The Complete Illustrated History Of The First Second World Wars

This comprehensive history begins by looking at the origins of WWI and then chronicles the war a year at a time. The second half of the book details the history of WWII, from the rise of Hitler and the persecution of the Jewish race to the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the dropping of the atom bombs. All aspects of war are covered including war illnesses, espionage, propaganda and the atrocities on all sides. There are special features dedicated to the weaponry and tactics that shaped the wars. Written by experts in their field and illustrated with over 1000 photographs, battle plans and maps, it is a fascinating guide for both specialist and general readers.

This text begins by looking at the origins of World War I and then chronicles the war a year at a time. The second half of the book details the history of World War II, from the rise of Hitler and the persecution of the Jewish race to the attacks on Pearl Harbour and the dropping of atom bombs.

This title covers the whole six-year global conflagration that shattered and then re-shaped the world - from the German blitzkrieg against Poland in September 1939, to the surrender of Japan following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki almost exactly six years later.

This wide-ranging book begins with the state ofEurope before the war then embarks on four majorchapters chronicling the war a year at a time. Majorbattles are interspersed with spreads detailing theweapons and tactics used. A final chapter looks atthe aftermath of war and the newly emergingEuropean states. All aspects of the conflict arecovered, from common illnesses through to the useof propaganda and atrocities on all sides. Key factboxes delve into the lives of the political leaders, generals and fighters, and also discuss the politicalmovements which flourished.The story of World War I is told in an accessiblestyle, supplemented with more than 500photographs, maps and battle plans, making this theperfect book for both general and specialist readers. - A description of every major battle on land and atsea detailing military strategy, successes and failuresillustrated with campaign maps and battle plans - Covers the most successful weapons of war fromdreadnoughts and anti-aircraft guns to U-boats andheavy field artillery, with specification boxesproviding key technical details on each weapon - Focuses on the military figures who shaped thecourse of the war from Generals Douglas Haig andAlexei Brusinov to Paul von Hindenberg and onpolitical leaders such as David Lloyd George, KaiserWilhelm II and President Woodrow Wilson - A highly readable popular history of the militaryand political events of World War One, illustratedwith more than 500 photographs, maps and plans

Originally published: 1998. New edition published in hardcover in 2014.

A readable history of the war, this text features expert commentary on the political and economic factors leading to the conflict, the key turning points during the war and the impact new technologies had on the fighting. Full colour maps and battle plans add to the analysis of major engagements.

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 Illustrated 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.

"The story of the [World War II] conflict, from its roots in the First World War peace settlement to the final Allied triumph in 1945."--Front jacket flap.