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• Cover
• Introduction: The Most Destructive War
• About This Book
• Conventions Used in This Book
• How This Book Is Organized
• Icons Used in This Book
• Where to Go from Here
• Beyond the Book
• Part 1: Origins and Causes of the War, 1919–1939
• Chapter 1: World War II: Why It Matters and What You Need to Know
• The War’s Beginnings
• Who’s Who of Combatants
• The Course of the War
• Where in the World Was the World War Fought?
• The Effect of World War II
• Chapter 2: The Great War and the Uneasy Peace: How World War II Happened
• The End of One War and the Roots of Another
• Collapsing Economies: The Great Depression
• Fascism and Nazism: Whose Bright Idea Was This?
• The Rise of Hitler
• Japan and the Militarists: The Army Calls the Shots
• Chapter 3: Hoping for Peace: The Rise of the Dictators, 1933–1939
• The Steps to War: Taking Advantage of Circumstances
• Getting Aggressive: Italy Makes a War
• Forging a Pact: The Axis Is Born
• The Spanish Civil War: Fascism and Communism Clash
• Germany: Using Diplomacy and Smoke Screens for War
• Britain: Seeking Mediation and Appeasement
• Austria and Czechoslovakia Catch Hitler’s Eye
• Part 2: Starting the War: The Axis Invades and Conquers, 1939–1942
• Chapter 4: Invading Eastern Europe: Hitler’s Power Grows, 1939
• Czechoslovakia Disappears: Divvying Land and German Occupation
• Playing Both Sides of the Fence: Negotiations with the Soviets
• Talking Peace and Planning War: Hitler Finds an Excuse
• Chapter 5: Blitzkrieg in Europe: World War II Begins, 1939–1941
• The Invasion of Poland
• Drawing the Line: Britain and France Declare War on Germany
• Fighting His Own War: Stalin Goes after Finland
• He’s B-a-a-ck: Hitler Strikes Norway and Denmark
• The Phony War: Using France to Get at Britain
• A British Epic: The Battle of Britain
• The Balkans: Mussolini’s Mess and Hitler’s New Target
• The Italians Take Their Lumps All Over Africa
• Chapter 6: The Ultimate Battle: Hitler versus Stalin
• If at First You Don’t Succeed, Find Another Target
• Appeasing Germany: Stalin Is Clueless
• Forgetting What’s Important: Hitler’s Fatal Decision
• Corporal Hitler Takes Charge of the Eastern Front
• Chapter 7: America on the Sidelines: 1933–1941
• Looking Inward: A New President and a Neutral Stance
• Bad Signs in Europe
• Roosevelt Plays the Neutrality Game
• France’s Fall: America’s Wake-up Call
• Chapter 8: Collision in Asia: Japan and America, 1937–1941
• A Brief History of Politics in Japan
• Building the Perfect Machine: Japan Thinks War
• War Comes to America: Pearl Harbor
• The Japanese Wage War
• Ignoring the Writing on the Wall: MacArthur Fights
• Hitler Declares War on the Mongrel Race
• Now It’s a World War
• Part 3: Behind Enemy Lines: Nations at War
• Chapter 9: Maintaining Resources: The Axis
• Nazi Germany
• Unready and Unwilling: Fascist Italy
• Believing in Victory: Imperial Japan
• Chapter 10: Working Together: The Allies
• Staying United: The United Kingdom
• Working Hard: The United States
• The Soviet Union
• Chapter 11: The War against the Jews
• The Rationale: Nazi Thinking
• The Persecution Begins: Jews in Germany
• Mobile Killing Units: The Einsatzgruppen
• Deportation to Ghettos, Concentration Camps, and Death Camps
• The Final Solution and Its Ultimate Failure
• Part 4: Planning and Launching the Allied Counterattack, 1942–1943
• Chapter 12: The Politics of Compromise, 1942
• The Axis Powers: Deals among Desperados
• American-British Cooperation: Not a Bed of Roses
• Clashing Strategies: A Debate among Friends
• Making the First Decision: Germany First
• Chapter 13: Taking North Africa, Sicily, and the Boot
• Rommel’s Desert Defeat: El Alamein
• Throwing the Torch: The Allies Strike in North Africa
• Turning toward Tunisia
• A Day and Night in Casablanca: The Allies Go-Forward Plan
• Operation HUSKY: Invading Sicily
• Up the Boot: Invading the Italian Mainland
• Chapter 14: Germany a Three-Time Loser: In Russia, At Home, and in the Atlantic
• Hitler’s 1942 Offensive in Russia
• Amassing Ammo and Men at Kursk
• Taking It to the Streets: Bombing Germany
• High Tide of the U-Boat: The Battle of the Atlantic
• Chapter 15: Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and Midway: Japan’s Three Strikes
• The Rope-a-Dope: Japan Fights for Time
• A Military First: The Battle of the Coral Sea
• Midway: Naval Aviation’s Finest Moment
• New Guinea: Green Hell
• Protecting Australia: Allied Pacific Strategy
• Nimitz Takes the Offensive
• Chapter 16: Planning for the Rest of the War, 1943
• The Big Three: Conference at Teheran
• Winds of Change in 1943: From the Axis Perspective
• The Panorama of 1943: From the Allied Perspective
• Part 5: The Long Haul, 1944
• Chapter 17: The Italian Campaign and Soviet Victories in the East
• Changing Plans: End Run on the Winter Line
• Rome: The First Capital to Fall — So What?
• Steamrolling the German Army in Russia
• Chapter 18: Liberating Europe: From Normandy to Paris, and Beyond
• Deciding on Strategy: OVERLORD
• D-Day: Invasion and Breakout
• Expanding the Beachhead
• Too Far, Too Fast: More Decisions
• The Air War: Wearing Germany Down
• Hitler’s Gamble: The Battle of the Bulge
• The Soviets on Germany’s Doorstep
• Advancing into Yugoslavia and Hungary
• Chapter 19: Japan Begins to Crack
• The Island Assault Plan: The Marshalls and Then the Marianas
• Marshall Islands: Learned Lessons Well Applied
• Mauling the Marianas
• The Japanese Navy Weighs In: The Battle of the Philippine Sea
• Kicking Off the New Guinea Campaign
• Controlling the sea: Biak
• Same old mistakes: Peleliu
• Preparing to Take Leyte
• MacArthur returns
• Operations in the Pacific: An Appreciation
• The China-Burma-India Theater
• Allied Hit and Runs in Burma
• The Japanese Tip the Balance in China
• Stirring Up Trouble: The Japanese Offensive against India
• The End of the Line in Burma: Good-bye to Stilwell and the Japanese
• Part 6: Starting Over: The War’s Aftereffects, 1945
• Chapter 20: Ending the War (Almost): The Final Offensive
• The Allies Cross the Rhine, the Germans Turn a Corner
• The Soviets Move Forward
• Fighting in the Air and at Sea: The Final Acts
• Capturing German Territory
• Roosevelt’s Last Act and Stalin’s Coup at Yalta
• The War in Italy Ends, and Germany Succumbs
• Stalin Moves on Berlin
• No Way Out: The Germans Surrender
• Celebrating VE Day
• Reconstructing a New Germany: The Potsdam Conference
• Loose Ends of a Bitter Victory
• Chapter 21: The Japanese Defeat
• Returning to the Philippines
• Attack from Air and Sea: Japan Is Next
• The Fight for Iwo Jima
• Okinawa: A Different Set of Problems
• The Planned Invasion of Japan
• The Atomic Bomb and the Defeat of Japan
• The Allied Occupation of Japan
• Chapter 22: The Uneasy Peace
• The Costs: A Global Assessment
• Remaking the World: War and Technology
• Giving Peace a Chance: The United Nations
• A New World Emerges
• The Beginnings of the Cold War
• Some Final Thoughts
• Part 7: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 23: Ten Formidable Military Leaders of World War II
• Winston S. Churchill: Timeless Excellence
• Dwight D. Eisenhower: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
• Douglas MacArthur: Damn the Torpedoes!
• George C. Marshall: Sterling Dedication
• Chester W. Nimitz: Master of the Sea
• George S. Patton: A Warrior for All Seasons
• Irwin Rommel: The Desert Fox
• Franklin D. Roosevelt: Artful Dodger
• Isoroku Yamamoto: Samurai Warrior
• Georgi Zhukov: Leading the Masses
• Chapter 24: Ten Weapons That Made a Difference
• The German MG-42 Machine Gun
• The German Tiger Tank
• The M-1 Garand Rifle
• The V-2 Rocket
• The P-51 Mustang
• The Me-262 Jet Aircraft
• The B-17 Bomber: The Flying Fortress
• The 88 mm Gun
• The Yorktown and Essex Class Carriers
• The Atomic Bomb
• Chapter 25: Ten “  What Ifs? ” of World War II
• What If Hitler Conquered Great Britain Instead of Attacking the Soviet Union?
• What If U.S. Carriers Had Been at Pearl Harbor?
• What If Hitler Pursued Proper Strategic Programs?
• What If There Had Been No Attack on Pearl Harbor Until 1942?
• What If Hitler Liberated the Russians?
• What If France Held Out in 1940?
• What If the Bulge Had Worked?
• What If Hitler Had Been Assassinated?
• What If Hitler Let His Generals Plan Strategy?
• What If the Japanese Navy Had Survived?
• Index
• About the Author
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement