Atlas of World War II.pdf

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Copyright © 1985 Brompton Books Corp
Page 1: Occupying German troops march
past the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, 1940.
Page 2-3: Italian troops on the Eastern
Front, 1942.
This page: US Marines at Iwo Jima plot
the position of a Japanese machine gun
post, February 1945.
This edition published by Barnes & Noble, Inc.,
by arrangement with Brompton Books Corp.
2000 Barnes & Noble Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying
or otherwise, without first obtaining written
permission of the copyright owner.
Printed in China
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Natkiel, Richard.
Atlas of World War II.
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Contents
Introduction
6
Blitzkrieg
10
The War in Northern Waters
32
The Desert War and the Mediterranean
42
Soviet Ambitions Betrayed
64
The Course of Global Conflict: 1939-45
78
The Japanese Juggernaut
96
The Italian Campaign
108
Ebb Tide in the Pacific
120
Retaking Burma: The Forgotten War
138
Russia Finds Its Strength
148
Fortress Europe Overthrown
166
Index
190
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(i
Introduction
It has often been stated that World War II
was part of a European Civil War that
began in 1914 at the start of World War I.
This is partly true. In Europe, at least,
the two world wars were the two hideous
halves of the Anglo-German controversy
that was at the heart of both conflicts.
The question posed was: would Britain be
able, or willing, to maintain her vast
Empire in the face of German hegemony
on the continent of Europe? The answer
to that question never came. Britain, in
seeking to thwart German interests on
the Continent, eventually lost her whole
Empire in the attempt -an empire that
between the wars encompassed a quarter
of the earth's surface and an equal pro-
portion of its population. Put into that
context, both world wars were dangerous
for Britain to fight, jeopardizing the very
existence of the Empire and inevitably
weakening the mother country to the
point that she could not maintain her
world position at the end of the conflicts.
From Germany's point of view, the
wars were not only dangerous in that
they finally ruined virtually every town
and city, devastated the countryside and
dismembered the nation; they were
irrelevant. In 1890 Germany was in a
position from which, within a generation,
she would economically dominate the
whole of Europe. Inevitably, with that
economic hegemony, political hegemony
would soon follow, if not even precede. By
1910 the process was well in train; had no
one done anything to stop her, Germany
would have achieved the Kaiser's dreams
without war by the mid 1920s. The col-
lapse of Imperial Germany in 1918, fol-
lowed by temporary occupation, inflation
and national humiliation, set Germany
back only a few years. Despite the disas-
ters of World War I and its aftermath,
Germany was quickly recovering her old
position - roughly that of 1910 - by the
time Hitler took power in 1933. By 1938
German power in Europe was greater
than ever before, and Britain had to face
the old question once again. Could she
condone German political dominance of
the Continent?
In 1938 some Conservatives, like
Chamberlain and Halifax, recognized the
threat and were tacitly willing to main-
tain the Imperial status quo and condone
Hitler. Other Tories, like Churchill and
the Labour and Liberal Parties, wanted
to challenge Germany again. Had Hitler
been a bit more discreet and less hurried,
perhaps a bit less flamboyant and
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