The Cambridge History of the Second World War, Volume I: Fighting the War

819 Pages·2015·25.342 MB·English

by  John Ferris, Evan Mawdsley (eds.)

THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
The military events of the Second World War have been the
subjectofhistoricaldebatefrom1945tothepresent.Itmattered
greatly who won, and fighting was the essential determinant of
victory or defeat. In Volume i of The Cambridge History of the
SecondWorldWar,ateamoftwenty-fiveleadinghistoriansoffers
a comprehensive and authoritative new account of the war’s
military and strategic history. Part i examines the military cul-
turesandstrategicobjectivesoftheeightmajorpowersinvolved.
Partiisurveysthecourseofthewarinitskeytheatresacrossthe
world, and assesses why one side or the other prevailed there.
Partiii considers,in acomparative way,keyaspects ofmilitary
activity, including planning, intelligence, and organization of
troops and matériel, as well as guerrilla fighting and treatment
ofprisonersofwar.
JohnFerrisisProfessorofHistoryattheUniversityofCalgary,
Honorary Professor in the Department of International Politics,
UniversityofWales, Aberystwyth,andAdjunctProfessor inthe
DepartmentofWarStudies,RoyalMilitaryCollegeofCanada.
Evan Mawdsley isHonoraryProfessorialResearchFellowand
formerly Professor of International History at the University of
Glasgow.
THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
GENERAL EDITOR
evan mawdsley,HonoraryProfessorialResearchFellowandformerly
ProfessorofInternationalHistoryattheUniversityofGlasgow.
TheCambridgeHistoryoftheSecondWorldWarisanauthoritative
newaccountoftheconflictthatunfoldedbetween1939and1945.
With contributions from a team of leading historians, the three
volumes adopt a transnational approach, to offer a comprehen-
sive,globalanalysisofthemilitary,political,social,economicand
cultural aspects of the war. Volume i provides an operational
perspective on the course of the war, examining strategies,
militaryculturesandorganisation,andthekeycampaigns,whilst
Volumeii reviewsthe‘politics’ofwar,theglobalaspirationsof
the rival alliances, and the role of diplomacy. Volume iii
considers the war as an economic, social and cultural event,
exploring how entire nations mobilized their economies and
populations,anddealtwiththecatastrophiclossesthatfollowed.
The volumes conclude by considering the lasting impact of the
Second World War and the memory of war across different
cultures ofcommemoration.
volume i
FightingtheWar
edited by john ferris and evan mawdsley
volume ii
PoliticsandIdeology
edited by richard j. b. bosworth and joseph a. maiolo
volume iii
TotalWar:Economy,SocietyandCulture
edited by michael geyer and adam tooze
THE CAMBRIDGE
HISTORY OF
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
*
VOLUME I
Fighting the War
*
Edited by
JOHN FERRIS
and
EVAN MAWDSLEY
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107038929
©CambridgeUniversityPress2015
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout
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Firstpublished2015
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ISBN978-1-107-03892-9Hardback
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Contents
List ofillustrations page viii
List of figures x
List ofmaps xi
List oftables xii
List ofcontributors to Volume I xiii
General introduction 1
evan mawdsley
Introduction to Volume i 7
john ferris and evan mawdsley
part i
GRAND STRATEGIES 19
Introduction to Part i 21
john ferris and evan mawdsley
1(cid:1) British military strategy 28
david french
2 (cid:1)China’s long war with Japan 51
jay taylor
3(cid:1) French grand strategy and defence preparations 78
martin s. alexander
v
Contents
4(cid:1) German strategy, 1939–1945 107
gerhard l. weinberg
5(cid:1)Mussolini’s strategy, 1939–1943 132
john gooch
6(cid:1)Feigning grand strategy: Japan, 1937–1945 159
alessio patalano
7 (cid:1) US grand strategy, 1939–1945 189
thomas g. mahnken
8(cid:1) Soviet strategy 213
bruce w. menning and jonathan house
part ii
CAMPAIGNS 245
Introduction to Part ii 247
john ferris and evan mawdsley
9 (cid:1)Campaigns in China, 1937–1945 256
hans van de ven
10(cid:1) The war in the West, 1939–1940: an unplanned Blitzkrieg 287
karl-heinz frieser
translated by harvey l. mendelsohn
11 (cid:1) The war in the West, 1939–1940: the Battle of Britain? 315
john ferris and evan mawdsley
12(cid:1) Operations on the Eastern Front, 1941–1945 331
david r. stone
13(cid:1) The Mediterranean and North Africa, 1940–1944 358
simon ball
14(cid:1) The war in the West, 1943–1945 389
mary kathryn barbier
vi
Contents
15 (cid:1)The war in the Pacific, 1941–1945 420
john t. kuehn
16 (cid:1) The Atlantic war, 1939–1945 455
marc milner
17(cid:1) Anglo-American strategic bombing, 1940–1945 485
tami davis biddle
part iii
FIGHTING FORCES 527
Introduction to Part iii 529
john ferris and evan mawdsley
18(cid:1) War planning 533
eliot a. cohen
19 (cid:1) Armies, navies, air forces: the instruments of war 556
dennis showalter
20(cid:1) Filling the ranks: conscription and personnel policies 585
sanders marble
21(cid:1) Logistics by land and air 608
phillips payson o’brien
22 (cid:1)Intelligence 637
john ferris
23 (cid:1)Prisoners of war 664
bob moore
24 (cid:1)Guerrillas and counter-insurgency 690
ben h. shepherd
Bibliographical essays 716
Index 775
vii
Illustrations
1 TheChinesedefendersoftheZhabeidistrictofShanghaiarepresented
withsupplies.Postcard.©JohnPowell,ChicagoTribunePressService
2 AirraidatChongqing(Chungking),October1938.©IWM(CHN138)
3 Horse-drawnartilleryinPoland.©Bundesarchiv,B206Bild-GD-05
4 ‘Biggerblockade’cartoon,DailyMail,2December1939.©BritishCartoon
Archive(ILO167)
5 Gen.HeinzGuderianinhiscommandvehicle,May/June1940.
©Bundesarchiv,Bild101I-769-0229-02A
6 Guderianinhiscommandvehicle,showingtheEnigmacodemachine,May
1940.©Bundesarchiv,Bild101I-769-0229-10A
7 Knocked-outFrenchCharB1heavytankinBelgium,May1940.
©Bundesarchiv,Bild101I-127-0369-21
8 Dunkirk,June1940.©Bundesarchiv,Bild116-483-081
9 ChainHomeRadarStation,paintingbyWilliamThomasRawlinson.
©IWM(ARTLD5735)
10 InterioroftheRAFSector‘G’OperationsRoomatDuxford,
Cambridgeshire.©IWM(CH1401)
11 Experimentalsubmersibletank,1940.©Bundesarchiv,Bild101II-MW-5674-45
12 Poster:‘TheBritishCommonwealthanditsAlliesWillDestroytheNazi
Tyranny’,1941.©IWM(PST8134)
13 AircraftcarrierArkRoyalinaction,paintingbyEricRavilious.©IWM
(ARTLD294)
14 Hitler,vonBrauchitschandKeitelontheFührer’sHQtrain,April1941.
©Bundesarchiv,Bild183-L18678
15 German(Czech-built)Russiantank.©Bundesarchiv,Bild101I-265-0035A-27A
16 ‘WewilldefendMoscow!’©LibraryofCongress
17 ItaliantankmaninTripoli,March1941.©Bundesarchiv,Bild183-B11231
18 Japanesesuper-battleshipYamatounderconstruction.CourtesyofShizuo
Fukui(NH63433)
19 Poster:PearlHarborattack.CourtesyoftheNavalHistoryandHeritage
Command(NH86388-KN)
20 BuryingdeadafterPearlHarbor.CourtesyoftheNavalHistoryand
HeritageCommand(K-13328)
viii
ListofIllustrations
21 HiryusurvivorsanAmericandestroyer,June1942.CourtesyoftheNaval
HistoryandHeritageCommand(80-G-79974-1)
22 BreakingthroughminefieldatElAlamein,paintingbyAlexJ.Igram.
©IWM(ARTLD2976)
23 AShermantankatAnzio,1944.©IWM(NA11034)
24 ARescue-shipintheAtlantic,paintingbyGeorgePlante.©IWM(ART
LD3055)
25 CoastalCommandLiberatoronpatrol.©IWM(CH11800)
26 ‘BasicWinstonese’,cartoonbyDavidLow.©BritishCartoonArchive
(DL2066)
27 Roosevelt,ChurchillandStalinatTehran,1943.©IWM(A20732)
28 MarinesseekcoverbehindseawallonTarawaAtoll.©USNavy
29 TheanchorageatUlithiAtoll,8Dec.1944.©USNavy(NARA80-G-294129)
30 BeachLCIlandingcraftonOMAHAbeach,June1944.Courtesyofthe
NavalHistoryandHeritageCommand(KN17825)
31 Logistics1941:GermantroopsinPoland.©Bundesarchiv,Bild101I–347-1077-20.
32 Logistics1944:RussiantrucksinRomania.©GettyImages/Sovfoto.
33 GermanparatrooperinNormandy.©Bundesarchiv,Bild183-J31305.
34 Goebbelsandchildsoldier,13March1945.©Bundesarchiv,Bild183-J31305.
35 BritishandSoviettroopsmeetinGermany,May1945.©IWM(BU5230)
36 Y-12plant,OakRidge.©GettyImages/Keystone-France
37 Hiroshima,August1945.CourtesyoftheUSNationalArchives
38 AmericanandJapanesenavelpersonnelmeet,27August1945.Courtesyof
theNavalHistoryandHeritageCommand(80-G-490401)
39 Poster:RoyalAirForceRaidsAreDestroyingGermanIndustry,1942.
©IWM(PST5637)
40 Flakhelferinenmanhandleasearchlight,1943–44.©Bundesarchiv,Bild101I-
674-7797-11
41 WürzburgradaratBruneval,December1941.©IWM(D12870)
42 Colossuscode-breakingcomputerinoperation.CourtesyofTheNational
Archives,Kew
43 SovietPOWsataprisoncamp,August1942.©GermanFederalArchives
44 CapturedWehrmachtsoldiergivinghisnameandnumbertoaUSArmy
Captain,1944.©WarinColour(NARA026-G-2391)
45 ‘Inoccupiedterritory’cartoonbyDavidLow,1942.©BritishCartoon
Archive(DL1887)
46 Poster:Chetniks!TheFightingGuerrillas.©TwentiethCenturyFoxFilm
Corporation
Thecolourplatescanbefoundbetweenpages466and467
Everyefforthasbeenmadetocontacttherelevantcopyright-holders
fortheimagesreproducedinthisbook.Intheeventofanyerror,the
publisherwillbepleasedtomakecorrectionsinanyreprintsorfuture
editions.
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