Contents

List of Maps

Acknowledgements

1. The German invasion of Poland, September 1939

2. Poland defeated, October 1939

3. Finland defiant, November 1939

4. The Scandinavian cockpit, winter 1939–1940

5. The German attack in the West, May 1940

6. Dunkirk, May 1940

7. The battle for France, June 1940

8. France’s agony, Britain’s resolve, June–July 1940

9. The battle for Britain, August–September 1940

10. ‘The war is won!’ (Hitler), October 1940

11. The ‘new order of tyranny’ (Roosevelt), winter 1940–1941

12. The widening war, January–March 1941

13. The German conquest of Yugoslavia and Greece, April 1941

14. The fall of Crete; war in Africa, April–May 1941

15. The German invasion of Russia, June 1941

16. Terror in the East, July–August 1941

17. Towards Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev, September 1941

18. Russia at bay, September–October 1941

19. ‘Deciding the fate of Europe’ (Hitler), November 1941

20. The limits of German conquest, December 1941

21. Japan strikes, December 1941

22. ‘We are no longer alone’ (Churchill), New Year 1942

23. Global war, February–April 1942

24. The spread of resistance and terror, summer 1942

25. Axis triumphs, July 1942

26. Guadalcanal, Dieppe, El Alamein, August–September 1942

27. Stalingrad and ‘Torch’, September–October 1942

28. The turn of the tide for the Allies, winter 1942

29. Casablanca: blueprint for victory, January 1943

30. The German armies in danger, February 1943

31. ‘Drive the enemy into the sea’ (Montgomery), spring 1943

32. ‘The first crack in the Axis’ (Roosevelt), summer 1943

33. Germany and Japan in retreat, autumn 1943

34. ‘Bleeding to death in the East’ (Goebbels), winter 1943

35. Anzio, Cassino, Kwajalein, January–February 1944

36. Bombing, deportation, and mass murder, February–March 1944

37. Resistance, sabotage and deception, spring 1944

38. D-Day, June 1944

39. Germany encircled, July 1944

40. The battles for Poland and France, summer 1944

41. The bitter-sweet path of liberation, autumn 1944

42. Into Germany; towards the Philippines, September 1944

43. Fighting for every mile, October–November 1944

44. Flying bombs, suicide pilots, death marches, January 1945

45. Berlin, Manila, Dresden, Tokyo, February–March 1945

46. The Axis in disarray; the Allies in conflict, March–April 1945

47. The deaths of Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler, April 1945

48. The end of the war in Europe, May 1945

49. Germany in defeat, Japan unbowed, May–July 1945

50. Alamogordo, Potsdam, Hiroshima, July–August 1945

51. The defeat of Japan, August 1945

52. Retribution and Remembrance, 1945–1952

53. ‘Unfinished business’, 1953–1989

Bibliography

Regional Maps

Index