Harold Terasaki, An American in Japan
• How the War Ended : Not Necessarily to Japan's Advantage
• Conclusion and Consequences : How the War Transformed the Asia-Pacific

• The Eastern Front 1941-1945
• Background to War : A Dictators' Deal and a Double-Cross
• Warring Sides : Germany Gambles on a Quick Win
• Outbreak : Germany Achieves Surprise
• The Fighting : Red Army Battered but not Beaten
• Portrait of a Soldier : The German and the Russian View
• The World around War : Propaganda, Lend-Lease and Land Grabs
• Portrait of a Civilian : 'We were as Mobilised as the Soldiers'
• How the War Ended : Germany Surrenders, Stalin joins the War on Japan
• Conclusion and Consequences : From Alliance to Cold War

• Northwest Europe 1944-1945
• Background to War : The Road to D-Day
• Warring Sides : A Military Audit
• Outbreak : The Allies Invade France
• The Fighting : From D-Day to Victory
• Portrait of a Soldier : Donald Burgett
• The World around War : Rationing and Retaliation
• Portrait of a Civilian : Brenda McBryde
• How the War Ended : The Road to VE Day
• Conclusion and Consequences : 'The Most Devastating and Costly War'