Kategoria BISAC: History >> Wars & Conflicts - World War II - General

This volume is the first recent work to examine the major naval combatants of World War II. Sadkovich has brought together essays by eight contributors, each an expert in his field, to reevaluate the roles and performances of the particular navies and the specific geopolitical circumstances under which they operated. Also included is an introduction that both outlines the pre-War conditions that shaped the navies and draws comparisons between the eight combatants. Reevaluating Major Naval Combatants of World War II is a superb collection of provoactive essays on eight navies....

This well-researched study explores a virtually unknown and largely enigmatic aspect of World War II--the nature of amphibious operations in the Aegean Sea in 1943. More than an historical account, it is designed to interpret and reassess the crucial decisions which influenced the outcome of what has become known as the Dodecanese Disaster. The British operations in the Aegean at that time present many parallels with the recent conflict in the Falklands in terms of scale and order of battle, the critical difference being that operations in the Aegean resulted in tragic...

This work is designed as a reference tool for researchers investigating the what, when, and why of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The book provides, for the first time, a cross-referencing and indexing of the total record of testimony and evidence that was compiled and published by the U.S. Congress following U.S. investigations into the Pearl Harbor attack. Transcripts from the postwar hearings contain significant information about the diplomatic background of the hostilities, the first look at the crypto-analytic activities of the U.S. military, and many of the...

In its decision of 7 December 1941 to adopt a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare--the destruction of all vessels entering a designated war zone--the United States not only dramatically reversed its previous foreign policy position of defending freedom of the seas but in doing so adopted a policy that had been one of the chief provocations for U.S. entry into World War I against Germany. Janet M. Manson contends that this decision also proved to be a watershed in U.S. foreign policy because it provided the precedent and rationale for using advanced weapons technology against...

One of the great misconceptions of the Second World War is the notion that the German Army was the epitome of mechanical efficiency--combining lightning speed with awesome military power. R. L. DiNardo argues that, although the elite panzer divisions were indeed formidable units, about 75 percent of the German Army were infantry divisions who relied primarily on the horse for transport. So, DiNardo asks, how modern was the Wehrmacht during World War II? Could it have achieved a higher level of modernity than it actually did? This book takes an unusual approach to the study of the much...

This revisionist history convincingly argues that the Regia Marina Italiana (the Royal Italian Navy) has been neglected and maligned in assessments of its contributions to the Axis effort in World War II. After all, Italy was the major Axis player in the Mediterranean, and it was the Italian navy and air force, with only sporadic help from their German ally, that stymied the British navy and air force for most of the thirty-nine months that Italy was a belligerent. It was the Royal Italian Navy that provided the many convoys that kept the Axis war effort in Africa alive by repeatedly...

The U.S. Army supply organization for the Normandy Invasion, although very impressive, should have done a better job in the summer of 1944. The supply system suffered from several serious shortcomings which should have been avoided. The purpose of this work is to examine an aspect of military history which, as many military historians have pointed out, has received little attention. As the Gulf War demonstrated, logistics, the supplying of armies, is crucial to achieving victory.

This book describes how the growing awareness of the strategic importance of science in the 1930s caused the Allied and German leadership to build scientific information supply systems that survived into the postwar era. Using archival materials from five countries, Richards traces the successes and failures of these early scientific intelligence agencies. She focuses on the OSS unit supplying copy for the US government's wartime program to reprint current German scientific journals. She describes as well the methods used by the OSS to spirit individual journal issues from inside the Reich...

Preserving much rare and disintegrating information, this comprehensive chronology and fact book provides day-to-day records covering a third of the Pacific war for the first time. Recounts events in the North Pacific between August 1943 and September 1945, revealing the activities of the Allies, including the Soviet Union and the Japanese. It identifies the location and activities of the various units, their landings, and battles. Short biographies make participants come alive. Appendices provide a glossary, and give key information about prisoners of war, American internees, Army Air...

The enormous popularity of all aspects of World War II over the last half century has produced thousands of books but no single collection of biographies of American military and naval leaders during the war. This is the first definitive book containing biographical material on all of our country's generals and flag officers who served any active duty from December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945. It includes general officers of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the National Guard, and the U.S. Marine Corps and flag officers of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition to regular...

World War II was the greatest single catastrophe humankind has inflicted upon itself. Few people alive at the time escaped its impact; its consequences still visit those unborn at war's end in 1945 and will continue to shape our future. This readable analysis and ready-reference guide is designed to help students and interested readers to understand the causes, interrelated events, and implications of the war, and to provide a wealth of material for student research. A detailed timeline of events traces the history of the war. An introductory overview essay puts it in historical,...

An all-encompassing book with more than a thousand quotations, this work breathes life into an era unprecedented in world history. Covering all aspects of the war, the volume includes more than 300 individuals from the Allies, the Axis, and the neutrals. It quotes the major political leaders, including Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt, and Stalin, and military officers--not just Eisenhower, Marshall, and King, but also Montgomery, Rommel, Zhukov, and Yamamoto. It covers historians Shirer, Sherwood, and A.J.P. Taylor, journalists Pyle, Murrow, and Hersey, and diplomats Ciano and Ribbentrop. It...

Traditionally, the story of the Third Reich has been a story of men, yet women participated in all aspects of the war and on both sides of the Nazi flag. This dictionary, with entries on more than 100 women, shows the diversity of their roles in this turbulent and disturbing period. It includes entries on resistance fighters, nurses, entertainers, writers, filmmakers, spies, and prisoners with exceptional spirit and courage. The women represented here came from all the countries involved with the Third Reich and from many different occupations before their involvement in the...

Bimberg provides a military history of the Moroccan Goums, the knife-wielding irregular troops who distinguished themselves, fighting under French command in Tunisia, Italy, France and Germany during World War II. Recruited from the hill tribes of Morocco's Atlas Mountains, the Goums were garbed throughout the war in the traditional djellaba of their homeland and were armed with long sharp knives, in addition to rifles, machine-guns and mortars. They terrified the enemy not only by their ferocity, but by their odd appearance. Their particular skill in mountain warfare prompted General...

Covering all Pacific islands involved in World War II military operations, this book is a detailed, single source of information on virtually every geo-military aspect of the Pacific Theater. Arranged regionally and, to the extent possible, chronologically according to when islands entered the war, entries provide complete background information. Along with island names, nicknames, Allied code names, location, and wartime time zones, the entries include such topics as the island's physical characteristics, weather, health hazards, historical background, native population, natural...

Hitler's tank divisions were some of his most feared troops and most lethal weapons in the taking and securing of territory during World War II. From success to failure, in victory and in defeat, each division played a role in Hitler's campaign against the Allies. This is the first guide to chronicle the history of each division from its inception to its destruction. With painstaking research and attention to detail, Mitcham describes the formation and organization of each, then discusses its overall combat history. He also includes a career sketch of every panzer divisional commander....

This is the story of the early struggles of an ill-equipped ragtag French force, among the first to pledge its loyalty to General de Gaulle. It fought a lonely, almost secret war against the numerically superior Italian troops deep in the wildest parts of the Sahara, hundreds of miles from the main campaigns along the African coast. These daring Free French raids with their long thirsty treks and small-scale oasis battles have been nearly forgotten, although their path is marked by the graves of many hundreds of French, Italian, and native soldiers. Bimberg details the exotic units that...

Including extensive information only found in scattered sources or official documents and archives, this book provides detailed coverage of all organizational aspects of the Marine Corps units in World War II's Pacific Theater. It gives in-depth background information on the units' functions, evolution, designation practices, tactical organization of combat units, and extensive statistical and technical data including 21 maps. It covers atypical subjects such as Marines in China, and female and African American marines. Extensive additional data on weapons, U.S. Navy and Army backgrounds,...